Covid-19 Update: Moorhead and DGF Schools Closed Immediately.

MOORHEAD, MN — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has ordered the temporary shutdown of public schools to allow administrators and teachers to make plans for switching to distance learning as the number of people with COVID-19 increases.

Schools will be closed to kindergarten through 12th grade students by Wednesday and will remain shut down through March 27.

Moorhead Public Schools decided to close immediately.

Moorhead Schools will be closed Monday, March 16, 2020 through Friday, March 27, 2020.

School will resume via distance learning delivery beginning Monday, March 30, 2020.have called an afternoon briefing to announce their plans.

D-G-F Public Schools will also close immediately.

They posted the details on the District’s Facebook page:

Today Governor Walz closed schools from March 18th through March 27th. DGF will be closed March 16th-17th as well to allow all employees to work on distance learning plans for our students beginning March 30th. Once our distance learning plan is finalized we will communicate that with you.

All DGF activities, ECFE, Community Education, and facility usage are cancelled until further notice. Information will be shared tomorrow with parents on when students are able to access the buildings to pick up educational material. Unless it is a critical need, please refrain from accessing the buildings.

We are aware that there are many more questions and concerns. We are working today with the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Education and will send out additional information as it becomes available.

The number of cases in Minnesota rose to 35 as of Sunday morning, up 14 from Saturday.

Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm says most have identified sources of exposure.

But she didn’t rule out that some may cases may involve community spread. The vast majority of people infected with the new coronavirus recover with in weeks.

Here is the complete statement from Moorhead Public Schools:

Since the health and safety of our student is our top priority, Moorhead Area Public Schools will be closing schools immediately to mitigate any risk of COVID-19 spread.

Moorhead Area Public Schools continues to follow the advice of the state and local experts as we monitor the COVID-19 situation. Today, Governor Tim Walz and Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker announced that all Minnesota public schools will close to students starting Wednesday, March 18, 2020 with the plan to resume some form of instruction on Monday, March 30, 2020.

During the school closure for students, Moorhead Area Public Schools is working to create plans to equitably distribute distance learning to our students should we need to close schools statewide for a longer period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Minnesota Department of Education is defining distance learning to mean that a student receives daily interaction with their licensed teacher(s) and appropriate educational materials. 

The Moorhead Area Public Schools leadership team is working diligently to put together a strong operational strategy. Superintendent Brandon Lunak stated, “This is unprecedented times, but we are committed that every staff and student will be put in the place to be safe. We are committed that every child will be given the opportunity to get a healthy meal. We are committed that every child will receive a high quality education.”

Moorhead schools educators will be giving thoughtful planning to our distance-learning plan, offering careful consideration for students in a variety of areas, including students receiving special education services, multilingual learners, students experiencing homelessness and students who rely on meals served at school.

The district is also working on a plan to provide Daycare services for Health Care Workers, Police, Fire, First Responders and other emergency personal. More information will be shared with the public as these plans are finalized.

Superintendent Lunak commented, “What we know about our community is that we pull together in challenging times; we care for our neighbors and we never back down from a challenge. Educators are truly public servants and the work that we are doing now is the right thing for our community. I have confidence that we have the best team in place to face this unprecedented challenge together.”