Detroit Public Schools Shift To Online As COVID-19 Cases Climb

DETROIT — Detroit Public Schools are going virtual for at least the next week and a half due to COVID-19 concerns, district superintendent Nikolai Vitti announced Tuesday.

Vitti said the district will shift to online learning from Thursday through at least Jan. 14 due to the city's seven day COVID-19 infection rate exceeding 40 percent. The district was already closed through Wednesday.

"Any return to in person learning with infection rates this high, coupled with current low student and family vaccination rates, will lead to extreme levels of positive cases and quarantining that leads to staff shortages and student absenteeism," Vitti said.

Schools will distribute laptops to eligible students on Thursday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday, Monday and Tuesday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Vitti said.

The school district also announced Monday that all in-person learning students will have to submit their consent to get tested for COVID-19 by Jan. 31, or they will be automatically enrolled into the district's virtual learning school.

The school officials reminded students and staff of 10 free COVID-19 testing sites that are open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday:

• Henry Ford High School 2000 Evergreen Road Detroit, 48219
• Breithaupt Career Technical Center 9300 Hubbell Detroit 48228
• DCP at Northwestern (enter through the back of the school) 18445 Cathedral Detroit 48228
• Mumford High School 17525 Wyoming Detroit 48221
• Pershing High School 18875 Ryan Road Detroit 48234
• Brenda Scott Academy 18440 Hoover Detroit 48225
• Fisher Upper Academy 15491 Maddelein Detroit 48205
• Davis Aerospace High School 900 Dickerson Detroit 48215
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School 3200 E. Lafayette Detroit 48207
• Western High School1500 Scotten Detroit 48209