Fayette plan to stagger classroom reopenings by grade after Jan. 22 has critics

Fayette County Public Schools will have remote-only learning through at least Jan. 22 because of the high number of coronavirus cases in the community, Acting Superintendent Marlene Helm said Tuesday night.

With the exception of a few weeks when a few thousand students attended in-person learning for two hours each day, Fayette students have been learning virtually since the pandemic began in March 2020.

When schools do return to in-person learning, grades K-2 will go back first. Grades 3 through 5, 6 a , 9 and 12 will be next followed by grades 7, 8, 10 and 11. Preschool students will be the final group to go back to classrooms. The district will continue to provide remote learning five days a week for students whose families prefer that option.

Helm said Fayette County currently has a seven-day average of 218 new cases. That average falls in the worst stage of the district’s new return-to-school matrix, one that calls for remote learning only.

After Jan. 22, the district will decide when to return to in-person learning largely based on community spread of cases as of each Tuesday. In a letter to families on Tuesday night, Helm said on January 12, district officials will make a decision about the week of January 25-29.

Helm said district officials are going to let the COVID case and other data lead them.

“The fact that we have remained with remote learning is not for lack of trying, planning or hard work.,” Helm said in her letter. “Since March, our school and district leaders have conducted extensive research, developed multiple plans, adopted detailed safety procedures, and ordered and distributed more than 600,000 pieces of (personal protection equipment) At every turn, we have considered not only our students but also the adults who are key to their in-person success.”

Helm asked for families to have continued patience. She said she knew that a delay in the return to in-person classes was not what many people wanted.

Todd Burus is a leader in the Facebook group “Let Them Learn in Fayette County, that is pushing for a return in-person learning.

“Honestly, we’re not surprised,” Burus said about the decision to delay the in-person return. “More than anything we’re disappointed that the district leadership continues to try justifying their lack of action dating back to the summer. “

“And the new ‘graduated’ plan seems like more of the same we experienced with hybrid—a half-baked idea that will get torpedoed by criticism and logistical difficulties before it’s enacted. We’ve lost hope that leadership will ever actually engage in real dialogue with the children and families that continue to be hurt by their decisions,” Burus said.

This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Fayette plan to stagger classroom reopenings by grade after Jan. 22 has critics."