Education Changes for the Remainder of the 2019-2020 School Year
March 17, 2020
In a press conference on March 17th, Governor Laura Kelly announced that education for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year will be provided in a different format. Learning will continue this semester however, it will look different. School buildings will be closed in terms of access to normal classes and activities.
Over the next thirteen days, our staff will be working on plans to provide the best possible education to students in a distant learning environment. This could include online learning, with a combination of educational packets. Additionally, we have been informed that we may be able to provide small group instruction for students, meaning groups would be limited to 10 individuals.
We will receive more information and guidance from the Kansas Department of Education this week. We know that this pandemic situation not only impacts Perry-Lecompton students but students across the nation. We anticipate our staff will be collaborating with teachers locally and nationally.
Some of the questions we know we need to find answers to:
-
How many of our families will have online or internet access?
-
How will we get iPads, textbooks, and materials to our students?
-
How will this impact special education services?
-
How will this affect graduation? or Prom?
-
What about extra-curricular activities, concerts, field trips?
These are just a few of the many questions we are working on.
To give you a potential timeline we are looking at:
-
Staff will meet and train for this new format next week (March 23rd - 27th)
-
The week of March 30th, we will begin rolling out our distance learning program to students.
We are currently looking at this semester ending prior to June 1st. A final decision on the last day of school will be determined by our Board of Education.
As I’ve stated in our previous messages, be patient and flexible during these unprecedented times. If you have questions, do not hesitate to reach out to the building principal or me. We will make it through this and return to a level of normalcy. Please remember, tough times are temporary!!!
Thank you,
J.B. Elliott
Superintendent
USD #343 Perry-Lecompton