As school districts across Northwest Indiana gear up for winter break, many are announcing delays in returning to in-person learning.

Lake Central School Corp., Portage Township Schools and the School Town of Highland are among those who have announced they will do a week of online learning after the break, returning to in-person learning Jan. 11.

“We arrived at this decision after reviewing data regarding the number of students and staff members who were quarantined after Thanksgiving break as well as the number of families who self-quarantined their children this week without being a close contact,” a message sent to families by Lake Central Superintendent Larry Veracco reads.

At a school board meeting Monday, Veracco said it is possible those who have placed themselves into quarantine could be planning to see family or travel during the holiday season.

In data released Dec. 15, Lake Central School Corp. detailed seven students and 13 staff members across the district who have received positive COVID-19 test results, while 389 students and 67 staff members are in quarantine.

Portage Township Schools also announced the district will remain online after break after receiving guidance from the Porter County Health Department and analyzing the ability to adequately staff schools.

“We have decided that the best and safest course of action will be to continue learning from home through Jan. 8 with a plan for students to return to the school building on Monday, Jan. 11,” a message on the district’s website says. “Please contact your child’s school if your child has been exposed to or tested positive for COVID-19. Having this information will allow us to maintain an accurate dashboard and ensure that our students are healthy when they return to our schools in January.”

Currently, the district has 16 active COVID-19 cases and 29 active quarantines, according to the district’s dashboard.

Across the state, 2,393 new student positive cases, 413 new teacher positive cases and 615 new staff positive cases have been recorded, bringing the totals to 16,383 student cases, 3,404 teacher cases and 4,118 staff cases, according to the Indiana State Department of Health school dashboard. Porter County currently has a seven-day positivity rate of 10.5% and Lake County has a seven-day positivity rate of 14.2%.

Valparaiso Community Schools has reported 15 positive cases of COVID-19 across the district this week, and Tri Creek School Corp. has seen 11 with just over 50 quarantined individuals.

The School Town of Highland, too, announced they would return to the classroom Jan. 11, giving the district a chance to monitor staffing needs during the first week back to school.

“It will also give families who do gather for the holidays a chance to self quarantine before returning to our regular schedule,” a message from Superintendent Brian Smith said. “Over the break, please remain vigilant of symptoms and report them to your child’s school in a timely manner. We wish you all a wonderful time off and the happiest of holidays.”

Hannah Reed is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.