RECOVERY PLAN

for schools on front burner.

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas public education leaders say they will explore how to address issues stemming from closing school buildings for the remainder of this school year and the accompanying waiver of the state’s end-of-year testing program.

State Education Secretary Johnny Key told the Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday issues such as scheduling summer school, bridging into the coming school year, setting exit criteria for school districts under state control and expending federal stimulus money must and will be addressed.

“Now that … we know how the rest of this school year is going to go, that certainty helps us to shift to looking at, ‘Okay, how do we start a recovery plan?’ ” Key said. “That is really what it is — it’s going to be a recovery plan and the timing of it is going to be crucial for the success of students going into next year and the years after that.”

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday directed public school campuses be closed to on-site instruction for the rest of this school year to slow the spread of the covid-19 virus. The announcement this week extended his directives from last month.

The state acquired a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education of the annual ACT Aspire tests in literacy, math and science given in late April to mid May in grades three through 10.

Closing the school campuses requires students to do assignments at home via online programs or paper packets in consultation with teachers affects more than 479,000 students.

Only Key and Education Board Chairman Diane Zook were in their regular seats in the Department of Education board room for Thursday’s 21/3 hour meeting. Other board members and staff in the agency’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education participated from remote locations in an effort to adhere to state directives to practice physical distancing in light of the virus.

Key complimented teachers and education administrators “for turning on a dime” and showing unmatched creativity in providing lessons and instruction to students at their homes.

He also urged educators to exercise flexibility in their expectations of student work and to avoid creating stress for families as it’s unrealistic to attempt to replicate the typical six-hour school day at home.

He also said, going forward, the emphasis can’t be about making up nine weeks of lost time but rather about making up for the loss of learning, making sure third-graders get the critical information they need to know for fourth grade.

In response to Education Board member questions about exit criteria for state-controlled schools, including the Little Rock and Dollarway school districts, summer school programs and federal funding, Key said he didn’t have answers yet.

“Every one of the members of the leadership team is looking at what the possibilities will be,” Key said about his staff.

The state is anticipating some $134 million in covid-19 relief money to be distributed with the formula used to distribute federal Title I money to school districts, but the U.S. Department of Education has up to 30 days to issue guidelines for using the money, Key said. He said it’s expected the money can be used for any expenses districts incur related to the health emergency including buying and distributing laptops and tablets to students and teachers, and the distributing grab-and-go school meals.

“Summer school is one of the issues we are looking at with the federal dollars. Is it something the federal dollars could be used for — summer opportunities?” he asked. “Until we get the federal guidance, its difficult to make any plans.”

The uncertainty about when life in the state can return to normal, Key said, affects how educators respond.

“Is it possible for us to start the new school year early?” he asked, adding that summer school — typically held in a district in June or July — might have to wait until late July and go into August. Then there are questions about whether the school districts will be mandated to offer summer school and will students be required to attend.

“There are a lot of those questions that we simply do not have the answers to right now,” Key said, because of the uncertainties related to the virus spread and the absence of federal guidance.

The waiver of this year’s ACT Aspire testing program affects the setting of exit criteria for the Little Rock, Dollarway and Pine Bluff school systems.

Mike Hernandez, the state superintendent of the office for instensive support and services, said lack of test results in this school year “throws a curve ball” into the measures for evaluating the districts.

“We hope to bring recommendations to you next month,” Key said about measures to be applied to the districts.

State-controlled school districts in which all their schools earn state letter grades of better than an F are candidates for returning to local control.

However, ACT Aspire test results are a large component of the formula for calculating the A-to-F letter grades for schools under the state and federal school accountability systems.

Hernandez said his office is consulting with the Little Rock School District in particular on possible criteria because the state rules for exit criteria require that partnership.

The Little Rock district has been under state control for more than five years and is slated to return to the governance of a locally elected board — with some restrictions — after a November election of a new nine-member school board. Even so, the district continues to be classified as a district in the Level 5/ intensive support category of school accountability.

The Dollarway School District, which is under state control for both academic performance and fiscal distress, will meet the five-year anniversary of state control in December. After five years, the state is to either release the district if it has met its exit criteria, or merge the district with another or otherwise reconstitute it if it has not met exit criteria.