COVID numbers remain low as students return to school

     Students and staff with the Monticello Community School District returned to classes on Nov. 30 after two weeks of online-only learning.

     “We have definitely improved our situation in the schools after the 10 days of online learning,” noted Superintendent Brian Jaeger. “Things are trending in the right direction; however, the way things are in Monticello with a 29 percent 14-day positivity rate and the fact that 1 in 7 Monticello residents has/have had COVID, means we are not out of the woods yet.”

     Despite numbers trending down, students and staff still remain out for COVID-related reasons:

     • Five students and nine staff are in isolation

     • 19 students and five staff are in quarantine

     Those numbers total 3 percent of the student body and 7 percent of the staff.

     “This number is down over the last three weeks,” noted Jaeger.

     The district also has approximately 240 PreK-12 students participating in full online or hybrid learning. That’s approximately 24 percent of the student body.

     “This number has gone up slightly over the last three weeks,” reported Jaeger.

     He also made mention of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ press conference earlier in the week, in which she referenced the COVID-19 vaccine being implemented in Iowa in mid-December.

     “That is fantastic news for us all; however, it will definitely take time to filter into our community,” said Jaeger. “It is definitely something to cheer for especially when the Governor announced that by June, ‘All who want a vaccine will have it.’”

     Jaeger said the hope is to start the 2021-22 school year in August in a “more normal way.”

     As always, if your child has been exposed to someone who tested positive for the virus, you are urged to contact the school nurse.