Webbers Falls schools switch to distance learning amid illness outbreak

Webbers Falls Public School has shifted to distance learning for the rest of the week, with plans to return to in-person classes on Monday.

Why are they closed?

The district moved classes online for the remainder of the week due to so many students and teachers being out sick. "We had 107 students that were gone yesterday and 9 staff members," Webbers Falls elementary school Principal, Ali Sanders, said about attendance on Wednesday Jan. 22, 2025.

What sickness is going around?

The district says many parents have called in saying their kids have tested positive for the flu and/or strep throat.

What dictates them closing?

Webbers Falls superintendent, Chris Whelan, said if 30% or more students are absent, the district will move to online learning days. On Jan. 22, 2025, he said 37% of students were absent from school.

What are they doing right now?

Teachers and staff members who were not sick spent the days off deep cleaning the school, similar to what they did during the COVID-19 pandemic. "We used a lot of the same protocols and stuff. We used the foggers for the classrooms, disinfecting everything, not just spraying Lysol and wiping down the desks but the pencil sharpeners, the doorknobs, anything that people are going to touch," said Principal Sanders.

How is this affecting the district?

Sanders said teachers being out sick meant they needed to find substitutes, but in a small district, many teachers wear more than one hat, meaning them calling out had a chain reaction. "We have people that are teachers but they also drive bus routes, so you know it's like if they're gone, we don't just have to find a sub but we also have to find a bus driver, so it just hit us in multiple different ways," she said.

Are other districts closed for the same reason?

Other small rural district have closed this week for similar reasons, including Porter Public Schools, Porum Public Schools and Salina Public Schools. Ponca City Public Schools closed for the same reason the week before.