Board Meeting Recap: Students to return to full in-person learning and the new superintendent

During SMSD’s Board of Education meeting on Feb. 22, the district announced that secondary students will return to full in-person learning on March 22, followed by the announcement of the district’s next superintendent as Dr. Michelle Hubbard.

The district has worked closely with the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment to develop a plan for the safest way to transition into full in-person learning. 

During the in-person learning model, students will attend periods 1-4 on Monday and Wednesday and 5-7 on Tuesday and Thursday, Friday remaining a seven-period remote day. 

Because a majority of the school is returning, the district can’t guarantee at least three feet of social distancing in classes during the in-person model. So, SMSD will be adopting JCDHE’s contact-tracing plan called the “airplane model” where students sitting in one of the adjacent desks within three feet of an infected student will be quarantined.

Other new precautions include staggered arrival times, no locker use and assigned seating in the middle school cafeterias.

SMSD will not be requiring students to wear two masks, but recommend it if able.

JCDHE also updated the board on where the district stands with staff vaccinations — over 1,600 faculty members have received the first dose. At the earliest, they predict 100% of the district’s educators could have the first dose of the vaccine by mid- to late-March.

At the beginning of the board meeting, community members were welcomed to share their thoughts on the virtual learning model and their opinions regarding secondary students returning to a full in-person schedule. The main push from district parents came down to the mental and academic toll virtual and hybrid learning has had on students — two parents stated how they lost their son to suicide because of the virtual learning environment’s isolation. 

Holding a sign reading “Time to let kids back in class,” East parent Karie Nelson attended the board meeting and is glad the district is moving forward with in-person learning.

“I feel like [students] will finally get a sense of normalcy and maybe if we can be proactive, we can avoid some of the emotional issues students are having right now in isolation at home,” Nelson said.

Following the learning plan update, the school district announced that Hubbard would succeed Dr. Michael Fulton as the district’s superintendent in July this year. While currently serving as the Deputy Superintendent for the district, Hubbard’s credentials include being the superintendent for seven years in the Turner School District. 

SMSD sent an email out to families introducing and welcoming the future superintendent.