Staff report
Gov. Andy Beshear advised the commonwealth’s education leaders to keep facilities closed to in-person instruction for the rest of the school year.
“Every health care professional has advised us that this is the right course of action to take,” the Governor said of the state’s continuing efforts to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).
Northern Kentucky school systems started notifying parents on Monday afternoon that schools would not re-open to students this school year. Non-Traditional instruction will continue.
Gov. Beshear noted that same advice was being followed in many states, including Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee.
He said the move is in line with newly released guidelines from the White House as well as Kentucky’s own newly announced benchmarks that the Commonwealth must meet in order to start reopening the state’s economy while keeping Kentuckians safe from the novel coronavirus.
“I know for many this is hard,” the Governor said. “We have seniors who were looking forward to an in-person graduation and a prom. I’ve got a son who’s graduating from elementary school and we have every student out there who has lost this time to be able to be with their classmates and there for in-person instruction.”
He said schools were being asked to continue nontraditional instruction and food service for students in need.
“This is something I think our superintendents were expecting and were planning on,” Gov. Beshear said. “They’ve provided great leadership, and I know that they will continue.”
The Governor said he understood the disappointment many were feeling but said it was part of the many sacrifices Kentuckians are making in the coronavirus fight.
“It’s not fair, it’s not. But a worldwide pandemic has hit us and those of you who are missing out on these opportunities, we need your help and we need your sacrifice,” he said. “Ultimately, the experience you are losing is hard, but your willingness to do it is going to help us save lives.”
Kathy Burkhardt, superintendent of Erlanger-Elsmere schools, agreed that the closure is hard on students and teachers, but that keeping everyone safe is necessary.
“We miss our students and our hearts are with them and their families during this challenging time,” she said. “Our district will follow the guidance from the federal and state levels and work to make decisions accordingly. We know we must do this to keep everyone safe. We will continue to do our very best to educate, support and feed our students for the remainder of the school year and we will find ways to celebrate our seniors and all students to close out this school year.
“We will also continue to provide continuous support throughout the summer as much as possible through our summer feeding programs and other services that may have to be provided in new, non-traditional ways. We will continue to be there for our students, families, and community throughout this pandemic, regardless of the obstacles.”
Boone County Superinendent Randy Poe worries about the students who are ending their high school years this way and for the “transitional” year students as well.
“I feel for students in transitional years,” he says. “It will be very difficult on them leaving their individual schools without the traditional send-offs and goodbyes.
“As students transition to new environments, we will need to provide them with additional support. The 20/21 school year will start the same as this one is ending with uncertainty and definitely different than any other years in history.”
Covington Superindent Alvin Garrison agrees.
“Although I completely understand the reasoning why we must remain home, we miss our students and I feel especially bad for our seniors.”
In conjunction with the governor’s announcement, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) released a plan designed to maximize instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan allows districts to continue to use the Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) Program for the remainder of the school year and grants relief for districts as they attempt to reach the equivalent of 1,062 hours of instructional time.
“Our schools have been closed to in-person classes, but our schools have not been closed. This does provide you some certainty, though,” Interim Education Commissioner Kevin C. Brown said. “Here is something that we’re going to be able to do at the state level that I think will assist everyone.”
Education Continuation Plan
The COVID-19 Education Continuation Plan will allow districts to end the school year two weeks earlier than envisioned by Senate Bill 177, which will result in all districts ending instruction by May 29, with most districts likely to finish in mid-May. Senate Bill 177 waived student attendance requirements and provided options for districts to reach 1,062 hours by June 12.
“We want to get school finished before June 12,” Brown said.
Because NTI relies not upon seat time but upon project- and competency-based learning, districts may count all NTI days used during the 2019-2020 school year – including NTI days used before the current closure period – as seven-hour equivalent days.
Without a plan, districts have been unclear as to expectations and are on various schedules to reach the minimum 1,062 hours of instruction required by state law. Some districts are scheduled to reach 1,062 hours soon as April 24, while others would not reach that number until June 3 or later.
Exceptions are available for schools and districts that encounter extraordinary circumstances or logistical hardships, or in the event the governor determines a district can no longer use NTI for public health reasons. In those cases, the district can request assistance from the interim commissioner to determine a plan for maximizing instructional time, or the governor can waive the 1,062-hour requirement.
All 172 Kentucky school districts, 53 area technology centers, Kentucky School for the Blind and Kentucky School for the Deaf ceased in-person classes and began instituting NTI in response to a previous recommendation made by Beshear on March 13.
“While NTI fatigue is being reported across the state from students, teachers and parents, our students require continued instruction using the only operable education delivery platform available to us at this time, which is NTI,” Brown said. “Students, teachers and parents are also reporting learning success using NTI via social media. Districts maintain flexibility to amend calendars to add closure days to address the fatigue of teachers, students and parents.
“It appears that our teaching force is healthy … and NTI is better today than it was on March 16 in our districts, and it’s going to be better on May 1 than it is today.”
Beshear told the superintendents NTI is vital for reasons that go beyond continuing instruction.
“Our kids are suffering from a lot of anxiety right now, and I believe the structure that you are providing is not only giving them intellectual enrichment, I believe it helps on the emotional end,” he said.
Under the Education Continuation Plan, KDE also plans to:
• Team with education partner groups to continue to provide guidance to districts to educate, feed and support.
• Hold additional webcasts specifically aimed at districts new to NTI to provide additional guidance and support.
• Team with education partner groups to begin providing guidance to districts for how resources can be deployed over the summer to assist students with feeding, academic support and remediation.
• Participate in the Southern Regional Education Board’s K-12 Education Recovery Task Force to inform KDE, its Education Continuation Task Force and education partner groups on current research and practice in reopening schools for the 2020-2021 school year.
• Team with education partner groups to begin providing assistance to districts for planning the 2020-2021 school year, including guidance to districts and schools on how to blend the diagnosis of missing content knowledge and moving forward with current year learning and up-to-date information about how federal and state guidelines may affect the upcoming school year.
Proms and graduations
Brown said he knows many people will be saddened by the news that school buildings will not reopen and traditional end-of-year activities will not take place as scheduled.
“I think we all anticipated that this day might come. I know this will be met with a lot of disappointment, particularly with our seniors and others who are looking forward to resuming in-person classes, but we know that’s just not possible,” he said.
Beshear said holding events such as proms and graduations in their traditional formats would not be possible even if Kentucky reaches the seven benchmarks he discussed April 17 for reaching the first phase of reopening the state spelled out in federal guidelines, because gatherings would be restricted to groups of no more than 10 people during phase one.
“When we look at our benchmarks … we’re not going to be able to have an in-person prom or graduation in a building, or even an outdoor graduation,” he said.
He recommended two options for graduation ceremonies: a virtual ceremony, which he said is the safest option, and a drive-in ceremony similar to the services being held by many churches.
“If we got people together outside of that for a graduation right now, this virus would spread,” Beshear said. “While it’s a special moment, we want to make sure it’s done in a way that is truly safe and doesn’t put people in harm’s way.”
Many schools have expressed a desire to have an in-person graduation at a later date, but the governor said there is no way to know when that might be possible.
Looking ahead to summer and fall
Brown said KDE and districts should begin examining the outreach services schools and districts provide during the summer to consider how those services might be delivered during a time when in-person gatherings might still be restricted.
“Most services this summer have to be offered in a non-traditional way,” he said.
Beshear said it is too early to tell whether the closure period might be extended into the start of the 2020-2021 school year.
“I’m committed to do all I can to help this state meet the benchmarks to have as normal a school experience in the fall as possible,” he said.
