Lee’s Summit changes back-to-school plan, allows some students to return to classroom
All but the youngest children in the Lee’s Summit school district will start the school year online only.
Despite hundreds of parents protesting last week for district officials to allow all students to come back to classrooms, the school board voted 5-2 Tuesday to only allow pre-kindergarten through third-grade students in schools for now, starting Sept. 8. Health officials have said the youngest children are the least likely to spread the virus.
The district plans to bring students back to school buildings in phases, depending on the level of COVID-19 and based on Jackson County Health Department guidance.
Superintendent David Buck said the district will meet with health officials weekly and be ready to move to the next level of in-person attendance within two weeks after getting the green light from the county.
The next phase will be a hybrid model for students in grades four through 12. They will attend classes in person two days a week and online three days a week, so that fewer people are in school buildings on any given day. On Wednesdays all students will be online. All teachers, even the 21% who applied to teach virtually, will be in the classroom every day.
Board members Judy Hedrick and Megan Marshall voted against the change.
“I find it hard to justify putting toddlers and our young ones in buildings, putting them at risk while we protect the older ones,” Marshall said. “If we are going to err on the side of caution we got to protect the babies too.”
Board members Ryan Murdock, Kim Fritchie, Julie Doane, Kathy Campbell and Mike Allen voted in favor of the change.
“We are in a very fluid time with a lot of uncertainty,” said Campbell. “I think we have a good plan.”
Earlier this month officials asked parents to choose a learning option, full-time in person or full-time virtual. About 79% of parents chose in-person.
But because of the rise of virus cases in the area, the school board on Aug. 6 said it would have all grades taught online for the first few weeks of school or until health officials said it’s safe to bring students and teachers into classrooms. They also said that could change.
“This is a temporary decision,” Buck said at Tuesday’s meeting. “This is a temporary pandemic that hopefully will be in our rear-view mirror soon.”
Members of the parent group Open Our Schools, which protested in front of the district administration building last week, said they are worried about the quality of education their children get online, 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 children with schoolwork at the same time.
Parents said there will be an uptick in child suicides and drug use because their kids have been out of school too long, miss their friends and are depressed.
Board members discussed how their decision might affect the mental health of students.
“We are trying to follow the research and the guidance of health officials,” Buck said. He said that while some students may suffer because they are home, others may feel uneasy about returning to classrooms in the midst of a pandemic.
“COVID is the mental health issue,” Buck said, “not whether students come back to school or not.”
The board’s vote comes as districts across the Kansas City area are shifting plans for the start of school. In Johnson County, for example, while Shawnee Mission is staying fully online, Blue Valley, Olathe and De Soto decided to offer a mix of online and in-person classes. Independence schools opened for all grade levels on Monday, though older students will learn online part of the week. Center students start back Wednesday, online only.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 9:14 PM.
