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Date: 11/17/2020
WESTHAMPTON – The Westhampton Elementary School Committee met on Nov. 10 to discuss policies on loaner computers for students, mask requirements, and snow days.
If a student loaner computer gets damaged and needs repairs or needs to be completely replaced, the committee voted to let Principal Deane Bates decide what a family pays. A family could pay up to the full amount or a smaller portion.
The committee also voted to require that students, staff, bus drivers, bus monitors, and any visitors to the property must wear masks that do not restrict a person from breathing. If a mask is reusable, it must be washed and dried after each use. If it is a disposable mask, it can only be worn once. If a student cannot wear a mask for medical reasons, the school has the right to ask for medical documentation.
Additionally, while there was discussion of eliminating snow days, it was determined school closures would still occur in the event of inclement weather. Last month, The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) permitted schools to decide whether or not they would cancel school or use those days to have remote learning. Interim Superintendent Michael Sullivan took the initiative and suggested that in the event it snows and causes travel issues, the students would have a remote learning day. In a prepared statement that Sullivan provided Reminder Publishing, he said that it has come to his attention that going that route is more complicated than he thought. He shared that some families and staff feel they should take advantage of snow days to catch their breath.
He indicated the common concern is that some teachers do not have adequate internet access at home and on remote learning days they go into the school to teach. If there is significant snowfall, if it is icy out, or the town loses power then teachers would not be able to go in.
Because of these concerns, he created a survey for parents and staff to fill out to share their feedback on how to handle snow days. The School Committee’s next scheduled meeting is Dec. 8 at 6 p.m.