A Monday like no other for Fayette schools: COVID-19 brings on ‘unprecedented times’.

Kentucky school kids, families and teachers: Are you ready for a transition to learning from home during the COVID-19 crisis?

Is your district one of the 83 that were previously enrolled in the state’s non-traditional instruction program or will Monday be the first day? Have teachers sent home a laptop or a chromebook? Are you using a paper packet of lessons instead?

Welcome to unprecedented times in Kentucky education, a world with a lot of unknowns as schools, under order by Gov. Andy Beshear, have ended in-person learning until at least May 1.

Not only is each of Kentucky’s 172 school districts making individual decisions, the approach from each school will likely be different.

All schools in the state have been closed for about two weeks and students have been working on lessons from home, but the process for many students becomes more formal Monday.

Public schools in Louisville and Lexington are among those implementing Kentucky’s non-traditional instructional program for the first time next week, having a state approved distance learning plan for each student in exchange for not having to make up days this school year.

In advance of the transition to Non-Traditional Instruction beginning April 6, all Fayette County Public Schools have been working directly with their students and families, said district spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall. Detailed instructions are posted on each school website.

Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High Schools’ NTI plan, for example, notes that teachers will be available online each school day, that attendance will be taken and that “this is not busy work.”

The material students learn from home will be included in final exams and students still have to follow a code of conduct. Individualized paper packets are available for students who can’t access the internet.

The Courier-Journal reported recently that in Jefferson County public schools, the state’s largest school district, thousands of families have jammed phone lines requesting laptops for distance learning that the district will begin Tuesday April 7.

As of March 30, 9,366 Jefferson County families had requested one of 25,000 available Google Chromebooks, that newspaper reported.

Districtwide, Fayette County Public Schools in Lexington has roughly 35,000 Chromebooks and laptops available for students to use at home during “Non-Traditional Instruction” or NTI, Deffendall said this week.

Many Fayette schools already operating one-to-one instructional programs sent devices home on March 13, when students were last on campus. Based on their NTI plans, schools have made Chromebooks and laptops available for checkout to families on an as-needed basis for student use, she said.

Schools communicated directly with families about requesting and receiving devices. Most have already begun distribution.

Fayette schools has 42,559 students enrolled this school year, according to its website.

“The district established a process for schools to request additional devices, and at this time, we are not aware of any school that was unable to meet the needs of their students and families with existing inventory,” Deffendall said.

Some schools developed individualized packets of work for students, others made plans to move to primarily online instruction, and many will provide a mix of both, she said.

Distribution of materials was organized by each school in order to best meet the needs of the students and families they serve. Some schools offered “drive thru” pick-up of materials, some delivered materials along with meals on school buses, and others brought materials to families at their door step.

With little exception, that process is already complete, Deffendall said.

Over the past several years, she said Fayette County Public Schools has invested more than $12.1 million in reading and math curriculum materials with online components at all grade levels for every school in the district.

“That prior decision will enhance the instructional capacity of our teachers during this unprecedented time,” Deffendall said.

As part of a commitment to ensuring equity in both access and opportunity, the district has invested heavily in technology, she said.

One-to-one instruction on Chromebooks and laptops was already established in 32 schools — including all middle schools, and schools serving a high percentage of children living in poverty – plus programs including the Family Care Center, Audrey Grevious Center, Success Academy, STEAM Academy, Carter G. Woodson Academy and The Stables.

Some elementary students were sent daily schedules for NTI that include morning announcements, up to 2 1/2 hours of instruction and sixty minutes of physical activity.

Families having technology issues can call (859) 381-4410 to talk with technicians.

People who have not heard from their child’s school by April 6, should check the school website, e-mail the principal, or call the district offices of the school chiefs.

Kentucky Associate Education Commissioner Kelly Foster said in a virtual task force meeting about COVID-19 this week that districts have been asked to prepare six weeks of NTI instruction between March 16 and May 1.

David Cook, who oversees NTI instruction for the Kentucky Department of Education, said a strong NTI program gives student choices. Instruction that include projects can work best.

Districts are working to make sure that they are connecting with students who don’t have access to technology or don’t have the same level of technology as other students.

Some teachers are talking to students individually on the phone at least once a week, Cook said.

During the recent state task force meeting, officials talked about how to deal with parent and student fatigue if NTI was implemented for a long period.

Education Commissioner Kevin Brown said there was not an answer for that yet. He said when the NTI program was designed, officials did not envision it being used longer than maybe a week or ten days at the most.

“NTI was never supposed to be a long term educational replacement,” said Foster. But by necessity, districts are currently granted as many as 40 NTI days to deal with COVID-19.

Districts should make sure they are not asking too much of students, Cook said. Students should not have a 10-hour instructional day every week day.

State education officials are grappling with several questions that they’ve never had to deal with before, including how to help parents who can’t stay home from work to guide kids through NTI.

At a Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence virtual meeting this week, educators talked about the challenges brought on by the crisis:

Internet access is not the same across Kentucky. Districts have to support students who are English learners.

Some teachers are also parents who are trying to guide their own children through non-traditional education.

And some parents have two or three children at home they are trying to help. In their messages to families, Fayette principals seemed aware of the pressure.

“While this work is required work, do it in a way that works for your family,” said Stonewall Elementary principal Bill Gatliff. “Take breaks, take walks, eat ice cream, have fun…do not feel pressured to get everything done at one time. “