LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As COVID-19 vaccines continue for Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) teachers and staff, the discussion of the district potentially returning to in-person classes continues.

“Soon as I can go back there, I would like to go back,” said Deberah Spaulding, a second-grade teacher at Schaffner Traditional Elementary School.

Tyra Walker, who teaches third through fifth-grade special education at Roosevelt-Perry Elementary School, has a different preference.

“I do want to continue with NTI,” Walker said, regarding her preference for continuing with virtual learning. 

Both Spaulding and Walker are members of the Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA), a union for over 6,000 personnel employees of JCPS, including teachers. On Feb. 8, 2021, JCTA gave all of its members a survey with numerous questions about potentially returning to in-person class.

One of the questions asked included preference on returning to in-person instruction or remaining virtual. Out of 3,813 responses, 57% wanted virtual learning while 30% wanted in-person learning, and 14% had no preference. 

Each JCPS school has its own COVID-19 plan, but Walker, who also serves as JCTA’s secretary, said she is concerned about how to enforce social distancing while at school and on the school bus. She is also concerned with matters of hygiene for students.

“Because we’re still teaching them hygiene, especially with primary. That’s kindergarten through second grade, just washing hands when you get through in the restroom. So, we’re still trying to teach them those things,” Walker said.

She is also concerned about her mom if she and her kids return to in-person instruction, as Walker goes to her mom’s house to care for her.

“I have a mother who has an autoimmune disease. My kids, they might be asymptomatic, but when I say my kids, I’m talking about my nieces and nephews because we are raising them, as well. They may be asymptomatic, bring it to my mom, and my mom, having an autoimmune disease, could be exposed,” Walker said.

Spaulding, who is also a JCTA professional representative at the school she teaches, said she wants to get back to some normalcy for her and her students. She also thinks her teaching will be more effective in-person.

“And there’s a lot of things that I can’t do virtually. I mean, when the kid’s having a hard time with something, I can’t say, ‘Okay, here, let’s pull out these manipulatives over here,’ even though I’d have to wipe them down after they used them,” Spaulding said. “I just feel like I can [more deeply] teach the standards that I’m supposed to be teaching.”

Spaulding is waiting to receive her second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while Walker chose not to get it, preferring to see if there are any long-term effects. 

Walker said her not getting the vaccine doesn’t play into her decision about preferring virtual learning over in-person school because she said she’ll do what she needs to do to stay safe, such as double-masking and social distancing.

“I’m going to protect myself. It’s the other teachers and students that I am concerned with,” Walker said.

JCTA’s survey showed 89% of JCTA members who responded are willing or able to take the vaccine. Of those who responded they were willing or able, 96% stated they expect to be fully vaccinated if in-person learning resumes.

Some reasons given by those who stated they are not willing or able to take the vaccine included family planning, such as pregnancy, personal reasons, and allergic reactions, to name a few. 

The survey also asked JCTA members what JCPS should do after all employees have had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated and the waiting period for full vaccine effectiveness has occurred. Fifty-eight percent of respondents said JCPS should continue with NTI for the rest of the school year; 31% said return in-person using a hybrid schedule (half the students each day), and 11% said return to in-person with all students each day. 

JCTA’s president Brent McKim said the JCTA Board of Directors analyzed preliminary survey results on Feb. 11, 2021, which included 3,562 of the eventual 3,813 survey responses received that week. It’s also important to note that most of the survey results were received before the release of the most recent KDE school reopening guidance.

“And the conclusion that they came to was, fundamentally, there have been inadequate teacher involvement at the school level, and that led to poor communication of what the plans were for returning,” McKim explained. “It also led to somewhat vague, or lack of specificity, in the plans, and that in turn, our JCTA board concluded, left too many teachers with too many unanswered questions to feel confident that the re-opening would be safe and smooth.”

With that, the JCTA Executive Committee met with JCPS leaders to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was presented on Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. 

The MOU addressed questions such as PPE, ventilation, accommodations for teachers who live with or care for someone at high-risk with COVID-19, and it created collaborative reopening committees so JCTA members have more say in what re-opening schools would look like.

“So, now they are communicating with the staff, and the staff is having all kinds of questions, and a lot of times the questions are just something that they need to decide on an answer like, ‘How’s this going to work?' Well, a lot of that is up to the school to decide and then communicate. People just want to know, and so I think a lot of that kind of detailed work is happening,” McKim said. 

Spaulding said with the vaccine and protocols in place, she feels confident to return to the classroom.

“I know I will do my part, and I know that teachers at my school will do their part to keep kids safe. I mean, that’s just normal but, you know, we just have to do those extra precautions,” Spaulding said.

Walker said if there were smaller classroom sizes, plexiglass shields at every desk, and filtered ventilation, that would make her feel more comfortable with going back to in-person instruction. For right now, she said she has requested accommodations because she cares for her mom, and she said her children will remain virtual. Despite her concerns, though, she said she will go back to in-person learning. 

“It’s not just about myself. It’s about our students, our families, and our teachers. I want everyone to be safe. I want everyone to be safe,” Walker said.

The next regularly scheduled JCPS School Board meeting is March 9, 2021.

So far, the JCPS School Board has not indicated when they might vote on whether to return to in-school instruction.