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Students connect with friends outside Humphreys High School at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Aug. 26, 2019.

Students connect with friends outside Humphreys High School at Camp Humphreys, South Korea, Aug. 26, 2019. (Matthew Keeler/Stars and Stripes)

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Students at Defense Department schools in South Korea will continue virtual schooling after spring break, just like their counterparts in Japan, officials announced Thursday.

The decision was announced in a letter from Department of Defense Education Activity Korea district superintendent Jeff Arrington to students, families and staff.

“Due to the current health protection conditions, we will not be able to resume our normal operations on April 13,” Arrington’s letter said.

April 13, the scheduled day of the start of the instructional fourth quarter, will be a “professional development” workday for teachers and staff. “Virtual learning will resume on April 14,” Arrington’s letter stated.

The announcement came two days after DODEA’s schools in Japan, including Okinawa, said they, too, would remain shuttered beyond spring break “until further notice.”

DODEA’s South Korea schools have been closed with online instruction ongoing since Feb. 26.

“The health and wellness of our school community remains my priority,” Arrington’s letter stated, adding that the district will continue working with U.S. Forces Korea leadership to determine when it may be safe to reopen schools.

ornauer.dave@stripes.com Twitter: @DaveOrnauer

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Dave Ornauer has been employed by or assigned to Stars and Stripes Pacific almost continuously since March 5, 1981. He covers interservice and high school sports at DODEA-Pacific schools and manages the Pacific Storm Tracker.

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