John Pothast
Superintendent, Humboldt Unified School District
Dear HUSD Families, December 1, 2020
Our priority has always been to balance the health and safety of our students, staff, families,
and community while still maintaining a high level of education for our students. However, the
health and safety of our staff and students is paramount, and that is what our ultimate decisions
have been, and will continue to be, based on. It is with that focus on the wellbeing of our staff
and students that we are announcing that beginning Monday, December 7, 2020, all HUSD
schools will move to Remote Learning for the remainder of the semester. Although we
know that students learn best in-person and in front of highly qualified teachers, the health and
safety of our students, staff, and families are also a priority. Please be looking for specific
information from your child’s school about successfully transitioning to our Remote Learning
environment.
While we have been closely monitoring a variety of health and safety data since July, including
state and county numbers. In addition, we have been watching “ZIP code” numbers, which are
COVID cases in just HUSD’s attendance area, which includes Prescott Valley, Dewey and
Humboldt, as well as school based numbers, which we publicly shared last week on our new
COVID-19 Dashboard. Finally, as asked by the state and local health agencies, we have been
tracking data from the three health metrics school districts are expected to use to guide
conversations around potentially moving from one learning model to another.
In tracking all of that information over the past months, we have been steadfast in our focus on
following science, the factual data, and guidance from state and local health officials in each
and every decision we make. Those metrics and data are now telling us that, in order to ensure
everyone’s safety and wellbeing, HUSD needs to shift its instructional model. As I’ve said
before, we cannot keep COVID out of our buildings. However, as the numbers in the greater
community surge, it is inevitable that more and more cases will find themselves in our schools.
Additionally, of the three health metrics school districts are tracking on the ADHS website,
Yavapai County had its second metric turn Red yesterday. When looking at those metrics in
“real time”, which is what the YCCHS website tracks, all three are now in Red. After
consultation with the Yavapai County Health Department, it is recommended that we return to
our Remote Learning model, and this transition also follows HUSD’s board-approved
Roadmap to Reopening Schools and recommendations from AZDHS.
I know this is challenging for staff, students, and parents alike. As I have stated, my hope was
to be able to continue with in-person learning through the semester, but our data is now telling
us, as well as guidance from health officials, that moving to Remote Learning is the best for the
safety and wellbeing of not only our staff and students, but our greater community as well. I
am confident that our teachers will continue to provide the highest quality learning experience
for each and every one of our students during our Remote Learning time.
We are hopeful that we will be able to return to in-person learning at some point after winter
break, but as we have been experiencing, COVID is making things extremely unpredictable and
fluid. We will continue to monitor all of our community health metric closely over the coming
weeks and will remain in communication with staff and families.
We care deeply about our HUSD family and want to make sure that we do our very best to
keep everyone safe. Although it has been said many times, these continue to be challenging
times. We truly appreciate your understanding, patience, and flexibility as we continue to
provide a quality educational opportunity for our students, while also ensuring the safety and
wellbeing of our staff and students.
Best wishes from your HUSD family.
