West Springfield Superintendent presents options for reopening school

Aug. 4, 2020 | Sarah Heinonen
sarah@thereminder.com

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Superintendent Tim Connor presented the options to reopen schools to the West Springfield School Committee at its meeting on July 28.

Connor emphasized that the plans being presented were drafts only and the district was looking for feedback via a survey on the district's website, wsps.com. Using the feedback a final plan will be presented to the school committee on August 4.

While Connor said the option of returning full-time to school is “most desirable,” he also said it is the least likely and would not allow for complete busing of the whole district.

“I think it would be negligent to even consider a full return at this point,” Connor said.

Presenting the hybrid model, Connor said the district had examined putting desks three feet apart, as suggested by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

“The three-foot physical distancing protocols that we took a look at here in West Springfield, we are not comfortable with,” Connor said.

The six-foot physical distancing model, however, allows 15 student desks per room with six feet of space between each desk. The first six-feet of space at the front of the room would be reserved for the teacher.

“The diagram itself looks good but anybody who’s been in a school before also knows that students do get up and move,” Connor said.

He said the faculty and staff would need “to be on [students]” to maintain the distancing.

Turning to the scheduling of a hybrid model, Connor said the district considered a “week-on-week-off” schedule, but heard from parents that it would create hardships. Instead, the student body would be split into two cohorts.

Cohort A would attend school physically Monday and Tuesday, while cohort B would attend on Thursday and Friday. On the days not physically in school, students would engage in remote learning. All students would be required to use remote learning on Wednesdays while schools are being sanitized. Sanitization would also happen on Saturdays.

A third option under the hybrid learning model would be for students whose families do not want to send them back to school. The students would use a virtual learning platform provided by “a third-party online education vendor,” which would include live online instruction.

Connor said the hybrid model could be phased in, with early childhood through grade 5 coming back first and grade 6 through 12 continuing full remote learning until a specific date. He gave Oct. 1 as an example.

The benefit to this is that it would allow WSPS time to ensure a full supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), safety protocols and the busing schedule put in place before all students return.

Connor acknowledged, however, that remote learning is difficult for students and delaying face-to-face interaction could harm student teacher and student cohort connections.

The third option would be a fully remote model. Connor said this was “obviously the safest model” but is socially isolating, challenging for some students, requires more technology distribution and creates childcare challenges while expecting parents to take on the oversight of their children’s education.

The question of student transportation is still a work in progress in West Springfield. Outgoing superintendent Kevin McQuillan reported that the district typically buses more students than other districts in the area and runs 19 full size buses. The district will not be able to secure more buses for the upcoming school year, he said.

State regulations only allow for buses to be filled to one-third capacity, meaning the 71 person buses the district uses will now only hold 24 students and a driver. Should the district decide to use bus monitors to help ensure mask-wearing and social distancing, as recommended by the state, the bus capacity would be 23 students.

Masks will be required for all people on the bus, irrespective of grade-level. Using a graphic released by the state, McQuillan showed the school committee members and those in the online Zoom audience how students would be seated one per seat on alternating sides of the bench to maintain three feet of space at all times.

In addition to transportation, the district is still working on stockpiling PPE and sanitation materials, and replacing teachers and staff who are unable to return due to pre-existing conditions or childcare needs.

Connor noted that plans could change at any time due to more direction from the state or unforeseen circumstances.

School committee member Nancy Farrell asked who would be teaching the remote learning while teachers are attending to students in class. That was one part of the puzzle that Connor said they were still working on. He said they may use specialists, but noted that would need to be worked out with the union. Wednesdays would be a time for teachers to meet virtually with all their students, he said.

School committee member Colleen Marcus said, “behind every corner, there is a road block,” between staffing, busing and even ventilation issues. She also said she is worried about the social emotional impact of returning to school with the anxiety of both teachers and students.

Committee member Bill Garvey also expressed concerns. He urged parents to review the guidelines from the state before responding to the survey and choosing their preferred method of education.

“If you think, whether it’s going to be hybrid or full return, that it’s going to be anything like what our students were used to last year, it’s not going to be that kind of environment,” Garvey said.

Committee member Pat Garbacik wanted to know how the fully-online platform would address the needs of individual students. Connor told her that the program that they have been using, Edgenuity, is expensive but it provides live contact with instructors, success coaches and special education resources.

Mayor Will Reichelt expressed concerns about the disruption that would result if they began the year partly or fully open and then had to step back into a fully remote model again.      

Based on a survey sent out at the end of the 2019-2020 school year, between 20.3 percent and 25.8 percent of parents and caregivers are comfortable sending their children physically back to school, between 36.9 percent and 37.2 percent are uncomfortable sending them back, with an additional 6.7 percent to 10.5 percent saying their children will not be returning to school. The remainder were unsure.

Connor also urged new student registration to be done as soon as possible, and said it would hope the district finalize plans. Registration can be done on wsps.org or by contacting Mary Scott at 263- 3388 or mtscott@wsps.com.

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