State guidance forces change to Fayetteville school opening plan

John L Colbert, Fayetteville Public Schools superintendent, listens to Gov. Asa Hutchinson speak Wednesday during his daily covid-19 briefing at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville. The city's board of health wants to assist schools with reopening, with recommendations from the newly appointed city public health officer. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
John L Colbert, Fayetteville Public Schools superintendent, listens to Gov. Asa Hutchinson speak Wednesday during his daily covid-19 briefing at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville. The city's board of health wants to assist schools with reopening, with recommendations from the newly appointed city public health officer. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Arkansas Department of Education provided guidance Wednesday impacting the School District's school opening plan.

Johnny Key, Secretary of Education, provided clarification on the guidance Wednesday during a presentation for the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators Virtual Summer Conference, said Kimberly Mundell, ADE director of communications.

"The goal all along has been to resume in-person instruction this fall," Mundell said. "Based on questions the department has received as schools develop their Ready for Learning plans, we felt the need to provide clarification regarding on-site instruction expectations this fall."

The ADE guidance requires all school districts to offer on-site learning opportunities five days a week in accordance with Article XIV of the Arkansas Constitution.

According to the district's current Ready for Learning school opening plan, students have the option to attend school two days on-site and three days online, online five days a week through their school of record or online through Fayetteville Virtual Academy during the covid-19 pandemic.

"After reviewing the initial Ready for Learning guidance from the state, our district team and Ready for Learning committee developed a hybrid plan that we felt best addressed the safety of our students and staff members while they are on campus," said John L Colbert, superintendent, in a news release. "However, with today's new directive from Secretary of Education Johnny Key, we will adjust our plan accordingly, continuing to prioritize the safety of our students and staff members to the best of our ability."

The traditional learning option will now include five days of on-campus face-to-face instruction for the fall semester, the release said. Attending school online through their school of record and attending Fayetteville Virtual Academy will remain options for students.

The state has a responsibility to provide all public school students with an equal opportunity for an education, according to the guidance.

"School districts not affording on-site educational opportunities each day creates inequity that impedes the state from ensuring its responsibility is met," per the guidance.

The premise of the state's Ready for Learning model is to open schools for full-day on-site instruction while mitigating the risk of spreading the covid-19 virus, according to the guidance. Schools are to only shift to online or remote learning models when necessary.

"Districts can still provide flexible options, but students must have the on-site option daily, unless otherwise advised by the Arkansas Department of Health to modify the on-site school schedule," Mundell said.

Schools should be prepared to go to online learning in the event of a covid-19 outbreak, which could happen soon after classes resume this fall, members of the city's Board of Health said Wednesday.

Marti Sharkey, the city's public health officer, shared a University of Texas study showing schools in Arkansas should expect a 1% positivity rate among students on Day One.

At the very least, schools should follow a blended model of online and in-person learning, members agreed. Holding in-person classes five days a week cancels out any benefit of a blended model, they said.

"Based on the current community wide spread, we anticipate outbreaks being common," said Gary Berner with Community Clinic.

Fire Chief Brad Hardin said the department could look into putting partitions between desks in classrooms. Board members also expressed concerns with children eating in cafeterias, where they would not be wearing masks.

Fayetteville Public Schools will provide a new survey to families to allow them to re-select their options for learning for their children for the fall at a to-be-determined time, according to the release.

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Arkansas Ready for Learning information is available at http://dese.ade.ark….

Source: Arkansas Department of Education

NWA Democrat-Gazette reporter Stady Ryburn contributed to this report. Mary Jordan can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAMaryJ.

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