During their meeting, held on Tuesday, June 9, the Louisville Municipal School District Board of Trustees discussed a pandemic plan which would set how the 2020-2021 school year is to be conducted. Superintendent, Dr. Randy Grierson, said that the district is taking information from different entities including state recommendations to come up with the best options. Board member, Brenda Johnson stated that there need to be a planning team and an operational team in place, which would include people from every area of the community. With many unknowns the pandemic will affect transportation, sanitation, instruction and every facet of the school system. The Board also discussed changes to the Student Handbook which would affect those students involved in extra-curricular activities who are not meeting benchmarks as set forth by the Mississippi Dept. of Education. Board member, Bobby Pierce stated that there are already policies in place to deal with many of these issues, while Grierson pointed out that the policies help to monitor situations, but not to deal with them, and that any changes are not to penalize students, rather to intervene with students who fall behind and help them catch up. In Sixteenth-Section action, the Board voted unanimously to: • Approval to cancel a 1 acre recreational lease on Bobby and Jenny Mayo and approve a new 1 acre residential lease on this same area for Karen M. Ellinburg on 16-13-11 (Liberty) • Approval to cancel an expired 53 acre farm residential lease on Mark Lang on 16- 13- 12 (Noxapater) • Approval to advertise for bids on the following leases: • 7 acre pasture lease on 16-13-13 (Claytown) • 53 acre pasture lease on 16-13-12 (Noxapater) • 40 acre hunting lease on 16-13-13 (Claytown) In Financials, the Board voted unanimously for: • Approval of Claims Docket #328590 through #328757 and May 2020 Activity/Agency fund checks • Approval of May 2020 bank balances and financial reports • Approval of Vendor List that does not require a purchase order • Approval to transfer the interest earned on the payroll clearing and accounts payable clearing accounts for the year. • Approval to run claims on the 10th and 20th of the month. • Approval to advertise for the Budget Hearing and Ad Valorem to be held July 28, 2020, at 8:30 a.m. • Approval of the following changes to bank accounts to be effective July 1, 2020: • Remove Rhyne Thompson from Louisville Elementary bank accounts and add Gina Smith • Remove Belinda Swart from Nanih Waiya bank accounts and add Rhyne Thompson • Remove Hilute Hudson from Louisville High bank accounts and add Danya Turner • Approval to Write-Off the following checks: • Clearing Acct • LHS Activity/ Agency • NW Activity/ Agency •NOX Activity/ Agency •WLCTC Activity/ Agency In other action, the Board: • Voted 5-0 for approval of the following Title projects for FY 2021 • Title I-A Consolidated - $1,453,458 • Consolidated Title I-A Neglected - $1,202 • Consolidated Title II-A - $50,685 • Consolidated Title V - $57,027 •School Improvement - $49,257 • Voted 5-0 to name gym at Noxapater the Bobby Goss Gymnasium and the Field House the Buck Kennedy Athletic Complex. •Discussed Sixteenth-Section money projects, including the Nanih Waiya press box and bleachers, the Noxapater press box and bleachers, Nanih Waiya and LHS baseball lighting. The Board set the date of the next meeting on Tuesday, July 14 at 5:30 p.m. State unveils options for K-12 schools to reopen in the fall BY KAYLEIGH SKINNER AALLYAH WRIGHT AND KELSEY DAVIS BETZ From mississippitoday.org Recently the Mississippi Department of Education released guidelines for how K-12 schools should reopen in the fall. In a document titled “Considerations for reopening Mississippi Schools,” the department outlines a three-month timeline with information for school districts to consider as they plan for the upcoming school year. These guidelines were created with a group of 10 superintendents across the state, and list three options for how schools should reopen: traditional, hybrid, or virtual. The guidelines will be updated every three months depending on the coronavirus and its effects. The Institutions of Higher Learning already made the decision that the state’s public colleges and universities will “resume traditional operations” in the fall. Traditional reopening would mean students are physically present in school so long as districts can continue to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state department of health guidelines. This plan suggests schools make adjustments to transportation, screen students daily, and limit student movement and gatherings so that social distancing is possible. Additionally, schools are encouraged to create a plan for students and staff who are unable to come to school due to health issues. A hybrid reopening would mean some combination of in-person instruction and distance learning. Schools could adopt “A/B days,” meaning students would be split into two groups which report to school on alternating days. The guidelines also have the option for elementary students to report to school for in-person instruction, while students in higher grades complete their work through distance learning. Schools could also do some combination of the two options, the guidelines state. Virtual reopening would have students return to school entirely through distance learning, but the guideline warns that districts must take into consideration whether their community has sufficient internet bandwidth and can mitigate “the digital divide among families.” The state is not mandating which option districts take. “Local school districts are responsible for designing school schedules that best meet the needs of their communities,” the department said in a press release. At a Mississippi State Board of Education meeting Thursday, members suspended several policies to help school districts meet requirements and choose one of these three avenues. For example, in the past the department has required that all students receive 5.5 hours of instructional time per day. That has now been reduced to 4 hours. A similar exception was made for high schools that use Carnegie unit credits to measure course completion. Previously, there was a 140-hour instructional requirement for one-credit courses and a 70-hour instructional requirement for half-credit courses. Now, that will be waived as long as districts, “develop a plan to ensure students master the course content,” the press release states. Those plans must be approved by districts’ local school boards and posted to their websites by September 30. Also, school districts no longer have to seek a waiver from the State Board of Education or Commission on School Accreditation if they can’t comply with student-teacher ratios. Some policies that have been in place will remain for the 2020-2021 school year —districts still have to establish graduation requirements that meet the state’s minimum graduation requirements. Before the first day of school, local school districts also have to create criteria for whether a student can move on to the next grade as well as come up with “uniform grading policies,” MDE stated in its press release. If the previous school year is any indication, a hybrid return will likely be popular option. During the 2019-20 school year when school buildings closed because of the pandemic, the department surveyed school districts on how they were delivering instruction. In all, 13 said they were using distance or virtual learning, 16 were sending home packets, and 134 were using a blended approach of the two methods. Five districts said they were using alternative approaches, such as phone calls and peer tutoring, according to the department. Going entirely virtual is a complicated and expensive undertaking the department is actively working on, as the start of a new school year is roughly eight weeks away. Online learning is not currently a reality in many districts. Census Bureau data shows that statewide, almost one-fifth of Mississippi households do not have a computer and nearly one-third don’t have broadband, the federal standard for internet speeds. Last month, State Superintendent Carey Wright presented a digital learning plan to the Mississippi Legislature which highlighted five main areas: technology, curriculum, training, computer security and internet connectivity as resources needed for districts to fully implement a digital learning plan. Requirements would include roughly 300,000 laptops or tablets, 40,000 WiFi hotspots, eight high-quality curricula programs, training for students and families, professional development for 30,000 teachers and 450 technology staff, device management support and software licenses, costing nearly $250 million. The state received millions in federal funds via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act which the department intends to use to help pay for this. Gov. Tate Reeves received $34.6 million in a specific fund to be used for education, and the state’s K-12 schools received $169.8 million through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. Separately, the Mississippi Legislature has control of $1.2 billion in federal funds to be used for coronavirus relief efforts. To pay for the $250 million price tag, the department has requested $200 million from the Legislature’s portion of federal funds. The Legislature is still in session working out the state budget, so whether the department is granted those funds remains to be seen. To pay for the rest, $33 million would have to come from local school districts’ portion of ESSER funds; $5 million from the department’s CARES Act funds; $5 million from the governor’s portion of education CARES Act funds, and $7 million in private funds were requested from the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits, according to the department. “This is such a wonderful opportunity for the state, and…absent COVID-19 and the funding that comes with that, we probably would never have seen this kind of investment in the school districts of Mississippi in my lifetime,” said board member John Kelly. SBE provides districts with flexibilities to operate schools The Mississippi State Board of Education suspended several policies June 11 to give local school districts scheduling flexibility for the 2020-21 school year to deal with the impact of COVID-19. State law requires schools to provide 180 days of instruction each school year. Local school districts are responsible for designing school schedules that best meet the needs of their communities. School calendars, including the first and last day of school and school holidays, are set at the district level. The SBE policy suspensions will allow districts flexibility with their scheduling to comply with Mississippi State Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control guidelines for managing the COVID-19 outbreak. For the 2020-21 school year, districts may meet the 180-day teaching requirement by implementing one or more of three scheduling options for operating schools: traditional, virtual or a hybrid of in-person and distance learning. The types of schedules may vary among schools in the same district to meet the different learning needs of students in elementary, middle and high school. To help districts develop class schedules, the number of daily instructional hours required has been reduced from 5.5 hours to four hours per day. For high school courses that offer Carnegie unit credit, the 140-hour instructional requirement for one-credit courses and the 70-hour instructional requirement for half-credit courses will be waived if the district develops a plan to ensure students master the course content. The plan must be approved by the local school board and posted on the district’s website by Sept. 30. The SBE also suspended the policy requiring districts to seek a waiver from the SBE or the Commission on School Accreditation if they are unable to comply with state-mandated student-teacher ratios. Policies that remain for the 2020-21 school year include: • Districts must establish graduation requirements for the 2020-21 school year prior to the first day of school. Those requirements must meet the state’s minimum graduation requirements. • Local school boards shall establish criteria for the academic promotion/progression/retention of students for the 2020-21 school year prior to the first day of school. • Local school boards shall establish uniform grading policies for the 2020-21 school year prior to the first day of school. The Mississippi Department of Education has partnered with a workgroup of nine superintendents from a diverse range of school districts to outline the key issues districts need to address to reopen schools. Earlier last week, the MDE released “Considerations for Reopening Mississippi Schools,” which outlines a three-month timeline of strategies for superintendents and principals to consider to plan for the start of the 2020-21 school year. The document is intended to be used as a resource and starting point for districts to consider local needs in collaboration with stakeholders. It will be updated in three-month intervals to adjust to changes with the COVID-19 outbreak. “The MDE will continue to support districts during this summer planning phase and once schools reopen,” said Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education. “We are working in consultation with the Office of the Governor, the Mississippi State Department of Health and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to ensure that schools open safely and so they can provide every student with the high-quality education they deserve.” For a complete list of policy suspensions for the 2020-21 school year, view the policy suspension chart: https://bit.ly/3cTuUUn
