Kansas City area school district moves online for rest of week due to COVID spread

Sarah Ritter
·3 min read

A Kansas City metro school district is moving classes online for the rest of the week, with officials hoping to curb the rapid spread of COVID-19 after facing high rates of staff and student absences.

The Odessa school district, east of Kansas City, on Wednesday announced that it would hold classes virtually on Thursday and Friday. Activities and athletics will continue as scheduled, officials said. And students are expected to return to classrooms on Monday.

“We will continue to make decisions that are in the best interest of students and staff. These decisions are made in an effort to help facilitate a safe and healthy learning environment,” officials said in the announcement.

Meanwhile, the St. Joseph school district, which has been closed since Tuesday, canceled classes through the end of this week. And the Knob Noster school district, in Johnson County, Missouri, on Wednesday extended school closures through Friday “due to a large number of staff and student absences/illnesses.” The district first closed schools last Friday.

Unlike Odessa, neither of those districts will hold virtual classes.

Last year, Kansas City area districts pivoted to online-only classes during COVID-19 outbreaks, but they are left with fewer options this school year. Both Missouri and Kansas placed restrictions on remote learning, and breaking the rules could mean risking state funding.

In Missouri, if a class or building must temporarily close, districts can submit a plan to the state, which could allow them up to 36 hours of alternative instruction, such as remote learning.

In its announcement Wednesday, Odessa officials said they would use Alternative Method of Instruction, or AMI, hours, for virtual classes. Most districts in similar situations, though, have canceled classes entirely amid the COVID-19 surge, driven by the highly contagious omicron variant.

As districts struggle to keep schools open due to staffing shortages and ongoing virus outbreaks, the Missouri State Teachers Association is advocating for relief from those restrictions.

“Missouri schools should be allotted additional AMI days to allow them to close when necessary without being penalized,” Executive Director Bruce Moe wrote in a letter last week.

“The importance of flexibility and grace cannot be overstated to ensure student learning and the health of communities. Policy makers, the State Board of Education, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must step up and lead on these issues. School districts and employees are looking for direction and support.”

In Kansas, the state Legislature passed a law restricting remote learning to no more than 40 hours per student.

Both the Olathe and Kansas City, Kansas, districts canceled school Tuesday and Wednesday because they did not have enough employees to staff buildings. Students in those districts were expected to return on Thursday.

Olathe Superintendent Brent Yeager said in a letter to families that with so few staff members available, even remote learning would not be possible.

“As many of you know, this year the state allows up to 40 hours of remote learning. Unfortunately, at this time, with the volume of staff illnesses we are unable to conduct remote learning,” he wrote.

Last week, the Bonner Springs Edwardsville school district in Wyandotte County canceled classes on Thursday and Friday, saying a quarter of students were out sick. And the De Soto district, in Johnson County, along with the Eudora district in neighboring Douglas County, canceled classes on Friday.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Telecom Italia CEO set for second term to carry out revamp

    Telecom Italia (TIM) shareholders are expected on Tuesday to hand CEO Pietro Labriola another term to press ahead with a revamp centred on a planned sale of the former phone monopoly's fixed-line access network to U.S. fund KKR. The reappointment of Labriola has been separately challenged by small minority investors Merlyn Partners and Bluebell Capital Partners, which each hold a 0.5% stake in TIM. Both have been questioning the merits of the KKR deal, worth up to 22 billion euros ($23.4 billion) and backed by the Italian government, which holds an indirect 10% stake in TIM.

  • Patti Smith is honored to have been name-dropped on Taylor Swift's new album

    Taylor Swift name-dropped legendary musician Patti Smith in a song on her new album, 'The Tortured Poets Department'. "And who's gonna hold you like me? And who's gonna know you, if not me? I laughed in your face and said, 'You're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith This ain't the Chelsea Hotel, we'rе modern idiots.' And who's gonna hold you like me?", Taylor Swift, via "The Tortured Poets Department". 77-year-old Smith took to Instagram to thank Swift for the mention, 'Cosmopolitan' reports.

  • London travel news: Overground suffers rush-hour delays as A13 motorists stuck in 8-mile queue

    London travel news April 23 2024. London Overground services were suffering severe delays on Tuesday morning due to an electrical fault at Wembley Central.Transport for London reported disruption on the Overground between Euston and Watford Junction. National Rail said services were likely to be affected until at least 9.30am.Meanwhile motorists coming into London from Essex were stuck in an eight-mile tailback on the A13 East India Dock road. Construction work reduced the route into the capital to one lane causing traffic to stack up from the Canning Town flyover back to Rainham.

  • $8 billion US military aid package to Taiwan will 'boost confidence' in region: president-elect

    A $8 billion defense package approved by the U.S. House of Representatives over the weekend will “strengthen the deterrence against authoritarianism in the West Pacific ally chain,” Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te said Tuesday, in a reference to key rival China. The funding will also “help ensure peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and also boost confidence in the region” Lai, currently Taiwan’s vice president, told visiting Michigan Representatives Lisa McClain, a Republican, and Democrat Dan Kildee at a meeting at the Presidential Office Building in the capital Taipei.

  • FTSE 100 hits all-time high as shares rally holds strong

    The FTSE surpassed the previous intraday record of 8,047.06 from February last year.

  • Russia's Tinkoff plans share issue to fund Rosbank deal

    Russian online bank Tinkoff plans to issue up to 130 million additional shares to help fund a deal to integrate fellow lender Rosbank into its holding structure, the company said on Tuesday. Both Tinkoff owner TCS Holding and Rosbank are controlled by billionaire Vladimir Potanin's Interros group, and the planned integration could strengthen Potanin's foothold in Russia's banking sector. TCS Holding, ahead of a shareholder meeting on May 8, said it planned to fund the deal with an additional issue of its shares at 3,423.62 roubles ($36.73) each.

  • Children Among Injured After 'Several Waves' of Russian Drones Target Odesa

    Children were reported to be among the injured after Russian drones targeted the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa early on Tuesday morning, April 23, according to a local official.Oleg Kiper, head of the Odesa government, said two children and two babies were among the injured. Three adults were hospitalized following the attack. At least nine people were injured in total, Kiper added.Ukraine’s Armed Forces said “several waves” of Shahed drones were used to target Ukraine’s southern regions. Eleven were shot down, including seven in Odesa.The Operational Command South released footage showing damage to residential buildings. The military said the damage was caused by a downed drone that hit a residential area, shops, and infrastructure facilities. Credit: Ukraine Armed Forces via Storyful

  • Can Tales of Kenzera: Zau unlock a new world of video game stories?

    Abubakar Salim set up his own studio to tell a personal tale of grief inspired by his Kenyan heritage.

  • Vibrant Wildflowers Blossom in San Francisco Bay Area

    Spring has fully sprung in California, with vibrant wildflowers blossoming on the hills of Mori Point, south of San Francisco.Footage captured by Shreenivasan Manievannan shows a dazzling array of flowers in shades of yellow, orange, and blue.“This year’s superbloom has been very subdued over the state of California, but Mori Point in Pacifica has put up a show with a cliffside full of flowers,” Manievannan said. Credit: Shreenivasan Manievannan via Storyful

  • Trump trial live updates: Judge to consider gag order violations before first witness returns to stand

    Former president’s historic ‘hush money’ election interference trial is underway in New York

  • Sunak vows ‘nothing will stand in way’ of Rwanda flights after Bill passes

    The Prime Minister said the Rwanda plan represented a ‘fundamental change in the global equation on migration’.

  • Ten dead as navy helicopters collide mid-air in Malaysia

    One of the aircraft clipped the other's rotor before the two crashed to the ground, footage shows.

  • Migrants die trying to cross Channel hours after Parliament backs Rishi Sunak's Rwanda Bill

    Tragedy comes after Rishi Sunak hailed 'landmark' Rwanda law as Lords finally backed down over efforts to amend the Bill late

  • Booing your own anthem - Hong Kong and a dilemma

    Beijing's increasing influence has led to speculation that Hong Kong's days of an independent football scene are numbered.

  • UK annual government borrowing higher than forecast in blow to Chancellor

    The ONS estimated that full-year public sector net borrowing was £120.7 billion in 2023-24, £6.6 billion more than predicted.

  • David Harewood says white actors should be able to play Othello in Blackface

    ‘If you want to Black it up – have at it, man,’ said the ‘Homeland’ star

  • Putin army offensive in east Ukraine to be 'blunted' by US military aid rushed to frontline

    Kyiv is pleading for equipment and munitions to stop Russia seizing Chasiv Yar which could pave the way, if it fell, for a major breakthrough in the war

  • Keller Group (LON:KLR) Is Experiencing Growth In Returns On Capital

    If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd...

  • Nearly half of UK pets have their own room to relax in

    Nearly half of the UK’s pets now have their own dedicated room where they can relax in peace and store their belongings, research has revealed. A poll of 2,000 cat and dog owners found 48 per cent have a reserved room for their pets or a space in the garden. Just over half (55 per cent) want them to have their own 'chill out' area, while 34 per cent want to ensure maximum comfort. It also emerged 46 per cent of pet owners have designed their home around their pet, although 21 per cent admitted they are unlikely to buy items to appease their furry friend that don’t match their interior style. The study was commissioned by Homesense – part of the TK Maxx family – which has partnered with Kelly Brook to launch a pet and interiors content series ‘Barkitectural Digest’. Kelly Brook said: “I adore Teddy; he’s family and a big part of my life he is, so it’s no surprise that there are elements in my home designed around him.”

  • Amazon halts drone deliveries in California, but kicks off tests in Phoenix

    The e-commerce company has closed its delivery site in Lockeford, which has been operational since 2022.