School districts across the state of Kentucky scuttled their back-to-school plans on Aug. 10, when Gov. Andy Beshear announced his official recommendation that the state’s public school students learn from home until at least Sept. 28.
With less than a week left until the academic year begins in Boone County, parents still aren’t sure what lies ahead or what they should be doing to get ready.
“We don’t really know what’s going on,” said Chelsea Fisch, whose three sons attend three different Boone County schools.
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Her high-schooler will start classes on Aug. 25. Which classes? Good question — he hasn’t received his schedule.
“I’ll probably be scrambling this weekend,” Fisch admitted.
Another Boone County mother, Heather Eggleston, said her fifth-grader still doesn’t know who his teacher will be when he logs on to his first day of online classes.
And others across the district have been struggling to prepare for virtual learning, ensure their children have internet access and report problems with students’ school-issued smart devices.
“This is not the way we like to operate,” assistant superintendent James Detwiler said Wednesday. “Obviously, we know that this is a hardship on the families.”
Until Beshear’s announcement, the district had planned on a blended learning model: Students in classrooms for one half of the week and learning online for the other. Detwiler said Boone County schools are doing their best to pivot and be responsive to families’ needs.
If a family doesn’t have access to Wi-Fi, “we will set them up in some way, and we have agencies that work with us to make sure students have what they need,” Detwiler said.
He added that high schoolers should expect to receive an email or phone call containing their schedule on Thursday or Friday. Elementary and middle schoolers, who have the same teacher all day, will know who it is by Friday.
Families in need of help with their child’s computer, Wi-Fi or school meals should call their child’s school directly, Detwiler said.
