Pierre high school moves to partial online instruction

The Pierre School Board Friday approved a plan to move T-F Riggs High School to a hybrid mode that alternates in-school attendance with online virtual learning. Students will be in the classroom two days a week on an alternating basis.

Schedules for the middle and grade schools will remain normal.

As of Friday, 18 Pierre high school students had active cases of COVID-19 and five others had recovered. School officials say many more students are in quarantine because they were close contacts of the positive cases. So far, no staff members have tested positive.

District officials estimate mask use at the start of the school year was around 50-percent, but has dropped significantly. Board members expressed concern over the use of masks but did not move to a face covering requirement.

September 21, 2020