The chair of the Senate Education Committee says safety measures are available to make a return to consistent in-person learning viable in 2021.
Campbellsville Senator Max Wise said weeks of virtual learning have lots of people across Kentucky exhausted.
“I’m talking those folks in the educational system. I’m talking about families, students, guardians, grandparents, that are having to do this. And I think we have to give it a shot,” said Wise.
Wise noted it could take a number of years for students to catch up educationally. The senator said hybrid learning including a virtual option should also be available. Wise added public schools are not, quote, “super-spreaders” of coronavirus.
Many students across the Commonwealth have been home for weeks at a time taking classes virtually. But, Wise said there's a segment of students not logging in for school. “I’ve talked to teachers. I’ve talked to superintendents. They start with a class with maybe 15 students and after a couple of weeks they are down to four students and then down to one student. So, that’s troubling,” noted Wise.
In addition to loss of instruction time, Wise explained there are mental and emotional health concerns. He said the home-life situation can be uncertain. The Campbellsville senator added coronavirus is being transmitted in various locations.
Governor Beshear said this week the threat is real in schools, adding there needs to be real options when middle and high school students return to school in early January.
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