Salt Lake City schools welcome back select elementary students for in-person learning

SALT LAKE CITY – On Monday, the Salt Lake City School District welcomed back a select number of elementary-aged students.

The Salt Lake County Health Department recently examined the latest COVID-19 data for all five school districts in the county.

The health department says the data indicates that elementary school-aged students are contracting COVID-19 at similar rates across the county, regardless of whether they are currently attending school in-person or online.

There is no statistically significant difference in COVID-19 rates for elementary aged students in Salt Lake County, meaning that even though COVID-19 cases are rising in our community at large, the risk does not increase significantly for elementary students when they attend school in person.

Back in November 2020, the Board of Education voted to offer in-person learning options for elementary students. The district says about 63% of families chose that option.

Jamie Spencer is one of those parents.

“She is so excited to be in the same room as her teacher and see her friends that she has only seen on camera,” Spencer said.

Five months into the academic year, students at Uintah Elementary School are having their first day of school. Officials say the school is taking returning to in-person learning very seriously.

“We have social distanced the desks,” Principal Bruce Simpson says. “The airflow has been cranked up to the industry standards.”

Elementary-aged students who chose in-person learning will return in phases.

The week of January 25, students in Pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade are returning to the school. On February 1, students in second and third grades will return. All other ages are on track to return during the week of February 8.