KPS to hold classes in person next fall

Students at Kalamazoo Public School will return to the classroom in fall 2021. That’s after being online since March of 2020.

KPS Superintendent Dr. Rita Raichoudhuri held two informational townhalls on Wednesday to lay out the specifics of the district’s plans for next school year. This time, the default option will be for in-person classes, but students will have the option to continue remote studies.

“Parents have two choices for next school year. Fully in-person, five days a week in a brick and mortar school building or a fully virtual option,” she said.

Parents will have until May 3 to decide. Students will automatically be opted into in-person classes unless a parent specifically requests the virtual option.

Virtual classes will be similar to this year, though with less instruction by a live teacher. Students who take the virtual option will still be eligible for the Kalamazoo Promise. However, virtual students will give up their home school and classes will be taught independently from the rest of the district.

Raichoudhuri said many COVID precautions will still be in place in the fall. That includes required mask wearing and social distancing. Additionally, all schools and buses will make use of bipolar ionization air filtration to remove infectious particles from the air.

You can read more on Fox 17.