The covid-19 pandemic is turning kindergarten-through-12th-grade education on its ear by making a virtual education option a standard for large numbers of students in the state's school systems.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Arkansas Education Secretary Johnny Key say frequently that they want the state's more than 1,000 school campuses to reopen to students and teachers in mid-August after being closed since mid-March.
But schools and districts are also told by the state leaders to have virtual education programs in use or at the ready for all students and to be able to pivot among the traditional and virtual options in response to the state of the pandemic.
Speaking in Fort Smith last week after meeting with Fort Smith Superintendent Doug Brubaker, the governor said flexibility is critical for the coming year.
They want to have classroom instruction, Hutchinson said of districts. But if there is a positive covid-19 case or if they have students with health conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus, districts need a virtual program.
"We will learn and we will adjust," he also said, adding that state waivers of some education rules and laws are already being put in place to reduce barriers to virtual schools or schools that blend virtual and face-to-face instruction.
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"That's the key: We are going to have to have a school year where we have the maximum amount of flexibility with the intent to have as normal a school year as possible -- that gives students the best education as possible.
"They are working very hard on that," he said of districts.
School system leaders and teachers who have just completed a historically tumultuous school year because of the pandemic are now deep into planning for the upcoming school year.
The calendar may say "June" and conjure up images of vacations and relaxation, but educators are in the midst of updating and surveying parents about school options, ordering computer devices, analyzing internet availability, weighing options for scheduling in-school classes, and checking for the latest state guidance on keeping students and staff healthy in the face of the contagious and potentially fatal infection.
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Little Rock School District Superintendent Mike Poore said late last week that he and his staff intend to roll out the 2020-21 school year plan for the capital city's more than 20,000 students no later than the first week of July.
The work is still in draft form and subject to further guidance from state officials, including the Arkansas Department of Health, but it calls for a virtual option for delivery of instruction and a more traditional on-campus school option, Poore said.
"We'll do everything that is humanly possible to follow recommendations ... and requirements," he said about safety in reopened school buildings. "I think they [the requirements] are going to get hammered out to a much greater degree by the first of July," he said, noting an education task force had met earlier in the day with Department of Health leaders about reopening schools.
Those who choose to use the virtual school option will retain a place in their assigned school buildings, Poore said, but the families can't decide in midsemester to return their child to the physical school. Students who take the virtual option have to stick with that choice for the semester.
The district's planning for the coming year is helped by the results from a recent survey that was open to all district parents and teachers. A total of 3,307 parents and 1,181 teachers responded to the queries about their access to computers and the internet and their opinions about the quality of lessons provided to district students in the spring by the Edmentum and itsLearning online education companies.
Both parents and teachers reported there was a steep learning curve for using the virtual lessons this past spring, according to the survey results. Teachers need to be able to customize the lessons to their students, respondents also said. Elective courses were not taught after schools were closed, and those courses were missed, a majority of respondents said. Younger students needed more structure and routine in their virtual learning programs, they said.
The surveys also delved into the need for computer devices and internet availability for families. There are some teachers who don't have computers or computers with webcams necessary for teaching. Fewer than 1% of the 3,307 parent responders said their children do not have internet access. The district has more than 20,000 students.
Kelsey Bailey, the district's chief financial officer, said the district has ordered about 1,000 Chromebook computers to supplement the thousands of devices already purchased in recent months for student use. The district is competing with school districts nationwide for the devices, which will be paid for with federal coronavirus aid.
The surveys were followed by focus groups of teachers and parents meeting with district leaders to respond to additional questions such as what constitutes an ideal learning environment and teacher needs in regard to training and reaching a comfort level with using the technology for online teaching.
Parents and teachers who did not participate in the focus groups can contact Hope Worsham, the district's executive director of curriculum and instruction, to get the questions that were asked and then submit responses. Her email address is hope.worsham@lrsd.org.
Worsham said the survey and focus groups will be followed in the next few days with a query to parents on whether they prefer the virtual school or the physical school for their children in the upcoming school year.
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No plans are final for the structure of the coming school year in the 8,000-student North Little Rock School District, Interim Superintendent Keith McGee said last week, but some ideas are beginning to float to the top for further study.
Those include a virtual academy in which instruction would be 100% online and the return to a normal school setting while adhering to state safety directives and guidelines -- including the wearing of masks by those 10 years old and older and a plethora of sanitizer stations.
Another, more unusual, option is establishing an alternate days schedule, McGee said. Students would be split into A and B groups. The A group would physically attend classes on Monday and Tuesday and the B group would attend on Thursday and Friday. The building would be sanitized on Wednesdays.
McGee said district leaders will have more detailed information by the time the district hosts its "Virtual Cupcake and Conversations" event for parents on July 9.
OUTSIDE PULASKI COUNTY
The Bentonville, Bryant, Fayetteville, Fort Smith and Springdale school districts are among other Arkansas school districts contacted last week by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for a status report on their planning for the new school year.
Both the Bentonville and Bryant districts district are characterizing their plans as having two instructional delivery options for kindergarten through 12th grades: blended and virtual.
The blended learning plan is closest to the traditional school in that students report to school for a full day of instruction on each school day, according to the Bentonville website's description. But, in the event of inclement weather or pandemic restrictions, students would transition to learning from home.
Students in families who choose the virtual school option will do their school work from home on a full-time basis, using teacher-produced lessons.
"Most of the content comes from Bentonville teachers and is developed within the district. However, we always investigate all available resources to serve as supplemental lessons for our teachers," Bentonville Superintendent Debbie Jones said last week about the material to be taught regardless of the option parents choose. "We only use our teachers and we don't outsource our education."
In Bryant's blended school plan, students will learn grade-level content through face-to face instruction with teachers as well as through the use of technology. Students and teachers will stay prepared to move to online learning if mandated by state directives.
Bryant families choosing the virtual, online plan will only be required to be on campus for state-mandated exams. Virtual school families should have home internet service, district leaders also advised.
"Students will follow all policies, handbooks, and procedures -- including attendance, assignments and behavior," the Bryant website states about the virtual option. "Students registered in virtual learning may also participate in extracurricular activities, following the guidelines of their respective activity as issued by the coach and the Arkansas Activities Association. Transportation will be provided by the parent."
Devin Sherrill, a spokeswoman for the Bryant system, said a survey will be sent to parents today asking them to say by a July 5 deadline what option they prefer for their children.
"Our hope is to be able to accommodate whatever our parents would choose," Sherrill said. "That is why we are asking for their responses as early as possible so we can do that planning."
Parents will also be asked for the reasons for their school choice, as well as about their access to computers and the internet, and whether they will need transportation for their children.
"We are spending hours planning and looking at scenarios -- first and foremost with safety in mind but also on how we can provide the strongest academic environment possible," Sherrill said.
FAYETTEVILLE, SPRINGDALE, FORT SMITH
The Springdale and Fayetteville districts have more experience than most school systems with blended and remote learning options.
The Fayetteville Virtual Academy for grades four through 12 has been in operation since 2016, Public Information Officer Alan Wilbourn said Friday.
This year virtual learning options will be available to all kindergarten-through-12th graders through a digital platform using the same curriculum as those students in a traditional school setting, Wilbourn said.
"Fayetteville Public Schools teachers will develop lessons and online assignments for students," Wilbourn said. "Google Classroom and other curriculum programs purchased by the district will be used to support student understanding through online learning."
In addition to virtual learning, families will still have the option of sending their child to their zoned school for traditional learning, albeit with safety precautions in place.
The district will also be able to offer a blended learning model through the Arkansas Ready for Learning waiver process.
"This blended approach will allow the district to easily transition from face-to-face instruction in traditional classrooms to virtual at-home instruction should the need arise," Wilbourn said, adding that the district is taking steps to expand internet access to students, including through WI-FI equipped school buses that will be parked throughout the city.
By July 1, Wilbourn said, the district will provide parents information concerning the available learning options and offer a survey to determine interest in these options and technology needs.
The Springdale district, the state's largest in terms of student numbers, is home to the Don Tyson School of Innovation in which students do school work both on- and off-site -- a blended instructional program. The School of Innovation includes the Virtual Innovation Academy in which all learning can be done off-site or partially off-site.
The academy, with its remote learning program, will be a choice "for parents who absolutely do not want their students back in the classroom," district spokesman Rick Schaeffer said Friday.
The Virtual Innovation Academy has been serving remote or part-time remote learners in grades six through 12 but is expanding to kindergarten through 12 this year, Schaeffer said.
The district is not abandoning more traditional face-to-face teaching but will follow all state guidelines, Schaeffer said. The Springdale district is a one-to-one student-to-computer device school system and all students will be able to use their devices at home to do their school work, he said. The district is exploring ways to ensure that all students can access the internet when they are not at school, he said.
The more than 14,000-student Fort Smith School District announced on its website Tuesday that it will offer a full-time virtual learning academy for kindergarten through eighth-grade students.
The district will also offer three virtual and blended options through the School of Innovation at Southside High School for all incoming ninth through 12th grade students.
"In-person instruction continues to be the core instruction model and the heartbeat of school culture," the district said. "But, because of the pandemic, it is possible that in-person instruction will have to be modified to meet state physical distancing guidelines."