Westfield School Committee delays return to hybrid learning model

Jan. 20, 2021 | Dennis Hackett
dennis@thereminder.com

WESTFIELD – After closing schools for in-person learning on Dec. 18, 2020, the Westfield School Committee pushed the return date back to Feb. 1 while allowing special education programs and shop students at Westfield Technical Academy (WTA) to return for in-person learning on Jan. 19.

To start the back to school discussion, Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said that the number of cases in the district is even higher than it was when schools closed on Dec. 18, 2020.

“Originally when we decided to close, we had seen an increase in cases in our schools; we were up to 87 at that point. As of today, we are now up to 151 cases and all of those were reported while were remote. Last week, we had 59 cases and this week, we had 15 so our number has gone down,” he said.

As with every discussion around returning students to school, Health Director Joe Rouse joined the call and said he did not want to reopen schools just to shut it back down immediately.

“The last thing anybody wants is to have to assemble and go back, and then immediately close again. That’s a very real reality from where I sit right now with the information I am looking at,” he said.

Rouse added that the next two weeks were critical in waiting for the spike in cases in the community and schools to die down.

“We need two weeks because that’s the standard period of time where that seems to be the minimum representative period of time. When you get a better picture over a two-week period, you can tell what’s trending to make a really good decision. Right now, we need to get through the exponential rebound of the holiday gatherings,” he said.

Ultimately, Rouse recommended that students in shops at WTA and in special education programs return to school on Jan. 19.

Committee member Cindy Sullivan said it was necessary for the Westfield Technical Academy students to get back into their shops as soon as possible.

“For the shops, if kids are not in school, they are not getting their hours for their licenses that they need, which really has big ramifications for the future. Every day they are not in, they are not getting their hours in, that’s why we are stressing it,” she said.

Special Education and Student Support Administrator Debra Ecker explained that any special education students attending school daily would be brought back in starting Jan. 19.

“These are kids who are in the Autism Spectrum Disorder Program, Essential Learning Skills, RISE, QUEST, language learning disabilities, East Mountain Transition program, so basically all students that are considered high needs that were coming in daily prior to us shutting down,” she said.

After approving a return to in-person learning for some students, Athletic Director Ryan Dunphy gave four scenarios for a return to sports after tryouts were hosted from Jan. 11 to 14.

“The first option would be to continue with winter athletics following EEA guidelines, along with MIAA modifications. The second one would be following EEA and MIAA modifications but limiting or eliminating spectators. The third one would be to postpone for two weeks and practice in-house. The fourth would be to postpone and reevaluate at a later meeting,” he said.

Ultimately, the committee agreed on option three for hockey and basketball but also agreed to go ahead with full participation for both skiing and swimming.

The Westfield School Committee will next meet on Jan. 28 to vote on returning to the hybrid model and full participation for hockey and basketball beginning on Feb. 1.

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