KANSAS CITY, Mo. — All students of Unified School District No. 232 will attend some classes in-person this fall after school officials announced they are changing the back-to-school plan and adopting a district-wide hybrid learning model.
USD 232 includes students from De Soto, Shawnee, Lenexa and Olathe.
The district’s board of education “took action” at a special meeting that lasted more than five hours Monday night to enact the hybrid model for students grades K-12.
The board opted to use a portion of the Kansas School Gating Criteria to make its decision, replacing the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment’s gating criteria it previously adopted on Aug. 3.
The Kansas School Gating Criteria was created by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Department of Education and the Kansas COVID Workgroup for Kids.
It includes four levels of learning restriction: green, yellow, orange and red. Red indicates the most restrictive learning environment.
The USD 232 board selected the yellow category Monday night, meaning all students will have the option to learn in a hybrid model — a mixture of in-person and remote learning.
Elementary-aged students could attend more on-site instruction in that zone.
School activities will continue, following guidance from the Kansas State High School Activities Association, the district said.
USD 232 parent and student groups advocated for such a plan.
A group of high school students formed the Student Coronavirus Response Coalition and presented its argument for in-person school at the meeting Monday night.
Brent Smith, a senior at De Soto High School, said the board's decision was exactly what they wanted.
"People are going to be looking at us for guidance because we are the only ones going in person. But I'm glad our district decided to be different. I'm glad our district put our students first," Smith said. "'Cause in my opinion, I think the other districts, honestly, ran scared."
The group said the negative effects of staying home to learn will far outweigh the potential negative effects of going to school. Smith pointed to social and emotional well-being, mental health issues, violence at home, and missing out on a full educational experience.
Smith said their argument also came down to COVID-19 statistics for children. The group used information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that says children are at a much lower risk of contracting, transmitting, and dying from the virus.
According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, no one 18 and younger has died from the virus.
KDHE has recorded 3,484 cases among children in the 0 to 17 age range.
"I think our group had a major impact on the decision for students to go to school in person," Smith said. "For all the people who say that young kids can't have impact — well, I think our group is proof that we can."
The board also asked the district administration to create a COVID-19 Advisory Committee, which will meet on a “regular basis” to evaluate risk and use the state gating criteria to make school decisions.
Many other districts in Johnson County have opted for hybrid learning as well, though only for elementary school students, who are easier to “cohort” into groups and track movement.
In those districts, middle and high schoolers are beginning the school year virtually.
Some districts have also canceled or postponed fall activities and athletics, while others will make those decisions on a week-by-week basis.
USD 232 parents who wish to change their child’s learning model must do so by 5 p.m. Thursday.
The district’s first day of school is Wednesday, Sept. 9, with kindergartners, sixth and ninth graders reporting for a half day on Sept. 8.
—
