Area schools are making the switch to virtual learning amid the current spike in COVID-19 cases.

Brookhaven School District

Due to a spike in coronavirus cases, the Brookhaven School District switched to virtual learning Nov. 10 and will conclude Nov. 20, with students returning to campus Nov. 30.

Deputy Superintendent Danny Rushing stated it’s not a district wide switch.

“It’s just for the high school,” Rushing said. “We looked at different cases that we had Monday morning and we looked at Mississippi Department of Education guidelines and then made the decision.”

As of now, students in grades kindergarten through eighth are still following their regular schedule.

The district began distributing Google Chromebooks today and will continue Thursday through Saturday. Students in grades seventh through twelfth are eligible to receive a Chromebook for individual use.

As for free and reduced meals, high school students can still pick up breakfast and lunch during the switch at the Fannie Mullins campus.

For more updates, go to brookhavenschools.org.

Lincoln County

Lincoln County School District Superintendent David Martin said his district hasn’t been forced to shut down as of yet.

“It’s always a possibility, but it’s not a plan right now,” Martin said.

While LCSD has protocol in place in the event of a switch to virtual learning, it isn’t the case at the moment.

“But if it gets to that point then that’s when we’ll look it,” Martin said. “Right now our numbers aren’t looking that way right now.”

Martin said the district will continue with its current schedule of in-person students attending class Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesday will still be set aside for cleaning, along with bringing in at-home students for testing.

“We’re monitoring our umbers and we’re looking pretty decent,” Martin said. “As of right now our numbers don’t indicate that.”

 Lawrence County

 Lawrence County School District Superintendent Assistant Twyla Oakes said the switch to virtual learning is district-wide.

Due to a spike in coronavirus cases within the district, LCSD will be switching to virtual learning starting Nov. 11. Students will return to campus Nov. 30.

“It was due to a spike in cases as well as the increase in quarantines associated with those spikes in cases,” Oakes said.

The district has already distributed iPads for grades kindergarten through second.

“We’ll hopefully start distributing laptops soon, but we haven’t received them yet,” Oakes said regarding options for the high school students.

Lawrence County High School was already using a hybrid schedule, which involved both traditional and virtual school days.

“We did virtual learning in August, so a system is already in place,” Oakes said. “Our students already have experience in virtual learning, it’s not as big a transition for us as it was in August. They are more accustomed to it.”

Students will still be able to obtain meals during the switch to virtual learning. The details for that have not been finalized since the decision was made today, according to Oakes.

Options for students may include grab and go and/or delivery. Oakes said the food service is working with the transportation department at this time.

“There will be provisions made for feeding our students,” Oakes said.