Cody schools are shut down until April 3rd. And possibly longer.
Last night, the Cody School Board, school administrators, and Cody health professionals met in an emergency board meeting to discuss the closure of the district in response to the COVID-19 virus reaching Wyoming and, inevitably, reaching Cody. It was during the meeting that Governor Gordon and state schools superintendent Jillian Balow recommended that all schools in Wyoming close down until at least April 3rd. With this news, the Cody School Board decided to follow the recommendation of the governor.
From today until April 3rd, the school buildings will be closed to everyone except essential staff. That means that only school administrators, office staff, and custodial staff will be allowed entry into the school. The Board will be meeting again Tuesday night, and likely many other times this week in order to develop a further strategy for students and teachers alike. This closure could go on longer, but it is still too early to determine if this will be the case.
This development is not as much for student safety as it is for the well-being of the community at large. Children and teenagers are typically not affected by COVID-19. They might not even show symptoms. But they are vectors, just as we all are. And they might transmit it to the most vulnerable among us.
The board wants to stress that this is not a break, nor an opportunity for vacations or frivolous use of students’ time. This is an unprecedented turn of the events, and Cody schools are not the only one reeling from these recent developments. Teachers will be developing ways to continue teaching, either thru online teaching or worksheet packets that will be delivered to students. Seniors still need to graduate and work needs to continue. And those are the difficult tasks ahead that need to and will be sorted out.
Information will be posted on the District’s website and Facebook page as soon as it is available. And, of course, you can continue following KODI for updates.
