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Date: 12/9/2020
GRANBY – As a result of a meeting on Dec. 3, Granby schools are beginning to transition into a hybrid plan for specific groups of students. In addition, at the Dec. 1 Granby School Committee meeting, ventilation issues were discussed for the school buildings, as well as an update on athletics.
During the Dec. 1 Granby School Committee meeting, Andrew and Joseph Davey of Davey Engineering & Construction Corp. who are working on the school district’s ventilation project provided an update on where they are with testing.
Andrew explained that they have been leaning mostly on the air cleaning and air scrubbing for Granby High School due to the state of the mechanical systems there. They’re bringing in a selection of HEPA air filters.
“These are filters that will remove 98 percent of particles down to .3 micrograms,” Andrew said. “These are used in medical equipment and also in industrial applications. We’re bringing them into the educational sphere because they are very effective at removing the virus from the air. By taking it out of the air, we are making it much safer.”
He went on to say, “In working with all of our friends there at Granby High School, our main goal was to use regularly available technology to make the most effective safe classroom with what’s most readily available and source-able and is not going to involve reimagining building the entire building from the cambium system to the ground up.”
They recommend that when class is in session that the windows be open. In one of their field reports, they came up with a rule of thumb that for every eight occupants in a classroom they need one of the standard windows open to one inch. In discussions with the Board of Health, they came up with a program of testing for particle counts using the HEPA insulation.
The meeting proceeded with Assistant Principal Alison Jordan-Gagner updating the committee on the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s date to start winter sports on Dec 14. However, the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference (PVIAC), which the school plays under, disagreed with that date and changed it to Jan. 4.
Wrestling is on hold due to space – the wrestling team can have practices, but can’t compete. While unified basketball was approved of virtual practices, due to the many modified changes in basketball, Gagner spoke with the basketball coaches. She said the coaches are “pretty split right now.”
‘In moving forward, I don’t think it’s in the best interest to be looking for the school committee or the Board of Health’s support moving forward with winter sports in general,’ Gagner stated.
“I can’t support it, but there are certainly many moving factors. Right now, our focus is trying to get children back into the building and what that looks like. I am meeting with my coaches weekly, but there’s really no other information that I have that I can give that would provide a better outlook right now.”
She continued, “Things could change, but I just don’t think to this day at 7:50 [p.m.] on Dec. 1 that I can support moving sports forward. Could that change in two weeks when we have a better idea? Certainly.”
The committee then made a motion to approve the updates polices in section K. Interim Superintendent Carol Hepworth announced to the committee a new updated health and safety section for their reopening plan that’s available on their website.
The health and safety committee had a brief meeting on Nov. 29. This committee is comprised of parents, teachers, administrators, a paraprofessional, their school physician, a school committee member and a liaison from the Granby Board of Health. Hepworth pointed out there was concern among many members not only about the uptick in COVID-19 cases not only Massachusetts, but the uptick in Granby.
“Currently in our school, we’ve only had three cases and had no spread as a result of those three cases, so we’ve been very fortunate,” Hepworth responded. “We will meet on Dec. 3 and talk about any concerns because we scheduled the return of our students on Dec. 7.”
The result of the Dec. 3 meeting was the decision to have specific groups of students return to a hybrid learning model, which started on Dec. 7.
After deliberation and consulting with district leaders and the health and safety committee, Hepworth sent out letters to the Granby Public Schools community that kindergarten, first grade, seventh grade, high needs students and students that have struggled with remote learning will return to the schools on Dec. 7. The district is postponing bringing in the second and eighth grade students for in-person learning. The committee felt, the letter explained, this was the best decision to make with the growing number of positive cases in Massachusetts and in Granby. Granby was designated as a high-risk community on Dec. 3.
This change will move the start date for all other students to January 2021. The school committee will be meeting later this month to address these changes in their reopening plan phases and identify potential start dates for students who are currently learning remotely.