R-8 officials concerned about school board member's plan for Joplin High School to return to all in-person classes

Joplin High School students will open classes Monday on a hybrid schedule that features half of the students attending classes in person and the other half taking classes online on alternating days, but a plan will be submitted to the board to hasten the return to all in-person classes.

The decision to close classes was made by a 4-3 margin during a special board meeting, but at least one of the members on the losing end of that decision is still pushing the cause.

According to the plan, which is posted in the documentation for the 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting at the Memorial Education Center, if the number of daily positive cases for the high school remain below one percent for 14 straight days, total in-person classes will resume, except for students whose parents who have opted for virtual learning for the first semester. The document does not indicate which board member submitted the plan.

Normally when a plan is included in the board documentation, it comes with a positive recommendation from administration.

Superintendent Melinda Moss and assistant superintendents Sarah Mwangi and Kerry Sachetta, whose names are on the document offered a more qualified recommendation, urging caution.

The Administration recommends that the Board of Education consider the full import of this request alongside inclusion of the overall Joplin School District and Joplin area trends, the determination of an adequate timeline, as well as acceptable local hospital capacity to treat the potential uptick of COVID cases when the A/B schedule is merged.

Administration also recommends that if a quantifiable metric is adopted for a less restrictive plan, there also be considered a metric for moving back to a hybrid or fully virtual format should there be an uptick in positive cases.

At the time the documentation was posted Wednesday, Joplin High School had one student with COVID-19 and seven who were under quarantine.

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