Shawnee Mission to start school with online-only classes, suspend all sports
Following guidance from Johnson County health officials, the Shawnee Mission district will begin the school year with all students in online classes, officials announced Tuesday.
In addition, the district will suspend all sports and activities after Friday, officials said.
Along with other major districts in the county, Shawnee Mission delayed the start of school until after Labor Day due to rising COVID-19 cases. But it waited to decide whether to bring students back to classrooms until county health officials offered a final recommendation.
In a message to staff and parents on Tuesday, Superintendent Mike Fulton said the district would follow the health department’s guidance. He said the decision “is being made to do everything possible to keep students, staff and their families safe and healthy.”
“Please know that this is not the outcome that any of us hoped for when we began planning for the opening of schools this past spring,” Fulton said in a news release.
Last month, the Johnson County health department released guidance to school districts on how to determine when it is safe to bring students back to class. It includes several reopening phases based on key metrics, including the positivity rate — which is the average percentage of positive COVID-19 tests over a 14-day period.
The positivity rate was 11.4% on Tuesday. Officials said that puts Johnson County in the “red” zone, meaning remote learning is recommended, with no in-person sports or other activities.
The Shawnee Mission district had been planning for three learning models this year: in person, online or a hybrid of the two, where students could go to class part of the week and learn online during the rest.
“While starting remotely is in the best interest of students and staff, the intent is that, as county data improve, Shawnee Mission School District can transition to the hybrid model, where students attend school in-person twice a week,” officials said in the release. “The ultimate goal is to eventually transition to full in-person learning for all students, as county health conditions allow.”
The De Soto district also will begin the school year with remote classes. Other Johnson County districts are poised to decide how to begin the school year in the coming days. Tuesday evening, the Blue Valley school board will meet to discuss their decision.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 5:06 PM.
