KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Students in the Kansas City, Kansas, public school district will continue to learn virtually for a few more months.
The Board of Education voted on Tuesday to push back the start of in-person learning from January to April, at the end of the third quarter.
Edwin Birch, executive director of communications for KCK Public Schools, said the district did not make the decision lightly and took into account the increase in positive COVID-19 cases in the area.
"There is no perfect answer, there is no perfect way to deal with this," Birch said.
The district's decision comes as a new study shows that test scores, particularly in math, fell among students in third through eighth grades this fall while many schools were in remote learning modes.
The study by NWEA, which analyzed data from nearly 4.4 million students, also revealed that reading levels decreased for Black and Hispanic students, as well as those who attend schools in high poverty areas.
As a result, school districts in the Kansas City area are doing everything possible to make sure all students get the very best education.
"It's difficult and it's challenging," Birch said. "We have some great teachers that are doing some good work under these circumstances that we are going through right now. I would like to reiterate that even though students are not in the classroom, our schools are still open. Our principals are there, our staff is there."
The KCKPS board considered two other options, including postponing in-person learning until positivity rates decrease and returning as planned in January, before it landed on the decision to postpone in-person learning until April.
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