As COVID-19 reaches its peak, Sioux Falls begins to waver on the thin line between remaining open or shutting down. Every aspect of the city has taken a blow, especially schools. As case numbers rise to a new extreme, schools across the board have taken different measures to preserve staff and students’ safety.

Despite a mask mandate and a strict close contact policy, schools still remain a heavy hotspot for COVID-19. Gloria Dei preschool proves this to be true. Over the last week, the preschool has officially closed its doors and will hold off on reopening until their case numbers drop.

Diane Dobbs, and everyone else tied to the preschool, will go on a two-week hiatus in hopes that the school’s case numbers fall and they can return to their somewhat normal routine. Dobbs acknowledges the struggle on account of the absence of school and is counting down the days until she and her students are allowed back in the classroom. 

“The biggest struggle for preschoolers being out of school is not keeping a consistent routine,” said Dobbs. “They can backslide quickly without keeping up with learning and being in the classroom. For many of the kids, they are losing their first experience at independence along with a place to make new friends.”

This shift in learning is difficult, but not foreign to anyone, as Gloria Dei preschool and schools all throughout the state came to a lengthy intermission last March. Although many sacrifices must be made in order to conduct schooling at a distance, Dobbs believes this is for the best.

“After a few of the teachers got positive test results, we knew that closing was the best decision,” said Dobbs. We always try our hardest to keep the kids and their families safe and healthy while doing our part to stop the spread of Covid. ”

Regardless of the uncertainty and lack of concrete answers, the staff at Gloria Dei has exhausted all efforts to make this outlandish school year more tolerable. 

“We have changed some things to limit close interactions, which has changed the normal way of how we do things, but it also makes us think outside of the box,” said Dobbs. “I believe we have done a great job at keeping preschool as ‘normal’ as possible for the kids this year.”