NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Friday was the deadline for Metro Nashville parents to complete a survey about how students will learn for the remainder of the school year. But some are concerned about the district’s proposed timeline for returning to in-person learning.
“I have two high schoolers also so I am a parent of two high schoolers but it’s always been about all of our kids,” said MNPS Board member Fran Bush. “I will tell you that right now we should be back in school. Our numbers are down. We’re safe. We should be transitioning sooner than later than Fall break.”
The district is phasing in some students this month followed by grades Pre-K to 2nd grade in elementary school after the Fall break. The proposed timeline doesn’t have high school students starting until January.
“As far as our high schoolers I just feel like they have done them a disservice. By the time they go back in January – keep in mind this is just mid-September – so we’re talking almost 10 months of students not being able to go back in person safely with parent choice,” Bush said.
Director of Metro Schools Dr. Adrienne Battle said their decisions were always based on safety first.
“We also know our high schools have the highest number of students who would be reconvening back in those facilities,” Dr. Battle said. “We also know the data and research with regards to our older students and the likelihood of transmission of the virus.”
She added that high school students are on a four by four schedule so their courses are accelerated.
Battle said that a change for high school students around November would be right before exams.
“I think it’s important for everyone to recognize this – our students self-select the courses that they take every year. Lots of our students take very specialized courses so it’s important for us that we not limit student access to those courses based upon the phase-in.”
News 2 digs deeper into how schools are moving forward safely for the new academic year. See how other districts around Middle Tennessee are handling everything from classroom concerns to the future of sports in our special series. Click here to see more.
