Next week, Warrensburg-Latham students were scheduled to return to the classrooms, marking the start of the second quarter, however, district leadership decided to accelerate that process by bringing them back last week.

Superintendent Cheryl Warner says things went very well their first week. She explains they had a significant number of staff and students impacted by COVID right before in-person learning was set to begin but thanks to a strong remote learning plan, they were able to close things down to get things under control.

Once Warrensburg-Latham Schools turned to their remote learning plan for the first quarter, Warner indicates they were then able to watch how area other districts handled their return to in-person learning and the challenges brought to bear with that. She explains they altered how they brought high school students back, hoping to have all students in their buildings each day. 

Getting the staff healthy was a point of emphasis during the remote learning period and while COVID seemed to disproportionately impact their staff more than others, Warner is pleased to report they are as healthy as they've ever been. 

Before school started, Warner says 16-percent of their staff were significantly impacted by COVID, resulting in loss of work options. She points out they did not have the ability to cover all those losses which were disappointing because they believe in-person learning is the best way for their students to learn.