SMSD to send students home during spring break with “devices and resources” in case of an extended break due to coronavirus

The Shawnee Mission School District issued an order to teachers to send students home over spring break with MacBooks, iPads and additional resources in case of a school closure order due to growing concerns with the coronavirus.

The order — which would come from the Johnson County Department of Health or Gov. Laura Kelly — would likely extend students’ spring break period for several weeks. Barstow High School and Rockhurst High School, two private schools in the area, closed doors until at least March 29 due to growing concerns and cases of coronavirus in the school.

The district will not move forward with any decision before the department of health does, as of Thursday afternoon.

With many colleges moving students home and integrating online courses, the question of whether or not East would follow suit has been raised. And teachers, according to social studies teacher Stephen Laird, aren’t explicitly prepared or “trained” for that move.

“I feel like my class could transition to all online, I have the technical knowledge and stuff like that to do that,” Laird said. “But there are some teachers who may not have the knowledge and they won’t have the support so they won’t be able to talk to me or talk to administration if they shut down the building and stuff.”

Laird included courses involving physical science and cooking would be particularly difficult to transition due to the emphasis on in-person activities and labs. Courses like his, though, would be manageable — since “[english and social studies teachers] can upload history labs and documents online,” and the learning is more research-oriented than instruction-based. 

Any further decisions on the potential for cancellation will be discussed by the department of health — and the SMSD, in turn — as details arise and the number of coronavirus cases in the area increases, according to a source within the district.