Parents Must Decide Distance Or In-Person For Rest Of School Year In Just Days
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — The Palm Beach County “Pediatric Positivity Rate” is raging, according to data released by the Florida Department of Health.
In the 11’s when school ended for the 2020 calendar year on December 18th, the positivity rate for children 18 and under is now 12.6 percent, suggesting significant COVID-19 spread among Palm Beach County’s younger population. The pediatric positivity rate has consistently been higher than the general positivity rate, but 12.6 percent is exceptionally high, based on Department of Health data over the past several months.
The pediatric positivity rate in Broward County is 14.0 percent. It’s 15.6 percent in Miami-Dade.
Parents of Palm Beach County public school students must decide over the next several days whether their children will take part in “distance learning” for the rest of the school year, if they’ll return to “brick and mortar” learning. Some students who have been underperforming through “distance learning” will be told that they should return for in-person education — although their parents can override that request.
Whether the rising pediatric positivity rate in Palm Beach County deters parents from sending their kids for in-person learning remains to be seen. The school district ended the 2020 calendar year with roughly 40 percent “in” school and 60 percent learning from home.
As of Saturday, January 2, 2020, the Palm Beach County School District reports 1,268 confirmed COVID-19 cases among teachers and students. The health department continues to report this data even with school closed for winter break.
School resumes on Monday following the winter break.
