KANSAS CITY, KAN. — The order from the Kansas governor to close all school buildings for the rest of the academic year caught many students and parents by surprise.
"I don't think I'm prepared at all. That speaks for a lot of my classmates, because they're all as confused as I am," Manniya Taylor, a sophomore at Sumner Academy of Arts & Science, told 41 Action News.
Taylor takes advanced classes and is concerned how online learning plans will address students needs.
"When you're in school, you can stop the teacher during class or ask after school about how you need them to explain something," Taylor said, "but now that it's at home, you don't know if they're going to be able to answer all the students' questions, and you don't know if they're going to be able to get back to you."
Taylor's brother, Emanule, is about to graduate.
"I think that if they know that they'll get their day to graduate and walk across that stage and maybe even have their prom, I think that they would be OK with finishing the school year at home," Tscher "CeCe" Manck, Taylor's mom, said.
But she doesn't know whether her son will get to enjoy it.
"My son is in band, so they'll spread out," Manck said. "They're going, they got scholarships to different colleges, and stuff like that, so they won't get to see some of them. So they – these are their last times to really hang out with one another like that. And considering we're not supposed to congregate, are they going to get that time before they go off?"
KCKPS posted this message:
Dear KCKPS Families and Staff,
Just a short time ago, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued an order to cease in-person instruction for the remainder of the school year. We will continue to work collaboratively with all local and state agencies to protect health and well-being of all our students and staff to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In the coming days, we will implement a plan for continuous learning through guidance from the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) to ensure learning continues during these challenging times. In addition to implementing the continuous learning plan, the district will also provide information about continuous availability of meals for our students.
To our staff, we are also working on what continual learning looks like across our district and the whole state. We will need everyone’s patience as we work through how we deliver education to our students. Work will look different for some, but the work will continue. Please know we are working as fast as we can to address your concerns.
We thank you in advance for understanding that the preparation and execution of these plans takes time in order to be effective.
The district strongly encourages social distancing during this time, and we remind you all that staying safe is important. Remember to visit www.kckps.org for the most updated information related to COVID-19 and its impact on the district.
In addition, KSDE will be releasing additional information about continuous learning at 5pm on Wednesday. We will keep everyone updated.
Posted March 17, 2020
