Arkansas policymakers and educators are wiser and better equipped to protect and teach students than they were this spring, state Education Secretary Johnny Key said Thursday.
"This fall is not meant to ever be a repeat of last spring," Key told the state Board of Education as part of a report on preparations for the start of the 2020-21 school year for more than 480,000 students later this month.
Key's remarks to the Education Board come at a time when there is reluctance by some parents and teachers to start on-campus instruction in the week of Aug. 24 while the numbers of people contracting the coronavirus increase by several hundred a day.
The education secretary made his comments at about the same time Gov. Asa Hutchinson at the state Capitol unveiled the Arkansas Ready to Learn Healthy School Guide, which grew out of a partnership between Arkansas Children's Hospital, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the Department of Health and the Department of Education.
[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]
The guide has "the latest scientific advice and best practices to help school officials, educators and families plan for in-person learning," Hutchinson said at his near-daily news conference on the coronavirus.
"This partnership was designed to look at how we can better prepare and communicate with our parents and our school families and our educators about how, from a scientific, medical standpoint, they can be best prepared for school," he said.
Education Board member Fitz Hill of Little Rock quizzed Key and Stacy Smith, superintendent of the state Office of Coordinated Support and Service, about the ramifications of an outbreak of the virus that could close a school or district for on-site teaching and leave students without adult supervision and no learning.
Hill asked how quickly a school can transition to virtual instruction for all students and what support will be there for students with no adults at home or for the state's some 13,000 students who deal with homelessness.
"What is the contingency plan?" Hill asked, adding that many parents have no choice but to be away at work during the school day to avoid eviction from their homes. Last spring there was "zero learning" for some students, he also said.
[DOCUMENT: ADH Healthy School Guide » arkansasonline.com/814guide/]
"We've learned a lot since the spring," Key responded, adding that even when on-site instruction is shut down, some students will be able to access their schools.
"We didn't know what we were dealing with in the spring," Key said. "We do know now. We also know -- over the course of the summer starting June 1 -- we allowed districts to start bringing students back on campus for limited activities. Now, if we get into a situation where there is an extended closure of on-site, we know better how to deal with those situations and can identify through the learning management system those students for whom this isn't working.
"These small groups can be brought back on campus using a more restricted setting -- limits of 10 in a room or extreme distancing -- whatever it takes," Key said.
Education Board Chairman Charisse Dean of Little Rock agreed with Hill that community resources are going to be critical to help students.
Hill called the situation a crisis with the need for rapid response like the Navy SEALs would provide.
"There are several churches currently meeting to formulate a plan around this," Dean said. "We understand that there are parents who are doing the best they can, they have to work, they have to be gone," she said. "There is planning going on right now between churches and different community groups," and among parents who are arranging schedules to share supervision of groups of children.
Dean acknowledged the "large amount" of public comment Education Board members have received regarding the school year. She said board members are reading them and taking the concerns in them and suggestions under consideration.
Key and Smith highlighted the Lincoln Learning Solutions resource -- both course content and an online student learning management system -- that is available at no cost to school systems through a partnership with the Arkansas Public School Resource Center. The state is using federal funding to pay for the Lincoln systems.
As of Aug. 9, there are 173 districts and charter schools using some portion of the free resources, Key said. There are 133 districts using both the learning platform and the digital content from Lincoln Learning.
Twenty-seven districts are using content from other sources, and Google Classroom or some other type of learning platform. Thirteen are using a different learning management system but will use the digital content from Lincoln Learning, he said.
Out of the 173, there are 157 traditional public school districts; 13 are charter schools and three are private schools that have opted into the resources. More than 204,000 students are being touched by the free resources, Key said. The numbers are preliminary and expected to increase, Key said.
Education Board member Sarah Moore of Stuttgart said it is important to know what the other districts are using for their digital content and learning management systems. Key said some districts are having their own teachers upload lessons online. Districts are being directed to update that kind of information on the the state Division of Elementary and Secondary Education's website, he said.
Other learning management systems include Schoology, Canvas, and SeeSaw. Examples of different academic content providers being used by districts include Edgenuity Inc. APEX Learning Inc., Virtual Arkansas, Odysseyware Academy, and Edmentum Inc.
Smith on Thursday reported to the Education Board on the school year planning being done for the five districts that are operating under state control: Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Dollarway, Lee County and Earle. Each of the districts has different percentages of students planning to attend school on-site and virtually.
In Dollarway, for example 65% of students have indicated a preference for virtual instruction. The district will use Edgenuity for digital content. The district will provide Wi-Fi access at various locations and will continue to fine-tune access solutions. Buses equipped with hot spots will be accessible for families who lack internet connections in the home. All virtual students will have daily access to a teacher at a school. Meals will be available for students receiving virtual instruction.
In Pine Bluff, 70% of students have stated a preference for virtual education. All students will be provided with Chromebook computers. Four hundred hot spots have been ordered in addition to 115 hot spots that are coming from the state to the district. Buses will be equipped with hot spots as another means to make the internet available to students.
In the Little Rock district, another example, about 32% of students are opting for in-person instruction, 43% for virtual, and 25% of families have yet to choose, Smith said. Chromebooks will be used by all third through 12th graders and iPads for younger children. The district is awaiting delivery of 2,000 Chromebooks and finalizing contracts with an internet provider to get service for those choosing virtual instruction. That instruction will be done through Schoology.
The Little Rock district this week received 1.5 million disposable masks for students and staff to start the year.
Information for this article was contributed by Frank E. Lockwood of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
