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Students in Butler County – both public and private – returned to school this week via virtual learning.

For Butler County School students, Superintendent Joe Eiland announced before winter break that students would move to virtual learning from home Jan. 5, 2021 to Jan. 15, 2021.

Butler County is currently consider a high-risk county for contraction of COVID-19.

“As an ongoing effort to protect the health and safety of students and staff members, Butler County School System students will not return to in-school instruction following the winter holiday break,” Eiland said.

Parents should have received phone call from children’s principals with instructions for those who are normally in-class students. Those who elected to learn virtually at the beginning of the school year, should continue their normal schedules.

At Fort Dale Academy, students are studying virtually this week, and students will return to school on Jan. 11 for in-person classes.

“After much prayer, petition and many conversations with you all as well as front-lone experts from various fields, I believe the best plan for return will require us to push back actual in-person learning experience to Jan. 11, 2021,” said David Sikes, headmaster of FDA.

Students in grades first through sixth received a daily schedule from their homeroom teacher with times for logging into Google classroom.

Students in grades seven through 12 were required to log-on to the class during their normally scheduled time.

“I realize this is not something we want to have to do,” Sikes said. “However, the safety of our students and staff is of utmost importance.”