A Breakdown of Missouri School District Reopening Plans
By: Kristi donaldson & Andrew Diemer
Since closing last spring, districts across the country have been busy preparing plans for eventual school reopenings. However, with increasing coronavirus cases, including new, emerging hotspots in Missouri, school districts are again balancing public health concerns with getting all students back on track academically. Missouri is one of many states that has not released any formal requirements for reopening school districts. Instead, it issued general guidelines and opted to allow local districts to decide how they will reopen individually.
Across all plans, about 94 percent of districts (and 81 percent of students) fall into one of five categories:
* Districts without readily accessible plans were almost exclusively rural
Over the past week, PRiME searched district websites and Facebook pages to locate reopening plans for nearly every Missouri school district. Though district plans are unique, all provide learning options within three general categories, and each balances student academic needs, the community’s health and safety, and district resources. We coded each district’s instructional plans for the first day of school, specifically if they plan to open in person, with a hybrid model, online, or some combination:
Option 1: In-Person Instruction, with COVID-19 precautions
Students back in their brick-and-mortar buildings for a full week of classes, with new health measures
For districts returning to full, in-person instruction, school still won't be the same as prior to the pandemic. These districts may separate students on buses, require or recommend masks from students and staff, ban water fountains, or break up lunch periods. Though these plans take precautions for health and safety, in-person instruction puts both students and staff greater risk of exposure to COVID-19. We used the district plans we collected and enrollment data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and found that about 71 percent of Missouri students are in districts offering in-person education to start the school year.
Option 2: Hybrid Instruction
Schools place students into small groups or cohorts that attend in-person on certain days or times of the week and online on the others
Hybrid reopening models rotate groups of students into school on different days or times. This approach allows students to get in-person instructional time, more consistent connections with their teacher(s), some social time with their friends, while also lowering the risk of exposure for students and staff. It also requires parents to accommodate students at home during different times of the week. Currently, about six percent of districts in Missouri are offering hybrid instruction for their Fall reopening, and about 20 percent of students will have this option.
Option 3: Online Learning
Students take classes the same way they have since March/April: virtually
Following the resurgence of COVID-19 cases throughout the state, more than half of districts have announced the option of an online model or are offering online exclusively, including St. Louis Public Schools and Kansas City Public Schools. Many districts also have online contingency plans if infection rates increase or stay-at-home orders are enacted. Some districts will incorporate virtual lessons into in-person instructional time so students can be more confident and successful learning online than during Spring shutdowns. About 88 percent of students in Missouri are projected to have an online option.
Districts with in-person and online options offer both to families to choose their preference. The in-person, virtual opt-out choice is available to 28 percent of students in the state. In this option, the district’s primary method is in-person instruction, with virtual provisions for medically vulnerable students, students who feel unsafe coming back to school, or otherwise opt-out through an application process. This option often requires students to remain enrolled in virtual instruction for the first quarter or semester. Sometimes, students are also expected to provide their own technology and internet.
Online learning is the safest route for personal and public health. Yet, online education will likely put students behind where they would be with in-person instruction, particularly students already at risk. Missouri districts planning only online instruction to start the 2020-21 year serve higher percentages of students of color and low-income students. The districts are also exclusively in cities and suburbs, which are more densely populated (and therefore subject to faster virus spread) and have some of the state’s highest infection rates. In particular, these districts face tough decisions to strike a delicate balance of health, public safety, and learning.
PRiME will be revisiting districts’ protocols later this month to analyze final Fall reopening plans. We will look at communications, instructional details, technology, health and safety measures, and equity across these dimensions. If you have suggestions or ideas of other things you’d like to see, please let us know.