Kennedy Elementary School, 1605 Davis Road
Changing Lawrence’s Kennedy Elementary School into an early-childhood community center resulting in students being moved to other schools appears to be driven by one simple factor: money.
Lawrence Superintendent Anthony Lewis recently told the Kennedy staff and families during a meeting that the change would help the school district see more than $700,000 in savings. Those savings, he said, will help the district respond to a $1.2 million shortfall caused by recent enrollment declines.
But Kennedy parents and staff raised concerns about the change, such as Kennedy students now having to cross busy streets to get to their schools and the possibility that the big change will compounded stress as students are dealing with the pandemic’s disruption of their education.
Stephan Bisaha, Kansas News Service
photo by: Chris Neal / For the Kansas News Service
Hybrid learning has become the go-to compromise for Kansas’ largest school districts to get students back in classrooms, but some Kansas teachers say it isn’t much better than keeping students online full-time.
Districts in Lawrence, Topeka, Olathe and elsewhere rotate students between in-person and online lessons. Kids get physical time in front of a teacher without risking crowded classrooms during the pandemic. But teachers say that the constant shift from the classroom to the screen disrupts learning; that they have twice the workload; and that they have to split their focus between online and in-person students, giving neither the attention they deserve.
Hybrid learning has become the go-to compromise for Kansas’ largest school districts to get students back in classrooms.
Districts in Lawrence, Topeka, Olathe and elsewhere rotate students between in-person and online lessons. Kids get physical time in front of a teacher without risking crowded classrooms during the pandemic.
The constant shift from the classroom to the screen disrupts learning. Teachers say they have twice the workload while splitting their focus between online and in-person students, giving neither the attention they deserve.
Educators say hybrid makes it easier to help kids struggling the most, but both hybrid and online-only are leading to students falling behind.