Children of county employees may get remote learning space
“Virtual learning academies” are in the works for students of Shelby County government employees, Mayor Lee Harris said Monday.
The academies, which Harris hopes to have set up in the Downtown and Mullins Station offices, would allow for students to complete virtual learning in a socially distanced setting while parents are at work.
Harris also said more conversations around eviction relief and internet access are needed, and more protections could be added when necessary for mitigating community spread of COVID-19.
Shelby County Schools, the county’s main school district that serves more than 100,000 students, announced Monday that the district will begin completely virtually on Aug. 31. Previously, the district announced options for either in-person or virtual learning, with a deadline to choose last week.
“So our idea is to have a couple of learning environments, both at the Shelby County building in Downtown, and also at our campus near Mullins Station ... Of course, we will also revive our alternative work scenarios, as well,” Harris said.
The county has been in the early planning phases for the last few days, Harris said. The effort is being led by Cedrick Gray, the district’s director of education.
Harris said the county recently transitioned away from its alternative work scenarios as part of its move to “return to work mode,” but that the programming will be revived.
“(The program) empowers our supervisors and other managers to create customized work solutions for employees because of what is going on with the pandemic. Part of those customized work solutions can include athome work,” Harris said. “That’s real new for local government, but that’s what it means. It’s just saying managers have authority to create customized solutions for their employees because of challenges related to COVID.”
The City of Memphis said it is reviewing policies and plans to make “necessary adjustments” for its employees.
“The decision of Shelby County Schools to hold virtual classes will obviously affect many Memphis families, including our City of Memphis employees. We’re currently in the process of reviewing our policies and will make any necessary adjustments to ensure the least impact to our services,” Ursula Madden, chief communications officer, wrote in an email.
County could add more ‘layers of protection’ against COVID-19
Joris Ray, superintendent of Shelby County Schools, cited external factors in Memphis and Shelby County as a major reason for choosing to move to a completely virtual option.
In a video that accompanied the district’s announcement Monday, Ray said social distancing and health measures — such as the use of hand sanitizer, mask-wearing and spacing out students’ desks — could not keep students safe in an area experiencing daily tripledigit growth in COVID-19 cases.
Harris pointed to the county’s most recent decision of closing down many bars and clubs, where he said “a lot of social activity” is taking place, as one of the strategies for improving the community conditions of the virus. Multiple health experts have repeatedly pointed to bars as a hot spot for COVID-19 transmission.
“We’ll continue to add layers of protection where necessary,” Harris said of other restrictions. “We’re working really hard to encourage people to wear masks and to practice social distancing, to wash their hands often. We also trust our school leaders’ opinions about what to do with their various constituencies. We’ll have to see what happens from here.”
The district has said science will inform the decision to return to in-person classes, pointing to when “our community has successfully flattened the curve and that the risk level is reduced from where it is now.”
The district did not provide any additional information about the COVID-19 metrics it will be reviewing in determining the reduced risk.
Additional child care possible, but not all options certain yet
In an updated FAQ from the district about the move to all-virtual, SCS wrote that some childcare locations may be available for working parents.
“The District is identifying local providers, like the YMCA, who offer reduced
or no-cost childcare options for essential working families,” the FAQ states.
The list includes several community centers and some YMCA locations. Many have been providing childcare to essential workers in a free, state-supported program set to expire in mid-august.
It is also unclear whether the state will allow the locations to provide childcare for school-aged children when school is in session. A note at the bottom of the graphic states, “Please note, DHS must provide the final approval of plans to receive children when school is in session.”
The state’s Department of Human Services didn’t immediately reply for request for clarification Monday.
County may add more eviction assistance, discuss internet access
In the announcement to move to allvirtual learning, Ray noted both the need to return students to classrooms and the unclear science as to how COVID-19 effects children. He also talked about the clear evidence that the coronavirus is highly contagious in indoor, in-person settings.
“We have to stop the negotiation of the safety of people’s lives because we are desperate to resume normal routines at one of the most abnormal times in our history,” Ray said. “Shelby County, I’m sounding the alarm today. Things must be different for a little while longer.”
Educators and health experts who are supportive of reopening schools have pointed to the services beyond education that schools provide that can be particularly helpful for children who are food insecure or are more likely to experience Adverse Childhood Experiences, known as ACES.
Students who live in underserved communities may not have stable internet access, for example. In 2018-2019, 2,337 SCS students faced homelessness, categorized as: those living in a shelter or transitional housing; those who are unsheltered; those who are in a doubled-up living situation not meant to accommodate more than one family; and those who live in hotels or motels.
For those students, and potentially many others whose families face financial hardships due to the pandemic, learning from “home” could be a huge challenge, even with a device and internet access.
Harris said Monday that he believes “there is a need for more eviction relief,” in addition to the $2 million put forth a month ago.
When court resumed in June, there was a backlog of 9,000 filings.
“With respect to digital access, that’s a conversation that also we need to have as well. Hopefully, hopefully, we will get to a point where there are more in-person instruction options. We’ll see what happens from there,” Harris said.
Jon Mccullers, Lebonheur Children’s Hospital head pediatrician, said in a recent interview that hospital data shows ACES have gone up “significantly” in Memphis children.
In those respects, he said, many kids benefit from being in school. He acknowledged, though, that while being in school would help “a great deal,” it wouldn’t necessarily “fix everything.”
“Comparing this year, say May of 2020 to May of 2019, we’re seeing more than three times as many ACES and much more issues with food insecurity and housing problems and so on,” Mccullers said. “Child abuse nationally, the reporting has gone down a great amount, because the kids are at home and the ones who report are the teachers and the doctors, and kids are staying home and not going to the doctor and they’re not in school. So we’re equally certain that child abuse is going up, and then it’s being underreported, because there’s nobody to report other than the ones who are doing it. So it’s a big problem.”
When schools closed in March, SCS worked with the local YMCA to provide meals to students at various pick-up locations.
In an FAQ released with the announcement to begin school virtually, the district said it “is committed to ensuring children are served healthy meals, even during this public health crisis. Meal preparation will still happen at every school site with enhanced procedures for health and safety. Multi-day meal packs will be available for pick-up to reduce the number of times families have to come to campus. Meals will be served from a modified menu of cold items and items that can be easily reheated or stored at home. Families will receive more details about meal pick-up plans from their child’s school.”
Commercial Appeal reporter Micaela Watts contributed to this story.