Looming decision on returning Lexington kids to school buildings hangs on COVID cases

A decision on whether Fayette County Public School students will return to in-person learning the weeks of Jan. 11 and Jan. 18 will be announced Tuesday, Acting Superintendent Marlene Helm said Sunday night.

Winter break for students continues through Wednesday of this week. The first day of school for students is Thursday, when all schools and special programs will resume virtual learning known as NTI or non-traditional learning. Students will learn virtually on both Jan. 7 and 8.

To determine the mode of instruction — virtual or in person — for the weeks of Jan. 11 and 18, district officials will implement a COVID-19 in-person learning matrix and evaluate current levels of COVID-19 in the community, Helm told families in a letter Sunday night.

Lexington started January off with 534 COVID-19 cases reported on Monday. Infection numbers had significantly declined before the last days of December.

District officials had decided earlier not to return to in-person learning before Jan. 11.

“Once in-person instruction begins, decisions to close an individual classroom within a school or an entire school may be made on very short notice,” Helm said in her Sunday letter. “Keeping the health and well-being of students and staff at the forefront of any decision, please know that we are exploring a host of possible options in hopes of returning to in-person as soon as feasible.”

Regardless of the in-person learning stage, remote learning will be provided five days a week for students whose families prefer that option, Helm said.

“I recognize how disruptive COVID-19 has been and how the changes it demands pose challenges to everyone, but especially to students as they strive to maintain progress academically, socially, and emotionally,” Helm said. Some families have been vocal about their concern that in-person learning has not occurred on a large scale in Fayette schools since the pandemic began in March. District officials have not thought that a widespread return was safe.

Fayette board chairwoman Stephanie Spires said in a Facebook post that a 5 p.m. Tuesday special board meeting would include a discussion about what a graduated return to in-person instruction would look like and an update on the superintendent search. School board members will launch a search to fill that position following the December death of Manny Caulk. District officials have not said how he died.

A notice for the meeting said there would be an election for school board chair and vice-chair.

Fayette school employees are returning to classrooms this week to prepare for students and train on updated safety policies and procedures, Spires said in her post.

“It is my hope that we can begin returning students to the classroom in upcoming weeks,” Spires said. “Please help me and continue to make this a priority by taking safety precautions such as wearing a mask, social distancing, and abstaining from large social gatherings.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2021 at 9:27 AM.