NOLA-PS to Remain in Distance Learning

Data is trending in the right direction. Next Update slated for Jan. 28

(New Orleans – January 21, 2021) – NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS) announced today that it will continue with its current distance learning model, after analyzing the latest data trends its team uses to track the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in schools across New Orleans.

"We are seeing promising data, but in-person learning citywide cannot resume just yet," NOLA-PS Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr. said. "Given these key data metrics, and our goal of prioritizing the health and safety of our students and staff, for now, we are going to keep our current distance model in place and watch the metrics over this next week, along with our medical advisors and city official, in hopes of seeing these trends continue."

NOLA-PS officials will provide an update no later than Jan. 28 after further monitoring of COVID-19 data trends.

The latest data have shown key improvements in several metrics. For example, positivity rates have significantly declined in the past two weeks, while the daily average of new cases has significantly dropped in the past 10 days. Should these trends hold steady or continue their decline, they will be encouraging signs for NOLA-PS as it considers adjusting its current distance learning model.

It is important to note that NOLA-PS does not rely on any one given metric to make its decisions. Instead, it is a combination of watching trends among several metrics – including positivity rates, new case counts, hospitalizations, and access to testing, among others – and how they relate to one another that informs the decision-making process. The District also publishes COVID-19 case counts, as self-reported by schools, in its COVID Tracker, which can be found at www.nolapublicschools.com/covidtracker.

"In my role as one of the district's medical advisors, my work is to take all these data points and aid the District in analyzing them into a full picture of our current community's health," NOLA-PS Medical Advisor Dr. Ryan Pasternak said. "This way, the District can make the best decisions, at the best time, for its students and staff. Therefore, no one metric will drive a decision for the District, and we have learned that some metrics can be acceptable at higher levels if other data are trending lower."

The District made the tough decision to limit in-person learning in schools on Jan. 4 after detecting swift spikes in several key metrics, including the citywide daily average of new COVID-19 cases and positivity rates, around the New Year's holiday which indicates high community spread of the virus.

NOLA-PS continues to be guided by its Roadmap to Reopening, which successfully led to the return of in-person learning in September. The District will continue to prioritize the health and safety of its students and staff, while setting the goal to resume in-person learning for all students as soon as possible. 

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About NOLA Public Schools: NOLA Public Schools is the public school district for Orleans Parish. It includes the district's administration and elected school board, known as the Orleans Parish School Board. NOLA Public Schools currently oversees 76 public schools and is led by Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, Jr.

For more information, visit www.nolapublicschools.com. For updates, follow NOLA Public Schools on Facebook @NOLAPublicSchools, Instagram @nolaps and Twitter @NOLAPSchools.