Mingus Union High School District is the only one of the Verde Valley’s school district that has stuck with remote learning until now, rather than shifting to a hybrid or in-person model for instruction. However, that may change soon, as the governing board will decide at their Feb. 11 meeting whether to return.
“The MUHS administration will be recommending a continuation of distance learning through the week of our round-two vaccinations (Feb. 15-19) followed by a return to in-person learning, possibly as early as February 22,” Mingus Superintendent Mike Westcott wrote in an email.
The board voted to return to online learning after being open for much of the fall on Nov. 19, and has not voted to renew in-person learning as other districts in the area have, citing strict adherence to Arizona Department of Health Services benchmarks, which continue to recommend virtual learning for school districts in all 15 Arizona counties due to continued increases in new COVID-19 cases, high test positivity rates for COVID-19 tests, and high levels of hospitalizations from COVID-like illnesses.
Some local school districts have begun reopening after their teachers received their first rounds of vaccinations, which began in the county on Jan. 14. Recent weeks have seen declines in new COVID cases after spikes in early January in Yavapai County and statewide, suggesting that a return to learning has not led to a new increase in spread of the virus.
