WEST SPRINGFIELD – On  Aug. 25, the West Springfield School Committee approved Superintendent Tim Connor’s plan for the return to school of high–needs students, for whom, Connor said “remote learning doesn’t necessarily work as well.”

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) defines high needs students as requiring two of the following:

• Services provided outside the general classroom

• An inability to use remote learning due to a disability

• Use of aided or augmented communication

• Homelessness

• Foster care or congregate care

• Dual English learning status

Connor said guidance from DESE prioritizes in-person learning for English learners and intensive needs students first, followed by housing-insecure students, foster students and those without reliable internet access. After that,   it emphasizes students who are significantly behind academically; kids who struggled with remote learning at the end of last year and, finally, pre-kindergarten through grade five students.

The West Springfield Public School (WSPS) district has 83 priority one students and 57 priority two students. Over 400 students across the district are English learners, 70 homeless families have children in the schools and 45 students in foster care.

Any student who is eligible for in-person learning can request to learn remotely.

Connor noted that implementation of the high needs return can change based on shifting  pandemic data. Currently, there is training scheduled for the high–needs faculty on personal protective equipment and safety protocols from Aug. 31 to Sept. 15.

On Sept. 16, priority one special education students will return, with priority two students returning Oct. 5. West Springfield High School English learners and homeless students would come back in person on Oct. 12. On Oct.26, WSPS is scheduled to reassess district-wide reopening. English learners in elementary and middle school grades would be brought back after the assessment. All students would attend remotely until their scheduled return date.

The locations of in-person learning is under review. Connor said the buildings must meet several criteria, including the number of classrooms available, the HVAC system, presence of isolation rooms and appropriate supplies.

School Committee Member Colleen Marcus asked if the special education students had enough of everything so they don’t  have to share. Director of Special Services Kathryn Mahoney said she has been ordering supplies, but they had not yet arrived.

“I feel confident that we will have the materials that they need to keep their children safe and keep the cross contamination from happening,” Mahoney said. Director of Health Services Christine Beaumont said personal protective equipment (PPE) was in stock and more had been ordered.

“If we are not ready on any one of these topics, we’re not going. It’s that simple,” Connor assured the committee.

Committee Member Bill Garvey asked if anyone had certified the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the school buildings. Central Maintenance Director and Energy Manager Scott Moore said that the high school had been tested for airflow and can only do five to six air exchanges per hour instead of the 12 that has been recommended. The high school HVAC is state-of-the-art, he said, and if the air cannot be exchanged at the recommended rate in the high school it is unlikely the other schools can either. Garvey called DESE guidelines “flawed.”

Marcus said that as a former principal at a school with a high needs program, “I know just how much extremely close personal contact happens in this classroom - hand-over-hand instruction, toileting, personal care training from beginning to end, diapering for some of these students. I know we will try our best, but [these are] the most complex, most fragile students who require the closest continual contact.”

Mahoney urged the members to understand that the special ed students are “falling apart at home.” She said that they were losing skills and regressing and that parents were beginning to look at out of district programs out of desperation. She also noted that the district had learned things while running the summer program with a limited student body. Marcus countered that she had heard about the summer program, “and not all good,” but she did not elaborate.

Garvey stated that he does not believe it is any safer for the high needs students to return to in-person learning in September than the full student body, which will begin the school year remotely.

Connor turned his attention to the Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative (LPVEC)’s special education program that district students attend, as well as a Career Technical Education Center (CTEC) program. LPVEC plans to use a hybrid model for instruction in both of these programs. Students would attend in-person classes four days per week with Wednesdays set aside for sanitization.

Committee Member Nancy Farrell expressed reservations about the protocols in place for CTEC and LPVEC’s special education programs. LPVEC Executive Director Roland Joyal told her that the same protocols that public schools are following would be followed at the LPVEC campus at 174 Brush Hill Ave. in West Springfield. LPVEC is also regulated by DESE.

Joyal said the student body numbers between 470 and 500 students split between morning and afternoon sessions. Because some students have chosen to go remote, he said, there will be approximately 200 students on campus at any given time. Six-foot spacing will be observed in all classrooms, which average 12 to 14 students. He described the shop areas as having “a lot of space, open doors.”.

Farrell had Joyal clarify that there will be occasions in which more than one student or teacher will work on a project at a time, but he said that there will not be prolonged contact.

“We’re bringing seven-plus communities of students together at CTEC. I guess, how will it be monitored about each of the communities to decide when the CTEC program remains open and when it would have to go to remote learning,” Farrell asked Joyal.

LPVEC will be using many of the same metrics that public schools will be using including local and state data.

Garvey agreed with Farrell and said he is not comfortable with intermingling residents from different towns through the CTEC program.

“If I feel it ever gets to be unsafe, I agree with Tim – we’ll pull the plug,” Joyal promised.

Garvey and Marcus voted against an in-person return for high needs students in the district and special education program through LPVEC. Garvey also voted against West Springfield’s inclusion in the CTEC program. Both measures passed.

Athletic Director Glen Doulette said that fall sports could start on Sept. 18, subject to safety modifications from the individual sports committees. Fall sports include field hockey, cross country, soccer, golf and volleyball. Football and competitive cheer are considered “high risk” sports, but will be allowed to go forward with a practice-only schedule.

West Springfield’s COVID–19 risk is currently considered low, with fewer than four cases per 100,000 residents. If the state classifies a community as high risk, with 8 or more cases per 100,000, its sports teams are not allowed to play.

Doulette also noted that an in-person physical is needed to register for sports. A teleconference health–appointment is not accepted.

He said once they know which districts will be playing they can address what fields will be used and scheduling concerns, including the risk of the mosquito-transmitted disease, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) during evening games. West Springfield is currently considered to be at low-risk for EEE.

Doulette said crowd control must be considered. Gov. Charlie Baker’s current crowd-size regulation is 50 people in an outdoor venue. Live streaming cameras have been installed at Clark Field and in the high school gymnasium and people in the community will be able to pay for subscription through the National Federation of High School Sports to watch the games remotely.

Transportation for the sports program in the form of a bus from LPVEC that can fit 23 passengers will be needed. Doulette said transportation help from parents is welcomed.