First of Johnson County’s big districts to allow all students in classrooms full time
For the first time this school year, the Olathe school district will allow all students to return to the classroom full time, starting next month.
It’s the first of Johnson County’s largest districts to announce that students in middle school and high school will be allowed in classrooms five days a week, just like elementary school students have been doing. The smaller Spring Hill district and De Soto district allowed secondary students to return to full-time, in-person learning on Feb. 1.
In other districts in the county, older students are learning in a hybrid format, sitting in classrooms for part of the week and taking online classes the rest of the time.
School districts have eased in and out of having their older students learn online only and in the hybrid format, depending on COVID-19 case counts and ability to staff in-person classes. Last month, after the holidays, Olathe, Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley returned to the hybrid format.
But on Thursday, the Olathe school board voted 5-2 to allow secondary students to return to full-time, in-person learning on March 1.
“It’s important to note that this decision by the board was not made lightly,” Superintendent John Allison said in an email to the community. He said board members based the decision on, “declining community numbers, internal numbers including low absence rates, declining COVID-19 numbers in our school, and limited spread within our buildings.”
The news comes as teachers are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in the county, though supplies are limited. As part of the school board vote, members agreed that teachers who want out of their current contracts because of COVID-19 concerns can do so without penalty.
Johnson County has been reporting a declining number of new coronavirus cases. On Friday, the county’s positivity rate — or the number of positive cases over the past 14 days — was 6.8%. That’s down from a high of more than 15% last fall.
The incidence rate — or the number of new cases per 100,000 people — was 295, down from more than 800 in late fall.
Last week, the Olathe school district reported 61 new COVID-19 cases, and 339 individuals were in quarantine after being exposed to the virus.
“Providing the best quality educational experiences for our students, while balancing the safety and health of our students, staff, and families, is a priority. We will continue to review numbers regularly and watch for trends within our buildings,” Allison said. “Please do your part to help us by continuing to wear a mask, wash your hands, stay home when you are sick, keep your children home when they are sick and practice social distancing.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 12:22 PM.
