Vital to the mission of the Catholic Church, the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic School System works in partnership with our communities and especially our parents, who are the primary educators of their children, to educate the whole person through unique attention to academic, human and spiritual formation based on Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents the most serious public health crisis the world has experienced in generations. Looking forward to the 2020-21 school year and beyond, the Kansas City-St. Joseph (KCSJ) Diocesan schools/centers are resolved to do everything we can to reopen our campuses safely with the health and well-being of our entire community in mind. Kansas City-St. Joseph (KCSJ) Diocesan schools/centers will re-open with in-person instruction in August. Recommended start date: Week of August 24 The following recommendations are based on the assumption that a vaccine will not be available for 12-18 months, which means each KCSJ Diocesan school/center needs to be able to respond quickly to circumstances in its own school/center community as well as to conditions in surrounding municipalities. Individual schools/centers will follow the direction of the local health department and/or civil authorities. Even as we plan to reopen our campuses in August, we know we may need to close them again with very little advance warning. This means the KCSJ schools/centers will be prepared to toggle between different learning models designed to fit a variety of circumstances and drivers. This plan is based on the following principles:
The principal and pastor of each KCSJ Diocesan school/center will base the selection of a learning model on their assessment of health risk based on local health departments and local civil authorities’ recommendations. Three Models for Learning In anticipation of ongoing and changing challenges associated with the coronavirus pandemic, the KCSJ Diocesan school/centers have developed three learning models.
Daily Routine Recommendations The following routines are based on current CDC recommendations and local pediatricians.
Pediatricians discourage gathering a large number of students in a large room and recommend maintaining cohort groups within schools to minimize exposure to others and limit the spread of COVID-19. Exposure is defined by the Centers for Disease Control as contact that lasts more than 15 minutes with less than 6 feet of distance, whether masked or unmasked. There is not much evidence that masking alone is effective without physical distancing. It is also important that students and teachers not touch their own faces as this can assist the transmission of the virus. When masks are required, students with special medical, sensory or other conditions are not required to wear masks, but must take extra precautions to prevent transmission of COVID-19 by physical distancing or other means. Visit our School Locations page for available individual school learning plans.
Dr. Lawrence Pilgram, St. Joseph
8/7/2020 09:30:29 am
Thank goodness we're opening back up!! GOOD CALL!!
Erin Bartling-Philgreen
8/7/2020 06:10:17 pm
hi. This is so sad. Why would the diocese of kansas city missouri choose an in person option for the fall term? At what costs? Or should I say....the schools own reimbursement? My children have attended Catholic schools for the last 12 years and this is blows my mind
Vita O'Rourke
8/10/2020 07:53:28 am
Why do you think this is about money? We still support our parish even though the kids did not attend school. I believe the kids need to go back to school. Keep your kids home or register in public school where the kids can do on line.
Concerned Parent
8/10/2020 08:38:31 am
I agree with Erin. I received my school's back to school plan and it says kids only have to wear a mask when social distancing is not possible...okay so then all day? Not sure how big you think these classrooms are that you can successfully space every child 6ft from one another. Also included our waiver to not sue because they know there will be several cases. I don't think this is necessarily about the money because we would obviously still have to pay tuition if it were online, however I feel like the diocese is not considering what any of the parents thought or even the kids for that matter. I am switching my children to a KS catholic school. At least with them, they are giving them the option to do online learning.
LaVonne
8/17/2020 10:00:24 am
I agree Erin! It is sad the public schools are all going virtual. We are sacrificing our children, for what? MONEY!
Jessica
8/7/2020 10:01:49 pm
Personally for our family, opening school back up is a blessing. My boys did not thrive at all with 100% online learning during the last couple of months of the previous school year. As a working mom struggling to balance all of it was crushing in so many ways. In the end, I understand none of us can predict what will happen in the future, but for now, we love school is opening in person and that our boys will get to go back to a place they love so much! We have already started talks with what to expect (including masks.) At this point, they are used to it and don't seem to mind. I will continue to pray for all involved in these hard decisions. God bless!
Another concerned parent
8/13/2020 05:37:09 pm
I am thoroughly disappointed about the options available for our children. We're a working family and we have to make the same tough decisions as everyone else. We decided our children cannot be sacrificial lambs. We will not send our children into ANY environment that puts them in peril....this includes schools where they could contract and spread COVID-19. We will homeschool our children and trust God to provide for the payment of our bills.
A Frustrated Parent
8/16/2020 06:13:27 pm
I am frustrated that school will be opening in a couple of weeks. My son’s class has been reduced from 2 teachers down to 1 but still with a large group of children attending in person. How is this “social distancing”? Our principal apparently is already supposed to be in quarantine but parents are still seeing him out. My children are not safe there but we missed the cut off for the public online school. Please stop this now!! It will be a lot easier on parents if you let us know now and not just close suddenly. Comments are closed.
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