We all want Wichita kids back in schools — but not now, not like this

Wichita school board members have a lot to consider as they decide whether or how the district’s 50,000 students will return to classrooms amid an uncontrolled COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s a lot we don’t know:

Would students be able to maintain social distancing and wear masks consistently?

Are enhanced safety precautions such as hand sanitizer, bottle-filling stations, staggered schedules and in-room meals enough to curb the coronavirus in crowded buildings?

How quickly could COVID-19 outbreaks and subsequent quarantines shut down classrooms, grade levels or whole schools?

How will the district handle outbreaks after students return, and are Wichita families prepared for weeks or months of online learning?

Here’s what we do know:

Based on current Sedgwick County data and new reopening guidelines from the Kansas State Department of Education, Wichita should reopen remote-only.

Two weeks after Wichita teachers reported back for in-person meetings and training sessions, several schools already have confirmed cases of the coronavirus disease.

Even more troubling: District officials haven’t released the total number of COVID-19 cases because they can’t be sure case counts are accurate.

If the district can’t track the virus among 5,500 employees, how can it handle reporting and contact tracing for 10 times that number?

Fortunately, earlier this summer, district leaders made the expensive but necessary decision to spend $24 million on wi-fi-enabled devices — a move that finally brings the state’s largest district into the one-to-one technology arena.

The new cache of Chromebooks, iPads and Windows 10 computers should make it easier for more students to log into remote learning when situations warrant. And our current pandemic picture — the average of positive tests still hovering over 10% — certainly qualifies.

Since June, when families began clamoring for answers about when or whether schools would reopen for on-site instruction, Wichita officials have urged flexibility, patience and grace.

Superintendent Alicia Thompson repeated it again this week, adding, “We are aware of all the questions that remain, and we are working on answers.”

Now it’s go time.

School board members plan to meet Monday to discuss the state recommendations, which are based on science, data and medical opinions from the Centers for Disease Control and Children’s Mercy Hospital. They plan to decide Thursday whether in-person school will be an option.

Why wait? The hope is that things will improve by Sept. 8, when students are scheduled to return.

They might. Several COVID-19 indicators for Sedgwick County worsened for most of July but have improved some since then, thanks in part to a local mask mandate and other safety measures.

But Wichita families enrolled thinking there would be three options for school this fall — on-site, MySchool Remote and Education Imagine Academy. Those winnowed to two when the virtual school hit its 500-student capacity.

If in-person school looks iffy — and it does, considering 17 of the nation’s 20 largest districts are going remote-only — parents need to know sooner than later. Online schooling would mean a massive disruption for many working parents, and they’ll need time to make arrangements. Even a few extra days would help.

And it’s not just the Wichita district. Wichita’s suburban districts should do the same.

Better to decide now and get going online than to open school buildings with crossed fingers and high hopes, only to close them days or weeks later if COVID-19 cases spike and the logistics are unmanageable.

It’s important to get children back to school, but it’s too risky now. A quick and clear decision by the Wichita school board would let students, teachers and families plan and prepare for an online-only return.

This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 3:33 PM.