The number of Flandreau students who have been exposed to someone who has tested positive with COVID-19 is so high that the school district has moved to online learning this week.
At one point recently, about 100 students were absent, a majority of them because they had a close contact with someone who had the virus. Under that scenario, school rules say that students are required to quarantine for 14 days. The school’s policy is based on the Center for Disease Control guidelines.
While that doesn’t mean that many students were sick, the quarantine is intended to prevent further spread of the disease. Superintendent Rick Weber said he knows of only one student who tested positive during a quarantine.
Some of the close contacts happened outside of school, within families, Weber said. “The kids might have the virus in their household. It’s just all over,” he said.
As of Oct. 30, the most recent numbers available, the school district had four high school students and one middle school student who were absent because they had tested positive for COVID-19. In addition, two elementary and one high school staff member were listed as positive cases. Six students and six staff members have recovered.
“We really don’t know where they’re catching it,” Weber said.

The in-person classes are canceled at the same time that the number of positive cases in Moody County are increasing. School will resume in the classrooms on Nov. 16. In the meantime, all activities are canceled, including the regional volleyball tournament, which the Fliers will forfeit.
Teachers will teach students virtually from their classrooms in the school, and attendance will be taken, Weber said. Under a plan approved at the beginning of the school year, this option is called the Red Phase.
Upper grades will follow their normal schedule, while elementary teachers will use the morning for classroom time and the afternoon for one-on-one help.
The Flandreau School Board narrowly voted down a policy last month that would have allowed students to return to school much earlier if they didn’t have symptoms, didn’t live in a home where someone was positive and wore masks the entire day. The state allowed districts to do that, and several did. The Flandreau board will discuss the issue again at its meeting on Nov. 9.
In the meantime, the district surveyed parents and staff to get their thoughts on shortening up the quarantine, and those results will be part of the discussion. Opinions are split, Weber said.
During the first quarter of the school year, 157 students stayed home to learn virtually, or one in five students. At the end of that time two weeks ago, about 40 students returned to in-classroom learning, Weber said. Those students will now return home but will have classroom instruction from their teachers rather than a more self-guided approach.
Staff spent Monday getting ready for students online, and students joined in on Tuesday.
 “I’m sure there’s going to be some bumps in the road, just like it was last March, (when classes were canceled for the remainder of the year),” Weber said. “It’s something new. Nobody has done it quite this way before. It’s something new with everyone. Teachers have been practicing with their kids in class.”
Free breakfast and lunch will continue to be available daily for pickup at the school between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Weber is not sure what to expect for numbers of families that will participate, but it is available for all students.
While school buildings are closed to students, the Boys and Girls Club of Moody County also will be closed, reopening Nov. 16. At that time, if the school district has returned to in-person learning, the club will serve kids after school from 3:30 to 7 p.m.
While closed, the club will offer virtual programs on its Facebook page and offer tutoring.
If the district extends remote learning, the club will reopen Monday through Friday and follow specific procedures of its back-to-school plan.