Districts see virtual second thoughts
This is part one of a two-part series on how area schools are handling the pandemic.
Life during the covid-19 pandemic has been difficult for parents and children. School districts in Jefferson County released their back-to-school plans regarding the coronavirus, offering virtual learning for people uncomfortable about sending their children for face-to-face classes.
Now, only about a week later, Jefferson County superintendents are seeing an increase in the number of virtual learners requesting to return to in-person instruction.
“About 50% of our students chose virtual, and we have received numerous phones calls from parents who want their child to come back to school,” said Watson Chapel Superintendent Jerry Guess.
White Hall School District Superintendent Doug Dorris is having a similar experience with virtual-instruction students, saying that almost half of them want to return to in-person learning.
“Twenty percent of our students chose to go virtual,” Dorris said. “Fifty of the 20% requested to come back within the first week.”
Students in the White Hall School District will have until Sept. 30 to change their learning options from virtual to in-person. Those who decide after that will have to finish the semester as virtual learners.
Virtual learners in the Pine Bluff School District use Edgenuity, which offers some flexibility to work at their own pace, but many parents are complaining that their childrens’ log-ins weren’t accessible to even begin online learning.
Assistant Superintendent Wanda Van Dyke, with the Pine Bluff School District, said in a letter to parents that some students had incorrect user names and emails assigned to them, but she assured them that by using their school ID numbers as the password, the system would identify the student correctly.
She apologized for the confusion. The problem has been corrected, and students are now
able to log in.
Guess said of the high demand of requests, that he is allowing the virtual-learning decisions to be reversed, but the transition won’t happen right away.
“It will take some time to get your child a new on-site schedule, particularly at the secondary schools,” Guess said. “Some virtual students have been riding a bus or have been dropped off at school and told by their parents that they will be in a classroom. We must have time to transition a student from virtual back to classroom instruction.”
With more students in the classroom, accommodations will have to be made to provide a safe learning environment. School districts, such as the Watson Chapel district, have already reported positive covid-19 cases among staff members.
A statement from the Watson Chapel district during the first week of school said everyone who was possibly exposed to the virus had been quarantined and encouraged to go get tested, adding that most of the tests came back negative.
The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI) provides covid-19 information in partnership with the Arkansas Department of Health, the Arkansas Department of Education and the Arkansas Geographical Information Office.
Center President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson said tracking the direction in which new infections are trending will provide information about whether the risk is increasing or decreasing in a district.
The center updates its data once a week with new cases per district, displayed as the rate of new cases over the past two weeks per 10,000 people who live in the district. New cases are defined as positive test results during the measurement period of the previous 14 days.As of Aug. 24, the Pine Bluff School District’s new positive covid-19 cases for the following school districts were:
■ Pine Bluff School District 30 — 49
■ Dollarway School District 10 — 19
■ Watson Chapel School District 10 — 19
■ White Hall School District 20 — 29
The data consists of all residents in each school district, according to the state Center for Health Improvement, excluding prisons and nursing homes.
“We are doing everything possible to keep our students and staff safe during all of this,” Guess said. “They are wearing their masks, using hand sanitizer, social distancing, and following principals’ directives.”
Nikita Lowe, parent of a student in the White Hall School District, agrees that the schools are working hard to keep everyone safe.
“These schools don’t play at all,” said Lowe, whose daughter attends Taylor Elementary. “The staff is involved in getting kids into their cars, and they all have on masks — the students and the staff.”
Even the “no visitor policy” at her daughter’s school, Lowe said, is strict and it’s understandable.
“They meet you at the door if you need anything, which I don’t take offense to,” Lowe said. “They are taking the necessary precautions to make sure the kids are good.”
Guess said this school year will be like no other, but he is encouraged that the students are taking the health issues seriously, and parents are telling their children that they must obey the rules in order to have a successful school year.