January forces some schools to extend remote learning, others to reopen classrooms

School districts across the country are changing their plans with the new year, with some deciding to prolong remote instruction and others moving to reopen classrooms.

Tenuous schedules are expected to remain fluid as districts weigh rising coronavirus cases in much of the country against concerns about student learning loss and when teachers can be vaccinated.

Detroit Public Schools Community District said last week that K-12 in-person instruction likely won't resume until February as coronavirus testing positivity rates remain too high. And Chicago, which has had remote learning since last spring, is pushing ahead with prior plans to reopen schools this month for some students despite pushback from teachers.

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Many states have prioritized vaccinating teachers to expedite a return to in-person learning.

"It's a mixed picture all across the country," said Michael Casserly, executive director of the Council of the Great City Schools, a group representing about 75 of the country's largest urban-school districts. "People set dates as a target to help with their planning purposes."

Some school leaders are expressing more optimism about reopening with vaccine distribution on the horizon and billions in federal aid for public K-12 schools on the way, Mr. Casserly said.

Millions of children returned to school -- virtually and in person -- this month after a winter break in which coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths reached records. Strategies for in-person or remote learning have varied widely throughout the past year, with different metrics guiding districts and standards set by governors and other leaders.

Some recently have shifted their models, shortening quarantine periods and changing positivity rate thresholds that determine when to shut down schools. Rising cases prompted some districts to shutter in-person learning before the winter holidays, extending virtual learning for weeks to avoid further spread resulting from holiday gatherings or travel.

Birmingham City Schools in Alabama postponed a return to its blended in-person and virtual model after coronavirus positivity rates skyrocketed after Thanksgiving. More parents opted out of in-person learning for the safety of their children and families, Superintendent Mark Sullivan said, and more school staff became sick.

"I'd rather have some belief in the quality of our virtual program as opposed to mandating a program just so the kids could be in the school," Dr. Sullivan said. "Just bringing children to school for the sake of bringing them to school was not an option for us."

Growing research has shown schools aren't generally major spots for transmission of the coronavirus, depending on strategies for fighting the spread such as mask wearing and social distancing and adherence to them. Heightened community transmission often has been one of numerous factors weighed in reopening plans. But there isn't a scientific consensus on those specific figures, and children can still contract and spread the virus.

Recently altered guidance from governors in California, Oregon and Washington may prompt more reopenings.

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Educators in some states said they hope the rollout of the vaccine, and particularly the prioritization of teachers and school staff, could salvage some of the school year. The Connecticut Education Association and American Federation of Teachers Connecticut said Friday that vaccination will speed plans for in-person instruction. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said educators may begin to schedule vaccine appointments Monday.

"I really hope by the end of the school year, even if it's just for a few weeks or a month or whatever it may be, that we can bring students back if it's safe to do so," said Jon Valant, a senior fellow at the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Des Moines Public Schools requested permission to offer remote-only learning for most students until Monday to avoid virus spread from the holidays since the county's positivity rate sat just below 15%, the state's threshold for virtual instruction. But Iowa's Department of Education denied it, leaving the district to offer both in-person and remote learning.

About 59% of students returned this month for in-person instruction a few days a week, a spokesperson for the district said.

"My role is to determine how best to serve the needs of the 33,000 students in our district," said Teree Caldwell-Johnson, a school board member who has expressed concern over learning loss. "They are my No. 1 priority and my No. 1 stakeholder, so I have always erred on the side of ensuring the needs of the students were met."

In Cincinnati, parents are awaiting a Jan. 16 decision from the school board to return to a blended in-person instruction model, based on the latest coronavirus data.

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Cincinnati Public Schools parent Marsha Thornton's two sons -- normally busy with extracurricular activities such as basketball or Brain Bowl -- have spent most of the past year learning virtually. Her eighth-grader hasn't returned to a classroom at all, while her sixth-grader briefly spent two days a week at school under the district's in-person learning model earlier this academic year.

"It's just not ideal," said Ms. Thornton, who has been working from home throughout the pandemic. "But, I will say, we are working through it because catching coronavirus, spreading coronavirus, is not ideal either."

The Chicago Public Schools' plan to open their doors to prekindergarteners and some special-education students starting Monday sparked outcry from the teachers union, which has argued conditions are too unsafe and more mitigation measures were needed.

Educators at Chicago's Brentano Math and Science Academy taught their online classes outside in freezing temperatures last week to raise awareness about their concerns. "We cannot be the great teachers that we are under these unsafe conditions," said Anne Kellogg, a special-education preschool teacher.