Warned ‘worst is yet to come’ with COVID-19, Fayette may enter KY home learning program

Lexington’s public school district is among only seven in Kentucky that by Saturday afternoon had not applied to the state’s non-traditional instruction program as schools shut down to curb the spread of coronavirus.

But Fayette Superintendent Manny Caulk said the school district is now reconsidering applying to the so called NTI program, in which state officials approve a school district’s home learning plans and allow the district not to make up days at the end of the school year.

Caulk said NTI would “provide another tool in our toolkit for serving students remotely during school closures,” he said.

“While I sincerely hope the drastic steps being taken to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our country are successful, I cannot in good conscience ignore the warnings from medical experts that the worst is yet to come. We may not be able to return to school on April 6, if we do, we may have to close again in the future,” Caulk said.

“It would be educational malfeasance for FCPS not to develop contingency plans for the use of NTI for future missed days, knowing that students in the districts around us will be engaged in remote learning,” Caulk said.

Only Daviess, Laurel, Paintsville Independent, Robertson, Spencer and Pineville Independent also had not applied, said Kentucky Department of Education spokeswoman Toni Konz Tatman. Daviess officials announced that they will discuss applying at a school board meeting Tuesday.

The NTI program facilitates home learning for students on days when school would otherwise be canceled. School districts create instruction for every student in the district and make sure students and teachers interact on NTI days.

Through NTI, the state commissioner of education can waive up to 10 NTI days that districts don’t have to make up at the end of the year. The 2020 General Assembly could waive more.

Gov. Andy Beshear asked that all public school districts in Kentucky shut down for the next few weeks to try to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Fayette school officials are hoping to reopen April 6.

Fayette school officials on Friday sent home with students 15 days of activities that they can do without the use of electronic devices. Students are also being provided with an online link directing them to virtual lessons.

“The educational activities we have gathered for students and families over the next nine days are not intended to replace the instructional time missed. However, we also have to recognize we are facing unprecedented and unpredictable circumstances,” Caulk said.

Since the outbreak, 82 Kentucky school districts had on an emergency basis been admitted to the NTI program, said Kentucky Department of Education spokeswoman Toni Konz Tatman. Another 83 districts of a total 172 were already in the program, generally using it on bad weather days.

Districts have to get approval from their local board of education before submitting their plan to the state. The emergency application is applicable only for the 2019-2020 school year as the state battles coronavirus.

The state currently requires districts to submit applications for the NTI Program at least 120 days prior to the beginning of a school year, but the state board of education is being asked to waive that for the 2019-20 school year.

Among the questions on the emergency application is how the districts will provide equitable materials for students who do not have access to the internet “or who may need to access information differently.”

Although the NTI program has been available for several years, Fayette, with about 40,000 students, has never applied.

One of the district’s core values is “victory in the classroom,” Caulk said.

District officials wanted to make sure it could deliver services “to our most vulnerable learners who receive therapy, intervention and support tailored to their individual needs.”

One concern was providing equitable instruction for all students — those “struggling to read who cannot afford to miss an hour of learning, ....Spanish Immersion students for whom time spent in language acquisition is critical, and ... students doing college-level course work who are preparing for Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Dual Credit exams less than six weeks away.”

Caulk said he asked teachers to spend time next week preparing lessons for their classes as a way to maintain continuity in student learning. Caulk said he was providing a great deal of flexibility for teachers to prepare the lessons, “whether through telecommuting, working independently or collaborating with partners across grade levels remotely using technological solutions.”

Caulk said that members of the General Assembly and the Kentucky Department of Education had shown “courageous leadership in creating a route to emergency NTI status under these extraordinary circumstances.”

Kentucky school districts, including Fayette, are providing food to students while schools are closed at places that don’t require kids to congregate.

On Saturday, the USDA granted a waiver to allow Kentucky districts flexibility to serve students meals away from school buildings during COVID-19 closures.

The waiver also allows the state to be reimbursed for the meals provided.

“We believe this flexibility allows our superintendents to make the best decisions for their individual districts throughout these evolving circumstances,” Kentucky Interim Education Commissioner Kevin C. Brown said in a statement.