WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Update Friday evening, Oct. 30, 2020: In a 4-3 vote, the Wichita Public Schools Board of Education at its emergency meeting Friday decided to take a “wait-and-see” approach with student-learning plans as they pertain to the local rise in COVID-19 numbers.
For now, the Wichita school district is staying on course with allowing elementary students to continue meeting in-person if their parents so choose and eyeing Nov. 12 as a starting point for students in sixth-through 12th grades to have the option to transition into a hybrid, or “blended” learning model in which students would attend classes in-person twice per week and continue with remote learning for three days each week.
While the overall positive testing percentage for COVID-19 in Sedgwick County is now beyond 14 percent, district leaders and Sedgwick County Health Director Adrienne Byrne pointed out that the percent positive cases within the district’s schools are below the overall county level. The board noted that the incidence of COVID-19 in Wichita schools so far remains more safely in the “green” category of the grating criteria while community prevalence is in the “orange” and “red” categories. The district is using data focused on community spread without isolated clusters like jails and nursing homes. Omitting those clusters shows a lower percent-positive COVID-19 testing rate for Sedgwick County.
Noting that information can change quickly, the board also noted that the current plan in place can change. The Wichita school board meets again on Nov. 9. At that point, they will take another look at local numbers and receive more feedback from medical professionals.
“We want to get kids back in school and we’ve been willing to take the hits we’ve been taking, all of us, from many people because our priority is educating kids and part of that education is their social, emotional, mental well-being and many of our kids are suffering right now, and that breaks my heart,” Wichita Public Schools BOE President Sheril Logan said.
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Update Friday afternoon, Oct. 30, 2020: The Wichita Public Schools Board of Education is meeting to discuss what if any immediate action the district needs to take in response to the local spike in COVID-19 cases. On the table is the possibility of a transition to online-only (remote) learning for every grade.
For now, the district’s plan calls for middle-school and high-school students to phase into a hybrid learning model with the start of the school year’s second quarter on Nov. 9. This option would put the secondary-school students in the classroom twice per week and attending classes virtually (remote learning) three days per week.
Stick with us to track any potential decision the school board makes.
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020:
Since the Wichita Public Schools Board of Education’s Oct. 19 vote to bring more students back to the classroom on two days out of the week, the positive percentage rate of COVID-19 has spiked across Kansas. Local hospitals are nearing capacity and the spike led the school board for Kansas' biggest district to plan a special meeting for 4:30 p.m. Friday (Oct. 30). In that meeting, the board is expected to discuss the possibility of online-only classes for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade if cases continue to rise.
Teachers union, United Teachers of Wichita (UTW) requested Friday’s meeting.
‘We’re kind of where we were in the beginning of the year, maybe even a little worse than we were in August," said UTW President Kimberly Howard. “We believe we need to stay remote for secondary students for the second nine weeks. If (the percent of positive COVID-19 tests) moves up into the red category -- that would be 15 percent or higher -- that is full remote for the entire district.”
For now, the Wichita school district is moving forward with plans for middle-school and high-school students to adopt a hybrid learning plan where they’ll meet in-person twice per week and be remote for three days out of the week. That plan is set to start Nov. 9, the start of the school year’s second nine weeks. As of Wednesday, (Oct. 28), the rolling 14-day average of the positive percentage of COVID-19 tests in Sedgwick County was at 13.4 percent, below the amended 15 percent mark that would move the district into the “red zone" and an automatic move to full-remote learning for Wichita public-school students.
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For now, school board sticks with plan to get more Wichita students back into classroom - KWCH
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