‘Open Our Schools’ parent group protests as Lee’s Summit district moves online again
Some Lee’s Summit parents are demanding their kids be allowed to go to school in person, but district officials insist they will follow health officials’ recommendations and have class online only.
The parents have been voicing their concerns in a Facebook group, “Open Our Schools,” and organized a rally for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday outside administration offices to protest the district’s decision.
The school board voted Aug. 6 to have the district teach all grades online for the first few weeks of school, which will start Sept. 8. They will wait until Jackson County health officials tell them it’s safe to bring students and teachers into classrooms.
“In-person instruction is vital to educational and emotional health and development of students in the Jackson County community,” the group posted on Facebook. “We support and encourage options for those who choose to stay home, may have underlying health conditions which require home schooling or live with someone who does, but do not believe forcing the majority into submission of a virtual learning curve is the best or right answer.“
District officials said the decision is not final until after Aug. 25 because the spread of COVID-19 has been constantly changing. “We are eager and ready to provide in-person education as soon as our public health experts say it is safe to do so,” said Katy Bergen, district spokeswoman. She said that most likely won’t be until the rate of positive cases in the area declines.
Since mid-July, officials have said the district would offer three learning options — full-time in person, full-time virtual or a hybrid of the two, based on Jackson County Health Department guidance.
Many other area districts are also allowing parents to choose from among those options. But some, like Lee’s Summit, are waiting to use all the options.
Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools will be online for at least the first nine weeks. Kansas City Public Schools said that when the number of coronavirus cases has declined for 14 consecutive days, the district will start bringing students back in phases, wearing masks and practicing social distancing. Many other districts plan to start the year with some in-person, some online, but that could change depending on health officials’ recommendations.
Lee’s Summit has no time frame for when its students will be allowed back in classrooms, but officials said that it will happen in phases. Students in pre-K through third grade will be the first because health officials have said the youngest children are the least likely to spread the virus. High school students will be the last to return.
The parent group points to a district survey in late June in which more than 71% said they preferred in-person school. But district officials said this is not a majority rule scenario because it was always predicated on guidance from health officials.
Some parents said they worry about the quality of education their children get, as well as mental health, after they already took classes online for months this spring. Other parents said it’s too hard to work from home and help their child with schoolwork at the same time.
“As a single parent with a single income, I cannot voice how incredibly difficult it was to work full time, school full time, do my own schooling, and still be a parent … let alone how hard it was for a 5-year-old to learn from a computer,” said Amanda Garlich, who plans to participate in the rally.
“I personally want my child in five days a week of in-person classes. But I understand that some parents wish to keep their kids home and feel that it is what is best for their child. I have no qualms about offering both options to parents. I am calling for the choice to be given to us as it originally was.”
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
