Official talks about data on education

Key: Schools pivoting to remote learning not widespread in state

State Education Secretary Johnny Key said new breakdowns of data related to school modifications this fall indicate that the effect of the coronavirus on district learning plans has not been widespread.

The Department of Education tracks shifts to remote learning within the state’s 262 school systems, which include 24 open-enrollment charter school districts. There are more than 1,000 public schools across the state. Some districts may shift an entire school system, individual campus, grade level or classroom to remote learning for a few days to a couple of weeks because of cases, quarantines and staffing issues.

Since the beginning of the fall semester in August, Key said, 187 districts, or about 71%, “have not had to enact districtwide modifications,” while 75 districts, or 29%, “have had some type of district modifications.”

“I think this is a very positive result,” Key said during the governor’s weekly covid-19 news conference on Tuesday.

Key said 828 schools, or 79%, have not had a schoolwide or grade-level modification, while 222 schools, or 21%, have had “some type of modification.”

“What does this mean?” Key said. “This means our administrators and educators are continuing to do a good job of keeping our kids in school. Even for those who have had virtual options, they are stressing the importance of on- site instruction and keeping that done in a safe manner.”

Last week, 16 districts filed some type of modification to on-site instruction, Key said, adding that he thought the low number was “a positive development” given it was the week after the Thanksgiving break, when case numbers continued to rise.

As of Monday, there were 22 active shifts to remote learning and 317 expired pivots, meaning those districts returned to “regular operation,” Key said.

He also said that 72 districts have signed up to use rapid covid-19 testing kits in schools to try to minimize the exposure of faculty members and students to virus cases and to prevent widespread quarantining.

These districts have implemented testing or are being trained to implement it, Key said.

“The feedback, so far, has been positive,” Key said. “While we are still crunching data, we can say from superintendents who provided us feedback that they have found this to be an effective method for screening their employees and staff and identifying cases early before those staff members get into a situation where they might expose others.”

DISTRICTS PIVOT

The Little Rock School District logged 11 new cases and 91 quarantines on Tuesday, a slight decrease from the 13 cases and 130 quarantines the district reported on Monday in its daily covid-19 report posted online.

The district announced that Southwest High School is shifting to remote learning for the rest of this week through the end of the semester. One staff member tested positive in the school, resulting in the quarantine of 12 staff members and 23 students, said Marvin Burton, the principal, in a note posted on Facebook.

“Due to the number of students and staff required to quarantine, and to allow for additional contact tracing, we have made the decision for all in-person students to transition to virtual instruction for the remainder of this semester,” Burton said.

The Jacksonville/ North Pulaski School District said on Tuesday that it learned of a staff member at Murrell Taylor Elementary School testing positive, resulting in five other faculty members and 34 students having to quarantine for 14 days.

The district declined to provide further comment.

Zane Vanderpool, the superintendent of the Horatio School District, announced on Facebook that the entire district would shift to off- site learning on Tuesday through the end of this week.

The superintendent said the decision was made “due to an increased number of students and staff on mandatory quarantine or testing positive for COVID-19 exposure.” School will resume Monday, he said.

Brinkley High School, part of the Brinkley School District, pivoted to virtual learning on Monday for the entire week, according to a post on the district’s website.

The district reported to the Department of Education that it could not find enough substitutes to cover

classes because of teacher quarantines.

Arkadelphia High School in the Arkadelphia School District is shifting to remote learning today for the remainder of the week, the district announced on Facebook.

Administrators will decide over the weekend whether to resume on-site classes on Monday, the announcement said.

The Greene County Tech School District in Paragould announced on Facebook on Tuesday that its middle school will pivot to off-site learning today through Dec. 16, with students returning on Dec. 17.

“The goal in pivoting to virtual learning for this length of time is to help control the spread of the virus and lower the number of positive covid cases,” said Gene Weeks, Greene County Tech superintendent.