Pike Township warns of bus delays; 8 IPS schools go virtual

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Classroom changes are impacting students across Central Indiana.

Some Indianapolis Public Schools student will be logging on from home, while Pike Township Schools will have students back into the buildings.

The Pike Township district has warned about possible bus issues Thursday. This comes after students were in remote learning because of required isolations by bus drivers from COVID-19.

While eight IPS middle and high schools return to remote learning.

The impacted high schools are Arsenal Tech, Crispus Attucks, George Washington and Shortridge. The middle schools are Arlington, Harshman, Longfellow Medical/Stem and Northwest.

IPS said the move is due to a high number of their staff being absent from Covid-19.

WISH-TV medical expert and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams explained how to keep schools open.

“One of the reasons they’re closing schools is because teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers are actually coming down with COVID and test to stay doesn’t help them,” said Adams. “What helps them is high vaccination rates within schools and surrounding communities and the use of better protective mechanisms like N95 masks. We got to use all these layers to keep our kids in school.”

According to Dr. Adams, the number of COVID-19 cases in kids has doubled since the Delta variant and we are at peak of pediatric hospitalizations during the entire pandemic.

IPS elementary school will remain in-person.

The district said the goal is to return to in-person classes Wednesday.