Lexington private schools planned to reopen soon and in-person. Now they are in flux.

The face-to-face reopening plans of some Lexington private schools were in flux Tuesday following a request from Gov. Andy Beshear Monday night that all Kentucky schools postpone in-person learning until the third week in August to curb the escalation of coronavirus.

Officials from Lexington Christian Academy and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington who had planned on returning to in-person learning Aug. 12 and from Sayre, who planned on opening Aug. 20, all said Tuesday morning that they were discussing Beshear’s request and hoped to make an announcement later this week.

The Lexington School’s website said it plans on reopening Aug. 12. School officials did not immediately respond Tuesday.

Fayette County Public Schools will open to at-home learning until at least the end of September because of the surge in cases. The Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville and Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville will begin classes Aug. 24, but will offer their first six weeks through non-traditional instruction only, education officials announced Tuesday.

The Fayette district will begin the 2020-21 school year Aug. 26. Superintendent Manny Caulk appealed Monday night to people in Lexington, asking them to follow health guidelines so cases will drop and public school children can return to face-to-face learning.

On Tuesday, Lexington public health officials reported a one-day high with 116 COVID-19 cases.

Schools in Kentucky closed to in-person learning in March as the virus spread.

Lesley Sizemore-Hardin, director of constituent relations with Lexington Christian Academy, and Seth Robinson, director of campus operations, said they hope to announce any position or change for reopening within the next couple of days.

“We are evaluating what he said and processing it on our side,” Robinson said of Beshear.

LCA has more than 1,100 students in pre-K through 12th grade.

“Unless something should change drastically in the next three weeks our plan is to be back in person,” Sizemore-Hardin said.

Lexington Christian Academy had adopted a variety of new measures, including changes in HVAC systems to social distancing, that would allow in-person instruction.

Robinson said they are spreading students out, using partitions when necessary, having smaller class sizes and wearing facial coverings at specific times.

Sizemore-Hardin said a pre-school class might drop from 14 to 10, a kindergarten class from 20 to 13, and high school classes from 25 to 16 or 18. The school is going to be using some outdoor classrooms.

LCA is getting inquires from families from other schools who want their children to have in-person learning. Students whose parents are concerned they can’t safely go into the classroom can participate through synchronous learning in real time so that kids can interact virtually with their teacher and classmates.

Barb Milosch, a spokeswoman from Sayre School, said their updated opening day had not been determined but an announcement is expected by the end of the week.

“The hope is to definitely be in-person but again those details are not totally ironed out yet,” she said. The Safe at Sayre program for when in-person instructions begins includes extensive preventative measures to keep students safe.

Tom Brown, superintendent of schools for the Lexington Diocese, said, “We are meeting on this tomorrow and a decision will be made later.”

Brown oversees 14 Catholic schools. Five are in Fayette County, where Lexington Catholic High’s Healthy Return to School plan includes multiple guidelines and protocols.

This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 3:38 PM.