Call Ed: KSD, you have failed us
With the Board of Education set to approve a plan for middle and high school to return to in-person learning, TKC has reviewed how KSD has handled the pandemic since March. Of TKC staff, 88% (57/65) believe KSD has not handled the pandemic in the best way possible for the community.
Since March 13, KSD students have operated according to our district administration’s decisions regarding our education in the pandemic. From the announcement of online school on March 26, to the closure of the district until July 1 and our current status as an all-virtual learning environment, learning-related decisions have been dictated by KSD and approved by the school board for the safety of students. Now, within the last two weeks, KSD has released announcements regarding their back to school plan, aiming for a return of middle and high school by Nov. 9.
At this point — after seven months of executive decision making — students are starting to question the ‘why’ behind these decisions, and we are not satisfied. Of TKC staff, 88% (57/65) believe KSD has not handled the coronavirus pandemic in the best way possible for the community.
With each decision to return, KSD has asked parents and teachers for input and preference — but nowhere have students been asked the same. At the high school alone, 1,820 students are in attendance and that number is only growing. The students are the largest percentage of who will be in the building on Nov. 9, yet we don’t have a survey to fill out; we haven’t been asked for ideas; we haven’t been able to share our fears with the administration that determines how we learn for seven hours a day, five days a week. They aren’t just turning a blind eye to what we are saying — there aren’t any eyes to see us with at all. In an interview with TKC on Oct. 22, Dr. David Ulrich, KSD superintendent, seemed open and receptive to the ideas we offered regarding opportunities for student feedback. The administration keeps missing the punchline, though: it’s too late. The Board unanimously voted to approve the high school plan Monday, Oct. 26. There is no time for feedback. Our fates have been sealed without our voices and, to an extent, without our knowledge.
Another concern expressed by TKC staff is the lack of communication from the district. On social media, within group chats or between friends during distanced bonfires, students are anxious and confused. They know little about what back to school will look like, and how those decisions are being made. How will bathrooms and passing periods be regulated? What happens if someone doesn’t wear a mask? Why are we going back Nov. 9 rather than the second semester? While this information could still be communicated closer to Nov. 9, that is not enough. As students, the focus of these conversations, we have very little idea what we are walking into — or logging on to, for the approximately 25% of students who are choosing to stay virtual, according to both Ulrich and KHS Principal Dr. Michael Havener. Beyond student discord, Havener also mentioned in an interview with TKC on Oct. 23 that he has heard frustration from KHS staff regarding district and board communication, but that he has not experienced similar issues. However, as students, we see, acknowledge and empathize with that, but we ask where our outlet is to express those similar frustrations. The administration can’t even hear us.
All of these concerns center around feeling like a valuable part of KSD, an idea Ulrich heavily emphasized. He wants to push for a partnership throughout the community, where we all follow guidelines to protect each other. This is hard to attain when the authorities are skipping over their students.
Let’s delve into the authorities that are making these decisions. Ulrich made it very clear that while there is a team of medical professionals advising the administration, the Board is the group that is making the tangible decisions — during a national pandemic that has killed over 200,000 people in the U.S. Not the doctors. They should be the ones deciding our return to school, not the Board made up of elected officials. As previously stated, about 75% of KSD will return in person. That’s quite a majority, and those numbers would easily win a member reelection. We cannot even risk people in public office making decisions to please their constituents, especially with the continuously alarming data. According to the St. Louis County Public Health Department, the average rate of new COVID-19 diagnoses in the 15-19 age group has distinctly increased since Oct. 8.
This is not a time for students – for the Kirkwood community – to sit back and complain, however. Our frustrations do not stop at this editorial or the Nov. 9 return. Since our Board has failed us, it is our time to do what students do best: we have to speak through what outlets we have available. Talk to your teachers, talk to your parents. Start a conversation with Dr. Ulrich – he responded personally to every parent email he received regarding the return decision.
And to the Board: we want to be heard. We are not sitting idly by, waiting to be told what to do like soldiers. We want to be a part of the community we center our lives around. While students will not have the opportunity to put in our two cents before the vote, the pandemic is not over and there are plenty of decisions to be made in the future. Speak to us and we will engage in conversation – we are one of your most valuable assets.
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This is the opinion of the entire Kirkwood Call staff.
Student • Oct 30, 2020 at 4:25 pm
Did anyone notice how they told the HS students that we were old enough to monitor our own symptoms? Seems kinda like a double standard to me.
Matt Losse • Oct 28, 2020 at 9:02 am
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/21/925794511/were-the-risks-of-reopening-schools-exaggerated?utm_term=nprnews&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=npr&fbclid=IwAR2Kc66jIapDx_jVWypcq-DQ8MxQfZ7wRgiiKhOdefY9dZA-uu-M7K6nsIQ
Kirkwood Resident • Oct 28, 2020 at 8:05 am
Students,
You are not alone in your concerns. You should reach out to your teachers and band together with them. Many of your peers are choosing to return to the building. They may not be educated about the long-term affects of getting COVID. They may not understand that cases are rising again in our region. They may not understand that if they return to the building, their learning situations will be isolating and basically as if they were still virtual, for their safety. The school board and superintendent have intimidated teachers who are speaking out for your safety and wellbeing. The best protest would be if a larger percentage of students chose the virtual path. Make the classrooms empty anyways. Launch a social media campaign to convince your peers to stay home.
The future belongs to you!
Amy Endrizal • Oct 27, 2020 at 8:49 pm
Thank you, TKC staff, for speaking out on behalf of many KHS students and providing thoughtful insights and feedback on the questions KSD never bothered to ask of you. Be assured that some of us parents are listening to you, to the science as it develops, and to the silence of the Board in the face of your unanswered questions, concerns, and criticisms.
Tom Finan • Oct 26, 2020 at 11:43 am
This is perhaps the most thoughtful, reasoned, fact-based analyses of the issues I have seen anywhere, including major media outlets.
I am flabbergasted and appalled that the opinions and fears of close to 2K KHS students have not been solicited by school officials.
This is wrong, period.
Kathleen Bartin • Oct 26, 2020 at 8:34 am
Students – you should be heard! This is your educational future, not ours. We adults have and are failing you.
K
Jennifer Marcus • Oct 26, 2020 at 8:02 am
This is spot on! Very well articulated. Your voices deserve to be heard, should be heard, and I commend you for using the tools you have to make it so. Keep speaking up and demanding to be valued.