By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


All students attending Fenton Area Public Schools this upcoming year will begin with remote learning. Fenton Superintendent Adam Hartley has recently announced that the district will not be holding classes in buildings until October 1st.

Students and families have a choice for the upcoming year between in-person and remote education, but face-to-face instruction for those who choose that path is being delayed, according to the Tri County Times. Hartley said this decision came after a tremendous amount of thought and discussion over the summer. A letter sent out parents addressed several factors involved in the decision to go remote. It was stated that there are many factors from students, parents and staff regarding safety measures that they feel can’t be answered in a clear and confident way in time for the August 25th start date.

With cases of COVID-19 rising again, the letter states that there is a strong likelihood that if that trend continues, they could be downgraded to phase 3 in the governor’s MI Safe Start Plan and be forced to close buildings again. Fenton Schools’ officials also believe staff and teacher training for the changes in learning this year is critical. It is also believed that this delayed return to face-to-face learning will allow staff and students to have a more consistent and stable learning environment to begin the year with.

More details regarding the district’s virtual plans will be discussed at the Fenton Board of Education’s meeting on Monday. The board will also seek to approve the district’s Return to School Plan at that time.