‘I would much rather be in the classroom.’ Lee’s Summit prepares Sept. 8 start date

This story was updated after the board’s Aug. 25 vote.

The pandemic has many people nervous, especially with school start dates getting closer. And the upward trajectory of COVID-19 case numbers in many areas has some teachers in Lee’s Summit concerned about safety in the classroom.

The Lee’s Summit R-7 Schools Board of Education District voted Aug. 25 to provide full-time, in-person learning for children in pre- kindergarten through grade 3 and virtual instruction for grades 4-12, though some parents in the city are protesting, saying they believe it’s best for the kids’ well-being to be in school.

Students begin school five days a week on Sept. 8. Pre-K students report four days a week as usual, and kids in kindergarten through grade three will start five days a week in person. Students in grades 4-12 will begin school in a virtual model on Sept. 8 until community spread is under control.

“Personally, I was relieved. I feel quite a few of our colleagues were relieved as well. It gives us a little bit of time to sit down with our colleagues and collaborate and get our heads around what it will look like if we are virtual,” said Heather Crain, president of Lee’s Summit’s chapter of the National Education Association and a teacher at Summit Lakes Middle School.

Crain knows that a return in person presents difficulties.

“First and foremost is the struggle we’re going to have socially distancing kids. The recommendation is six feet. I think we’re trying to go for three feet. Teachers are a little stressed about the cleaning and making sure they’re doing it well enough,” Crain said.

Crain has taught health classes online for years as part of the district’s virtual school program. Although it’s possible to teach kids online, “personally, I would much rather be in the classroom with the kiddos,” she said.

According to Crain, teachers, especially those who are immunocompromised, have had the opportunity to apply to teach only as part of the online school.

“The district is really trying to work with those individual that do have heath issues,” she said.

The Missouri NEA conducted a survey of 24,000 teachers and other school staff on how they feel about school reopening.

More than 80% of respondents said they are very or extremely stressed compared to last year and expect a much bigger workload. In the Kansas City area, 43.8% felt like they were not informed at all or not very informed about their school’s reopening plan.

“Most educators do not feel like they have a clear understanding of what the policies and procedures are if we find out in the middle of school day that a student has COVID-19 or has been exposed,” said Mark Jones, communications director for Missouri’s NEA.

Lee’s Summit, like other districts, has provided details of its plan online, available at www3.lsr7.org/reopening, but Jones said, “a lot of these school safety plans that are put in place have not been tested.” And that’s part of what is leading to educators’ worries.

Crain acknowledged that she is concerned about teachers and students getting infected.

“Nobody wants to lose a colleague. We know that teenagers are transmitting (the disease) just as easily as adults are,” she said.

Ideally, she supports a hybrid model that gets students physically in school but allows for better social distancing. So far, she said, they’ve planned to extend time between classes to allow for cleaning.

Crain said she’s giving the benefit of the doubt to new superintendent David Buck, who recently faced criticism for a recent newsletter he sent out that some felt was too lighthearted and contained too many grammatical errors.

“With that initial letter, I think it was more of a ‘let’s get excited to bring our kids back to school.’ It’s hard to read to read intent in an email,” Crain said.

This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 7:00 AM.