LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) --Jefferson County Public Schools may drop Google Meet for another video conferencing software for live instruction after classes at some middle and high schools experienced "isolated" disruptions on the first day of classes for the 2020-21 school year.
"During this time, schools will have the option to provide recorded instruction, digital curriculum or live instruction to students," JCPS Communications Director Renee Murphy said in a statement, adding that the district wanted to assure parents that learning will continue during distance learning.
"Students will still have access to all of their assignments through Google classroom and teachers will remain in frequent contact with students," she said.
The district will transition from Google Meet to Microsoft Teams for live classes during nontraditional instruction, Murphy later said.
JCPS had begun considering the switch on Tuesday evening after multiple classes were disrupted on the first day of school, according to an email from Chief Academic Officer Carmen Coleman obtained by WDRB News.
"Our teachers will be trained and live online instruction is expected to resume at all schools next week," Murphy said in a statement.
Jefferson County Public Schools began the 2020-21 school year with at least six weeks of distance learning due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing its "NTI 2.0" platform to deliver live instruction for students.
At least eight high schools in Kentucky's largest school district temporarily suspended live instruction through the rest of the week, according to Murphy.
The district is still investigating the incidents, she said, noting that students could be disciplined based on the district's code of conduct.
"It appears that these were intended disruptions, and we are stll looking to see exactly who was responsible," she said. "We believe we have the systems and mechanisms in place to pinpoint who exactly the students are, and we will address that."
Toni Konz Tatman, interim communications director for the Kentucky Department of Education, said school districts can use Google Meet and other virtual meeting systems.
The state has "been in close contact and communications" with the JCPS leadership team, she said.
"KDE has provided continuous guidance for our schools on virtual meetings and digital citizenship," Tatman said in a statement.
"It is very important for our districts and teachers to create virtual meetings in a way that they allow only certain folks in the meeting to present when needed and to verify who is in the room. They also need to be cautious of folks not sharing passwords with those that should not have them – this is part of our digital citizenship recommendations."
JCPS did not immediately have a total number of schools that have decided to cancel virtual instruction this week or how many classes were disrupted Tuesday.
"We're still looking at that right now," Murphy said.
Southern High School Principal Tyler Shearon wrote in a letter posted on social media Wednesday that the school will stop providing live instruction for the rest of the week after some students logged into classes only to disrupt teaching.
Southern High teachers will be posting lessons for the rest of the week instead of teaching students in a live format because of Tuesday's disruptions, the letter said.
"The behavior that took place today was inappropriate and will not be tolerated," Shearon said in the letter, dated Tuesday. "An investigation is underway and district leaders are working to identify the students involved."
A similar letter from Fern Creek High School Principal Rebecca Nicolas obtained by WDRB News said the school would not provide virtual instruction Wednesday in accordance with its student schedule, with students directed to complete assignments and watch recorded videos posted in their Google Classrooms.
"We are working to provide a more secure environment for our virtual classrooms, but we will need time to work through the options and experiment with different platforms," she said.
Teachers at Fern Creek High have the option of offering live instruction on Thursday and Friday as the school works "through our platform security issues," according to the letter. If they opt for asynchronous classes, information will be clearly posted online, the letter says.
"Teachers will still be able to meet with students, answer questions, and provide support during asynchronous instruction," Nicolas said in the letter.
Louisville Central High School Principal Raymond Green wrote to families that live learning would be suspended on Wednesday as teachers "learn a new online meeting platform."
"I will keep you posted on our learning plan for tomorrow, whether synchronous or asynchronous," Green said in the letter, obtained by WDRB News.
Live instruction at Eastern High School was also canceled Wednesday and Thursday "because of technical difficulties with Google Meet," according to a message from the school obtained by WDRB News.
A letter from interim Principal Robert Bell had similar wording as the previous two but did not mention a suspension of virtual instruction, according to a copy of the correspondence obtained by WDRB News.
Shearon, Nicolas and Bell reminded students to refrain from sharing the Google Meet class codes and encouraged families to discuss appropriate online behavior with their children.
"We are working to ensure we have a tight system that protects students and teachers in our current virtual setting," Shearon said in his letter.
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