By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
As the Kansas State Board of Education is finalizing its guidelines for schools across the state this week, the Ellis USD 388 Board of Education discussed what the school year could look like in their district.
While waiting for guidance from the KSB and with and eye on other districts, Superintendent Cory Burton shared with the board some of the ongoing difficulties in planning the year.
"I'm a little bit nervous based on the national conversations that are going on," Burton said. "I think people are going to get more nervous about going back to school than less nervous."
A survey was sent out to parents in the district in the last two weeks, which indicated a majority believe school should reopen in a regular manner. But as COVID-19 cases in the area grew, Burton said he believes more parents might change their opinion.
"I think this will be fluid," he said.
At the time of the survey, 77.1 percent of respondents said their preference was that students attend school in person — with 45.5 percent saying they are "very comfortable" sending their children to school in person.
Based on the growing number of COVID-19 cases, Burton said another survey will need to be completed.
Staff feedback will also be solicited this week.
Those further surveys will help the district determine how the year is planned.
"For sure within two weeks, we are going to need to relook at our parents and start to ask the question about what they think they are going to do," Burton said. "As we look at options for kids, especially if you are talking about an online option versus a physical onsite option, which we will need to provide in some fashion, we need to start having an understanding of what that is. We need to know. Are we talking about 50 kids that want to do nothing but online learning right now or do we have 10?"
Keeping students enrolled in the district, whether online or in-person will benefit the district in the long term, Burton said, so it is important for the district to have a viable online-only option those who want it.
"We could just say go enroll in K-12 education through the Lawerence Online Academy, but then they become their student and we will lose that student," Burton said. "We need to provide a way to provide that instruction and keep them as our students."
But even if the majority of students begin the year attending in-person classes, Burton said the district needs to be ready to shift entirely online at any time, noting a plan that allows for any possibility will allow the student to have a cohesive academic year.
"As long as we are in control of that, we will have a better understanding of where the kid is at," Burton said.
On top of the educational concerns, the impact on parents was also discussed by the board.
"If you don't go for a 5-day-a-week where you are open, I know trying to find ways or places for those kids to go ... it's almost impossible to find something to do for those kids," Board President Jared Schiel said. "I worry about it because there isn't enough daycare space and that means you have kids staying at home that probably shouldn't be."
"We are going to have to balance it all," Burton said, noting students likely not getting the education they need outside of the classroom.
And parents, he said, might not have the time to ensure students at home learning are receiving the education they need, as parents may not have the time to dedicate to children learning as a full school year begins and educational requirements will be less lenient that when schools closed in the fall.
"With virtual school, it takes a really dedicated parent to be with that kid a lot of the time to make them successful," Burton said. "A lot of grace was given last year, that won't be the case this year.
Finding the balance between safety and good education is where the focus should be, he said.
"Our goal will be two-fold," Burton said. "We want to provide the best education we can to our kids in the safest manner. If you look at our mission statement, those two words are in it. ... Those will have to be our focus as we wrap up and make our final plans."
While planning the year is ongoing, the district is also looking at ways to ensure enrollment is done safely, including the possibility of enrollment by mail, Burton said.
And parent-teacher conferences might also be held online for safety reasons.
Burton said he would share the state guidelines Thursday with the board after review.
An extra board meeting is set to take place to review those plans and the results of the new surveys in the next few weeks.
Other board actions:
- The open position on the BOE remains unfilled as no applications were received.
- The board administrative positions were approved by the board with no changes from last year.
- The board president and vice president positions were approved with no changes from last year.
- The board discussed final plans for graduation.