Detroit Schools Pause Return, Announce COVID-19 Testing Changes

DETROIT — Detroit Public Schools canceled all classes Monday through Wednesday due to COVID-19 concerns, and said it will update information for Thursday and Friday on Wednesday, superintendent Nikolai Vitti said in a statement.

The school district also announced Friday 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.

"Currently, 65% of students have submitted their consent to COVID test through their families. We need this number to be 100%," Vitti said.

COVID-19 cases are at all-time highs across Michigan, including Detroit, where it has a 36 percent infection rate, Vitti said.

"This high rate of infection will inevitably mean that a return to in person learning on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, with nearly 8,000 employees and partners and nearly 50,000 students will lead to extensive COVID spread placing employees, students, and families at risk along with excessive staff shortages due to positive and close contact scenarios," Vitti said.

Employees were required to test Monday and Tuesday, and students also are encouraged to test. The district has set up 10 free testing sites:

• Henry Ford High School
• Breithaupt Career Technical Center
• DCP at Northwestern (enter through the back of the school)
• Mumford High School
• Pershing High School
• Brenda Scott Academy
• Fisher Upper Academy
• Davis Aerospace High School
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Senior High School
• Western High School

If the school district temporarily shifts to online learning due to high infection rates, the students will use their Connected Future devices, which was a previously issued laptop loaner or personal cell phone to join their classes via Teams, Vitti said.

If a student is new to the district, has lost or broken their device, or does not have access to their own computer or the internet, the student’s school will provide options for checking out a laptop for online learning days. A signature will be required by the students parent or guardian.