Districts continue remote learning, schools to remain closed

Date: 4/29/2020

BOSTON – Emphasizing that residents of the commonwealth “need to dig deep and stay put” as Massachusetts continues to maneuver through its surge of coronavirus cases, Gov. Charlie Baker announced on April 21 that all public and private schools would stay closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

At the press conference, both Baker and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) said in their discussions with school stakeholders, including superintendents, principals, teachers and parents, the general feeling was if there was a safe way to return to school, they would like to do so, but after consideration, it was determined impossible without putting children, families and educators at risk.

“It’s the right thing to do considering the facts on the ground associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and, at this point in time, there is no authoritative guidance or advisories with respect to how to operate schools safely and how to get kids to and from schools safely. We believe students, therefore, cannot safely return to school and avoid the risk of transmitting this virus to others,” Baker said.

Later in the press conference, Baker doubled down on his statement and stressed the need for a careful approach to the reopening of schools and the state, declaring, “I’ll be damned if we go through this thing, we flatten the curve, we do all of the stuff we’re supposed to do and then we create some run up again in the fall because we don’t handle the reentry, the reopening in a way that actually works and makes sense and keeps people safe. This is difficult. It’s also purposeful and in many cases and in many ways, it has worked and we should all remember that.”

Speaking of educators he spoke with who expressed desires to return, Riley said, “They miss the kids. They love what they do. But the data didn’t support it and we’re going to err on the side of caution in the best interest of the safety of our children and the adults and that’s why the decision was made.”

Baker and Riley stressed the closure of schools does not signify an early start to summer vacation and remote learning would continue and be expanded.

“We are making this decision to allow school districts to plan through the end of the year to offer remote learning to all students. This includes students with special needs and English language learners,” Baker said.

Riley added, “This has been an unprecedented interruption to an entire generation of students and we want to minimize learning loss as much as possible.”

Riley indicated that DESE would issue guidance for school districts for continued remote learning through the end of the year. Baker said a remote learning initiative would be launched by the state and an advisory group made up of “school officials, students, parents and business leaders” would develop additional learning resources. Baker also said DESE was preparing summer learning plans to assist students at risk of falling behind grade level and boost readiness when students return to the classroom in the fall. The state’s current guidance suggests districts adopt a credit/no credit system, though there is flexibility for high schools to continue with a grading structure. “We’ve left that to the local decision-making bodies to decide what they’re going to do for that,” Riley said.

Since the announcement, several area school districts explained how they will be handling the extended school closure, as well as updated guidelines for the students and staff.

Agawam Public Schools

At the time of press, Agawam Public Schools Superintendent Steve Lemanski said he was still awaiting guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). However, he told Reminder Publishing that a plan had been preliminarily put into place prior to the governor’s announcement that schools would be closed for the remainder of the year.

Sheila Hoffman, assistant superintendent of curriculum instruction and human resources, shared the district’s distance learning plan with Reminder Publishing. The plan, both Lemanski and Hoffman noted, would possibly end up changing to meet the new guidelines set forth by DESE.

The district’s distance learning plan was rolled out in three phases. The first phase took place from March 16 to April 3, and consisted of creating “remote learning opportunities for review and enrichment,” which were then posted online. Laptops were also distributed and teachers connected with their students.

Phase two was implemented at slightly different dates for middle schools and elementary and high schools. The Roberta G. Doering School, which hosts students in grades five and six, and the Agawam Junior High School began phase two on April 6. However, elementary schools and the high school began phase two on April 13. During phase two, Google classrooms were organized, teachers increased engagement with their students and began teaching content that was deemed most important. Phase two ended on April 24 for all students.

Phase three began on April 24, after the governor’s announcement that all schools would be closed for the remainder of the academic year. The plan calls for elementary students to receive assignments on a weekly basis. Teachers of students in middle and high school will “have a staggered schedule for posting assignments to help students and families space out assignments and not be overwhelmed with email and communication for the school.”

While it is recommended that two to three assignments for each subject be assigned to middle and high school students each week, the plan calls for the emphasis of family time on the weekends. “We want to encourage students to not do work on the weekends and spend time with their families,” the plan states. Elementary students are also expected to complete at least two out of three assignments per week for each subject.

Upper grade levels in elementary schools are being asked to choose the way in which they complete one assignment. This, according to the plan, should be done “in a way that meets their learning style” while also allowing them to demonstrate their understanding of the material. Due dates assigned to students “must be flexible.”

The plan states, “We want students to develop routines and understand that they should be organizing their day and working on assignments and returning them in a timely manner to avoid getting too far behind in their assignments.”

Chicopee Public Schools

Superintendent Lynn Clark said the governor’s announcement has altered the district’s remote learning plan, as now the plan will emphasize material that is required for students to progress to the next grade. Within the next week or two, teachers will receive new instructions for remote curriculum.

Clark said the district would be offering Chromebooks to students who may not have received them earlier this year. Parents will be asked to pick up the laptops at their student’s school. The parents of special education students were sent home instructional packets for their children and Clark said those packets are still available along with some basic school supplies.

Clark and her staff are discussing a virtual graduation ceremony for the class of 2020. She stressed that nothing has been decided as yet and an event may be in August, although she added there is no guarantee that August would be free from restrictions caused by the pandemic.

She said, “I don’t want students’ hopes to be up again and then disappointed.”

Gateway Regional School District

Gateway Regional Superintendent David B. Hopson told Reminder Publishing the district is in good shape to finish the year with remote learning, in part because they have been a little ahead of the curve.

The schools have been closed since Friday, March 13, when students in grades 3 to 12 were sent home with their Chromebooks.  Gateway has been a 1:1 district for a few years, which means each student in grades 3 to 12 has been assigned a dedicated device.

The district also began remote teaching the following Thursday, March 19, with assignments sent electronically or by hard copy, depending on the staff member and the ability to respond to all students.

At this point, Hopson is confident that students who have completed their assignments successfully will be promoted to the next grade, and the seniors will graduate.

“We’ve had good results from the number of people who have turned in work.  We’ve been very successful,” Hopson said, adding, “The tech emphasis has paid off.”    Hopson said the staff has been doing indivdual education plan (IEP) and 504 meetings virtually. “It’s always harder to reach out to students with different needs,” he said, adding that administrators are also reaching out to the families.

Adjustment and guidance counselors have also been at the school when the kids pick up lunches, which Gateway is giving to 200 families every day,  to say hello to them and ask them how they are doing.  They’re also making phone calls to students and families.

“I haven’t heard a lot of negatives. Some families are struggling, but for the most part, I think they’re doing a great job of reaching out to them,” Hopson said.

Hopson said the biggest question everyone has now is when the students finally return to school, are the districts going to merge what they did and didn’t learn this year into next year.  He said DESE is supposed to put up “power standards” that everyone should know.

“There are standards that were missed. It’s going to be difficult for all of our teachers to figure out where students are and bring them back up to speed,” Hopson said.

He was happy at DESE’s decision to cancel the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test this year, having been vocal in the past in his opposition to requiring teachers to teach to the test. However, he said he thinks that this year’s tenth graders, who are required to pass English Language Arts and math MCAS to graduate, will be taking them next year along with next year’s 10th graders.

As far as graduation for this year’s seniors, Hopson said they have discussed what to do as a leadership team.  He said in the next couple of weeks, Gateway Regional High School principal Jason Finnie will send out a survey to students to get some ideas.

“Something that will recognize they have graduated, and have completed their years of schooling.  We’ll do something,” Hopson said.

Holyoke

 In an interactive update on Facebook Live on April 23, broadcast in both English and Spanish, Holyoke Public Schools Receiver/Superintendent Dr. Stephen Zrike stressed that while the closure of schools was disappointing, it was in the best interest of public safety.

“We know that this is incredibly disappointing to our students, families and of course our educators … It’s devastating,” he said. “For me personally, transitioning from the district, it’s not the way we wanted to end the school year. We love our kids, we love the work that we do and I know our students miss our educators and vice versa but I do think it is the right thing to do to keep everyone safe. There’s too many unanswered questions, too much we’re learning about this disease.”

With the decision made, Zrike stressed the school year was not over and instruction would continue. The fourth quarter of the academic year is scheduled to begin on May 4 when students were supposed to return to the classroom.

“We’re still in school and there’s still almost two months of valuable teaching and learning between now and June 19, our last day of school,” he said.

Rather, Zrike explained the district would transition into a new phase of remote learning. Educators are providing approximately three hours of work daily across all subject areas.

“What you can look forward to is some increased accountability and expectations for students, particularly in grades 6-12. In terms of the work, the grading of the work, it will not be exactly like a school year,” he said, explaining the schools would use a credit/no credit system.

“The work will continue to be a mix of technology-based and non-technology based assignments,” Zrike said. “We are encouraging teachers to use video conference tools at their disposal to provide live or taped videos of their instruction. We are also asking educators to provide feedback on the work students submit.”

Holyoke schools are also ramping up efforts to support students with disabilities and English language learners, providing targeted resources. Those who have not heard from their teachers are encouraged to call the Special Education Department or the child’s principal.

“Nothing, again, will replicate school, but we’re trying to mitigate as much as possible any learning loss that could occur, can occur between when we closed and the start of the next school year.”

More than 1,400 Chromebooks have been distributed to students and the district will continue to provide the laptops as long as supplies last. Zrike added the district is “actively connecting families to the internet.” As of April 23, 75 families had taken advantage of six months of free internet service though a partnership with Comcast and he encouraged more to sign up before the offer expired in a couple of weeks.

Guidance regarding students who still need to pass the MCAS in order to graduate had not yet been received.

The application process for the district’s summer extended learning programs, including those for special education students who require services in their individualized education plans (IEP), has begun. Whether these programs would be remote or in-person remains to be seen. More than 1,000 students participate in these programs annually, according to Zrike.

The district is continuing its food service programs and expanding them to include a snack along with breakfast and lunch. Holyoke High School North on Beech Street was temporarily closed down as a precautionary measure after a non-food service staff member who was in the building briefly tested positive for COVID-19.

Additionally, Zrike indicated in a written update on April 24 that he hoped to have in-person senior activities such as the prom and graduation, potentially in August or during Thanksgiving break. More information on that and scholarships and awards would be available “shortly.” Schools also plan to host non-senior end of year events at some point with information provided by school leaders.

“We are committed to re-creating as many creative and new experiences as we possibly can, when we are safely able to bring our community together again,” Zrike wrote. “These activities may not look as we expected them to, but we are hoping to still provide some fun and engaging opportunities to as many students as we can.

Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional School District

STGRSD Superintendent Jennifer Willard told the school committee it would be working to meet the standards in the guidance for continued remote learning and planning for the future reopening distrubuted by DESE.

“We’re thinking most of them have been covered and we will continue to reinforce them, but if some of the essential standards have not been covered he’s asking that we present these standards before they get promoted in the upcoming school year,” she said. “We have a remote learning plan that already has our teachers communicating with students, so this will continue. I feel like we’re in a really good place as a school district with our technology that we have sent out, with the communication, and with the plan that we have.”

Willard added at the meeting that the success of remote learning has been a collaborative effort between teachers, parents, students and the commnity and thanked all of the stakeholders.

“We appreciate feedback as we move forward, so if parents can think of any additional supports that they would like from our school district to please email the superintendent’s email address. Anything that we can do to make it better, support you at home, support our teachers, we’d like to hear about,”?she said. “I’m glad our teachers are reaching out and doing an amazing job and I just want to thank all these parents at home who are really keeping this school year moving because we couldn’t do it without you either.”

When asked about the senior class, she told the committee Southwick Regional School principal Joseph Turmel planned to meet with the senior leadership team to solicit feedback on potential plans for honoring graduating students.

“We kind of have a plan that we would like to see happen, but I think it’s important to solicit feedback from our students, since it’s their graduation,” she said. “We would like to have a plan rolled out in the next two weeks, so parents can make plans and again it’s all going to be tentative from moving from phase one to phase two of President Trump’s social distancing plan. I think we’re going to have to be in at least phase two in order to hold any type of graduation.”

Willard also added that district will be continuing to feed its students for the remainder of the year and brainstorming has already started to try to come up with ways to feed them over the summer.

Springfield Public Schools

Springfield School Superintendent Daniel Warwick told Reminder Publishing, “We have been working very hard since the beginning of the closure to put measures and protocols in place in the event that schools did not re-open to in-person learning this academic year.

“Our schools and teachers and students are outfitted with technological tools to enable the district to continue the educational experience during this time. Teachers have means to be in communication with students and assign work, for which they will provide feedback. Our educators have continued to participate in remote collaboration and professional development workshops.

“Traditional letter grades will likely not be given this marking period. Instead, we will use a credit/no credit grading system for marking period 4, contingent upon a School Committee vote.

“The goal here is not to reproduce the classroom teaching and learning experience, that would be impossible. Students should devote about three hours per week day to school work.

“We also encourage families to utilize this time for non-traditional education experiences also, such as allowing children to help them cook a meal or participating in the household budgeting exercises. Including children in everyday learning experiences such as that has great value also.

“We don’t expect perfection. This is unchartered territory and in many ways, we are all learning as we go, but we do have a plan in place and have been working diligently to implement it, including distribution of 10,000 laptops to students who did not have one available to them at home. Having moved towards a 1:1 technology plan and our heavy investment in technology several years ago, has paid great dividends for our ability to adjust to this unprecedented situation.

“I am extremely proud of the way our educators, administrators, students and families have risen to the occasion.”

West Springfield Public Schools

At an April 21 West Springfield Town Council meeting, Superintendent Tim Connor told the councilors that the closure, “puts a big burden on the families, those who are still having to work and balance the education of their children.”

Connor praised the work being done by teachers and paraprofessionals in the district during this unprecedented time. He also praised the over 1,000 Chromebooks that have been handed out to students to allow them access to distance learning and the over 12,000 meals that have been provided to students by the district.

While Connor said the district is still waiting on guidance from DESE as to educational goals for the rest of the year, he described the remote learning that is taking place as a “hybrid” of online work, project-based education and collaborative classwork done with conference technology.

Elementary school children began distance learning on April 6. The secondary level students began April 13. The third-quarter marking period was extended to allow students to turn in back-work and achieve a complete set of grades.

Connor posted a letter on Facebook to the West Springfield Public Schools community the same day that he addressed the council. In it, he stated that the “Remote Learning Plan” that was implemented after the district closed school in March took the possibility of a school-year closure into account, indicating that the district is prepared to extend distance learning through June. He said that the Department of Education is considering what it will look like when schools reopen in the fall.

In regard to graduating seniors, Connor said they had earned their graduation and the district is collaborating with the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds on possible dates for a graduation ceremony during the summer.

In his letter Connor stated, “We will get through this, we need to stay together and we need to lean on one another for whatever help is required. This is hard, period, but it can be even harder if we don’t work together.”

Westfield Public Schools

Following the announcement, Westfield Public Schools superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said he was “disappointed” schools would not reopen. He emphasized the importance of students to continue their studies from home in order to be prepared for the 2020-21 school year.

“Ultimately, we hoped to be able to see our students again and return to an in person learning environment. But it is important to note that remote learning will continue,”  

Speaking of DESE’s guidance, Czaporowski added, “Power standards where the department would like teachers to focus on will be shared as well as best practices for remote learning across the state.”

The district continues to distribute technology to ensure all students can successfully engage in remote learning, the superindendent said, also noting students and families would be able to collect belongings still at the schools eventually, but “that will depend on when we receive clearance from the local health department to do so.”

Addressing the issue of honoring the senior class of Westfield High School and Westfield Technical Academy, Czaporowski said no decisions had been made and input from the school communities is being sought.

“We also have a graduation planning committee working to find out multiple ways to recognize the graduating class of 2020.  Committee members include the superintendent, both high school principals, class advisors, class officers, and a member of the School Committee.”

More State Updates

Lt. Gov. Karen Polito, chair of the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council, said they have been actively assisting DESE and regional STEM networks to compile “the most robust remote learning opportunities for our students.”

Addressing how the lack of classroom learning and potential remote learning inequities would impact students, Riley said he didn’t think the true impact would me measurable “for a few years.” He added districts have been instructed to identify and collect data on children that have not been reached to this point for remote learning in order to best develop remedial supports for at-risk youth. He also noted the state’s guidance stresses that “remote learning is not synonymous with online learning” and other options like project-based learning is encouraged and taking place.

“What you are going to see in this new guidance is sharing of some best practices for what remote learning looks like both from an online perspective and from a non-online perspective,” Riley said.

In addition, non-essential childcare facilities will remain shuttered until June 29.

“Today’s announcement to extend the childcare closure helps the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) continue to keep the best public health interests of our families and our workforce at the forfront,” EEC Commissioner Samantha L. Aigner-Treworgy said. “It also gives us time to look ahead and align the reopening of childcare with the reopening of employment across the state.”

Baker added his administration would be working to restore the capacity for family- and center-based childcare once it can be done safely. Aigner-Treworgy said the reopening of child care programming would require a multi-phased plan to ensure public health while addressing the needs of families and businesses.

“Parents cannot go back to work if their children are not safely cared for,” she said. “Educators cannot go back to work if proper preparations and protocols aren’t in place. Programs cannot reopen if meaningful policies, guidance and support is not there for them. Businesses cannot reopen if employees don’t have safe, high-quality childcare to send their children to.”

The 523 emergency childcare programs statewide will continue operating to serve first responders, healthcare workers and other essential personnel. Additionally, the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) has partnered with Care.com to assist unemployed childcare workers to provide in-home care for essential workers and families with children with special needs.

“The providers of our commonwealth have stepped up to serve our essential workers and their commitment to children and families has really been the backbone of the essential workforce,” said Aigner-Treworgy.

Polito also announced the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education will defer scheduled repayments for its non-interest loan programs through the Office of Student Financial Assistance for four months.

The nearly 12,000 college students participating in the loan program will not receive a bill until mid-July with the payment due in August. The Office of Student Finance Assistance will also be waiving penalties for accounts currently not in good standing at this time.

“Our hope is that these deferments help some students as they navigate the many challenges this pandemic has created and help ease the financial burden even just a little bit,” she said.

East Longmeadow, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional and Longmeadow school districts did not respond to requests for comment.