Michigan school district extends virtual learning period indefinitely

Public school students in Flint, Michigan, will continue virtual learning after school officials decided to extend the remote instruction period indefinitely.

Flint public schools will only offer virtual classes for the foreseeable future after the school district announced that a period of virtual instruction set to expire next week, when students were slated to return Monday, would now be indefinite.

School administration cites an increase in cases amid the winter Omicron surge. The superintendent said that more than 10 percnet of COVID-19 tests in the district are positive, an all-time high for the district, CBS Detroit reported.

According to MLive Michigan, Superintendent Kevelin Jones, who made the call to go virtual, stated: "To lower the transmission number, and to keep it low, we must actively continue distance learning until further notice."

"While this decision was not made easily, it is necessary for the greater health of our community. We know this is not an easy time for many across our district and we want you to know that you are not alone," Jones continued.

"We want to get scholars back into the buildings, but it is just not safe," Jones said in the statement. "...We are going to be catching up, educationally, for a while anyway. Most people do not understand that...We are going to have to catch up, but the world has not ended. We are going to keep going and keep educating."

Last week, the district announced that it was opening doors to students once again after about three weeks worth of virtual learning. The school district will still continue with food distributions on Tuesday and Thursday at select schools.