Minneapolis Public Schools Return To In-Person Learning

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On Monday, all Minneapolis Public School students will be back in the classroom after more than two weeks of online learning.

The district was the first to make the switch after the holidays when the Omicron surge hit schools.

During this two-and-a-half week online learning period, the district said it ordered more masks for staff and restocked plenty of at-home testing kits for students.

Superintendent Ed Graff said the difficult decision to make the switch was mainly about staffing. He said the Omicron surge not only hit his teachers and substitutes, but also the administrative staff, supervisors for after school activities and the janitorial staff, who keeps the buildings clean.

The shortages at the beginning of January were so severe, Graff said it wasn't possible for them to be fully operational.

"Just for comparison, our teacher availability on Jan. 12 compared to Jan. 27, we went from 459 absences to yesterday we had 180 absences," Graff said. "And that's just for our licensed teachers, that's classroom licensed teachers."

As far as substitutes go, MPS had a 45% fill in rate at the beginning of January. Now the district has a 92% fill rate. So it is better prepared with backups going forward in case teachers continue to get sick.

Though MPS closed its classrooms, the doors were kept open for students who needed Wi-Fi access and free supervision. Graff said 1,500 students took advantage of it.

"Certainly academics and educating our students is at the core of what we do, but you can see through this pandemic, that it has expanded beyond that," he said. "From the mental health services we're providing, the safety and care and supervision, the activities beyond the school day, the food and the meals and the nutritional value that we bring from our food that we're providing, breakfast, lunch and after school."