Thousands of parents scrambling to plan for virtual classes as multiple districts forgo in-person learning
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Chesterfield, MO (KMOV) — Thousands of area families are preparing to go back to school at home, as both St. Louis Public Schools and Parkway School District announced they are going to be online only this fall.
A lot of parents still trying to figure out how they’ll make the plan work, and it came as a shock, considering almost 70 percent voted for in-person options.
But Superintendent Keith Marty said he’s putting student and staff safety first.
“We bring people together with adults and students and we really believe this time we need to do our part to keep people safe and healthy,” he said.
Marty said health data led his decision to cancel in-person classes, Even though a survey showed 67 percent of families preferred that option.
Missouri has seen eight straight days of more than 1,100 new cases daily, and has set a single-day record multiple times in the last week. With the recent spike in cases, Marty says students and staff would be at risk.
“We’ve been watching that and we are really worried about bringing people back in a healthy and safe environment,” he said.
It’s a major change from what Parkway School District announced over a week ago.
All 18,000 students in the district will attend classes virtually, five days a week until at least mid-October.
But SLPS Superintendent Kelvin Adams echoed Marty’s sentiment announcing the first day of school will be pushed back a week and classes will be online out of caution.
“The data says we need to be a lot more cautious in opening our schools,” Adams said.
A big question a lot of working parents have is what to do about childcare.
SLPS officials said the district will provide support centers for families who need them.
The Parkway School District said they are looking into several options, but urge parents to start their own planning processes now.
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