On November 17 Superintendent Brad Snyder announced that all NAFCS students will not be returning to in-person school, starting on November 20. 

“Those who are on our call list know that Bill Briscoe has been very busy; my phone is going off constantly; and that should give you some indication as to the changing nature of it,” Dr. Snyder said. “As we move forward, it’s kind of our duty and our job. We have to balance and prioritize the safety needs and the health conditions of our students and our staff, as well as our parents.”

Students will be strictly virtual from November 20, the Friday prior to Thanksgiving break, until the end of the semester.

“We are going to be shifting to a total e-learning pattern beginning on this Friday, November 20, therefore Thursday, November 19th will be our last day for in-person instruction,” Dr. Snyder said. “That applies to all of our students including Prosser and the Children’s Learning Academy. All students with one exception will be eLearning. And that one exception will be our students with intense interventions.”

Check out the entire video announcement here.

Teachers will continue to report to their classrooms, with child care services being offered to teachers’ children. English teacher Kea Gwin is also a parent. 

“It makes it difficult because I know how hard it is for kids to be [virtual],” Gwin said. “I know it’s going to be hard to juggle the teaching and the kids at home, but I think it is the right move.” 

High school sports will be one of the few things that can continue, despite middle school sports and all other activities being postponed. Floyd County Health Officer Dr. Tom Harris states the number of spectators at high school sports may vary, and those attending should keep an eye on the color status of Floyd County.

“Sports shouldn’t be put above education,” junior Bulldoll Kelise Tyler said. “You don’t need sports. At the end of the day, if anything happens to you physically, you need to have an education. But, I like sports.” 

The change comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are rising across Indiana. On November 14, 8,327 cases were reported, compared to 712 cases on August 12, the first day of school. 

“We are seeing an uptake in cases,” Dr. Harris said. “We were reclassified last week from the yellow category to the orange category. Our county is closing in on the red category this week. The state seven day rolling average in Indiana has been the highest in the last seven days than at any point of the pandemic.”

Senior Ally Sharp fears the academic impact going all virtual. Typically students do better in-person, according to Education Week. 

 “I was kind of devastated,” Sharp said. “This has been my best year academically. I kind of like being able to go home and do work but also be here.” 

NAFCS is not the first district in the area to go all virtual. Greater Clark, Silver Creek, and many other schools nearby are all virtual. 

“The COVID-19 virus continues to create many hardships for our parents, our students and just really everyone in our community,” Dr. Snyder said. “No one has asked for this virus, all we can do is navigate and do what we can to keep everyone safe. We are going to continue to monitor and follow the science and look at the data and do what we can to make the best decisions for everyone out there.”