Returning to in-class instruction remains a challenging proposition for some public school districts. Notices went out this week to parents of students in two Bluegrass Counties about delaying in-person learning.
Wayne Young with the Kentucky Association of School Administrators said there’s great interest in getting back in school, but there are also health concerns. “We’re still a little bit unsettled in terms of when and how we’re going to get everybody vaccinated, particularly staff, particularly older staff. You know a lot of our bus drivers in Kentucky are older individuals. And so, without them, of course you can’t operate school very effectively in-person because you can’t get them there. You can’t get them home,” said Young.
Young added recent legislative action to modify executive branch authority and the governor’s subsequent vetoes creates some uncertainty as well.
Madison County students were scheduled to come back Wednesday on an alternating day hybrid plan. But school district spokeswoman Erin Stewart said the county’s new coronavirus case number Monday was the fourth highest in the state. Plus Stewart noted regional hospitals have been at or near capacity. Stewart said school leaders want to give the community a couple of weeks to hopefully get in a more manageable state. “And then also give our employees time to get that vaccine, that first dose. That provides them with some protection, not fully vaccinated we understand, but some protection. And then return to school in-person on our hybrid plan,” explained Stewart.
In Fayette County, parents got notice this week that remote learning in Lexington will continue through the first week of February. In the letter from Acting Schools Superintendent Marlene Helm, she wrote, quote, “If the numbers decline over the next two weeks the way they did this past week, we will be back in school during February.”?
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