Most Fox C-6 School District students will begin the school year with a mix of classroom and at-home instruction, and all students will start the 2020-2021 year a day later than initially anticipated.
On Aug. 4, Fox Superintendent Nisha Patel announced the district will begin the school year with a hybrid learning model that was mapped out when the district announced possible start-of-school scenarios last month.
“It has been extremely challenging when you know any decision you make will not accommodate everyone’s needs,” Patel said. “Our goal is to create a schedule that allows students to come back as much as possible, given the current community spread of COVID-19, and give parents options.”
Also on Aug. 4, board members unanimously voted to change the district’s first day of school to Thursday, Aug. 27. Previously, the first day was set for Aug. 26, but it was moved back to allow teachers more time for professional development.
Fox’s hybrid model calls for students whose last name starts with the letters “A” through “Laf” to attend classes in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, and students whose last name begins with the letters “Lag” through “Z” to be in class on Thursdays and Fridays. Students will receive online instruction while they’re at home the other three days.
Patel said she believes Fox will be able to start the school year in the hybrid model.
However, when Fox unveiled its three possible learning plans, which also included a five-day-a-week, in-person learning plan, and an all-virtual learning plan, officials stressed the options could change depending on the COVID-19 infection rate.
“Our goal has always been to bring our students and staff back but with safeguards in place,” Patel said. “This model will allow us to follow the CDC guideline of social distancing and work through the procedures that we have put in place with half the number of students in the building.
“Once we go through this phase, our hope is the community cases decline and we can move to full five days in person.”
Learning options
While 9,047, or 81 percent, of Fox’s 11,163 kindergartners through high school seniors are expected to attend school in person through the hybrid plan, the district also gave families an option to enroll students in the Fox-6 Virtual Academy, which requires students to commit to one full semester of learning completely online.
Fox officials said Aug. 4 that 2,116, or 19 percent of its students, were enrolled in the virtual academy.
Fox also prepared families for the possibility of having to close all school buildings and only offering a virtual-learning option if COVID-19 positive test rates rise during the school year or if an individual building has the virus spread throughout its student and staff population.
“The number of COVID-19 cases in our community will dictate the level of Fox C-6 Flexible Learning taking place,” district officials have said. “The decision to be in level A (five-day-a-week classroom learning), B (hybrid model) or C (all-virtual model) will be determined by the Fox School District in conjunction with local health officials.”
Patel said her goal is for Fox to remain in the hybrid model for at least a quarter.
“However, families do need to be ready (for a change in plan) in case there is an outbreak and we have to quarantine students and staff for a specific number of days,” she said.
Fox also set rules for what preventive actions will be taken inside of schools and on school buses to limit the spread of COVID-19.
All staff members and students in grades four and above will be required to wear face coverings when social distan-cing is not an option. Kindergarten through third-grade students will be required to wear face masks when directed to.
Also, everyone must wear masks while riding a school bus.
During the Aug. 4 school board meeting, Patel and board president Vicki Hanson and board member Jim Chellew stressed the importance of wearing a mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to allow classrooms to remain open.
“We need to embrace these things,” Hanson said. “I wholeheartedly agree the best world would be to have all of the kids back in school five days a week. The only way that will happen will be if parents and students follow those (mask) rules, and we need to follow those rules even when we are out in the community.
“That would be my plea. I know in Jefferson County masks are not mandated, but it seems like the numbers are going up where people are not following the protocol (of wearing masks).”
New start date
By changing the district’s start date, it will allow Fox teachers more time to develop educational plans and methods regardless of what type of instruction option is in place.
“The staff welcome-back days (Aug. 20-21 and Aug. 24-26) will include training around curriculum, resources, policies and procedures, re-entry plan details, purposeful lesson planning for the hybrid and virtual learning models, social-emotional supports for staff and students, safety, and technology resources and supports,” said Robin Greene, Fox’s director of professional development.
Athletics plan
On Aug. 5, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) announced it had changed course and will allow schools to participate in sports, even if a school district only offers virtual learning. That announcement made it more likely Fox and Seckman high schools will have a more traditional fall sports season.
The district has mapped out three scenarios for how sporting events might be held during the fall semester.
“Our goal is to make sure we can get kids on the field,” said Tammy Cardona, assistant superintendent in charge of secondary education.
