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Date: 10/13/2020
WEST SPRINGFIELD – West Springfield Public Schools (WSPS) will be transitioning to a hybrid learning model beginning on Oct. 26. The West Springfield School Committee voted on Oct. 6 to pivot to a model in which most students will attend school in-person at least two days a week.
Superintendent Tim Connor presented the committee with four potential options for schooling. The first would have continued the fully remote model in which students have been participating since Sept. 16.
The second option would switch to a hybrid model beginning on Oct. 19 with early childhood (EC) and kindergarteners, Oct. 26 for grades 1-2, Nov. 5 for grades 3-4 and grades 6-12 would return on Nov. 19. There would be professional development days on Oct. 16 and Nov. 3 to allow for preparation and for teachers to set up their classrooms.
Connor called this timetable “aggressive” and said he had concerns about being ready in time. “My personal opinion on this, Oct. 19 is a real rush,” Connor said.
Option three was similar to option two, but the schedule was pushed back to begin EC to grade 2 on Oct. 26, followed by grades 3-5 on Nov. 9 and grades 6-12 on Nov. 19. Again, professional learning days are worked into this plan for Oct. 23 and Nov. 3. The last plan was a full in-person transition on Nov. 5.
The committee voted nearly unanimously for option three. Only School Committee Member Bill Garvey voted against the pivot, saying that he didn’t see a need to rush and that many students were happy with remote learning.
The committee previously voted on a model of hybrid learning to adopt in the case of a pivot away from remote learning. In the hybrid model, students will be split into separate cohorts. Cohort A will attend school in person on Monday and Tuesday and cohort B will attend on Thursday and Friday. On the days they are not physically in school, cohort A and B students will use remote learning. Cohort C will consist of students whose families decide to keep them in the full-remote model. Through collaboration and synchronous learning, students will learn a cohesive curriculum whether they are in the building or at home.
“The first week of school here, the kids are going to have to learn how we do school now,” Connor said. There are unfamiliar protocols in place for classrooms, hallways, arrival and dismissal and recess.
The vote on whether to change to a hybrid model was originally scheduled for Oct. 26. Connor explained that a major factor in moving the switch to hybrid forward was the results of a Sept. 21 parent and faculty survey that found students and families in early childhood through grade 2 were struggling significantly with remote learning. Connor cited young kids’ attention spans, technology issues and parents need to work as reasons behind the difficulties.
Other factors that allowed the vote to be moved up include the establishment of metrics that will be used to decide when to pivot, either back to remote or to a fully in-person model, as well as the status of school ventilation systems.
Director of Health Services Christine Beaumont said that the metrics by which school model will be decided were put together by the health and safety committee, which included herself, school committee members, Director of Public Health Jeanne Galloway and others.
The metrics consider virus cases within the community, in school and in the county; flu vaccine compliance; in-stock levels of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies and the ability to comply with key mitigation strategies. These include consistent and correct mask wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection regimens and contact tracing.
Garvey praised the metrics as being multifaceted rather that relying solely on the state’s COVID-19 Community-Level Data Map. “This truly does give us the control to pull back or let go,” Garvey said of having the reins on school models.
When it comes to the ventilation, Scott Moore, director of central maintenance, reported that the air exchange rates had been tested at West Springfield High School (WSHS), West Springfield Middle School, Memorial School and Coburn School, while testing of Mittineague School and Cowing School are underway. The air exchanges at WSPS were six per hour and 5.9 exchanges per hour at Memorial School after the installation of MERV13 filters. Moore said that the ventilation systems at Fausey School, John Ashley Kindergarten and Tatham School were identical to Memorial School’s system, having all been replaced 10 years ago.
“These numbers we’re getting do not take into account the exhaust fans nor does it take into account the fresh air that we bring in from the outside. So, these numbers are only going to go up as we increase that,” Moore said. “We’re in really good shape, I think.”
Staffing of school nurses has also been an impediment to opening school buildings. As of the first week of October, the district was down five school nurses, but has since hired two and is in the process of hiring one more. “We found that we needed to move nurses from certain schools to cover other buildings, particularly Cowing if we’re bringing back early childhood,” said Connor.
The next steps involve presenting the plan to the teachers’ union, the West Springfield Education Association, for negotiation and ratification.
There are details to work out in the two weeks before the shift. English learner (EL) students may not be able to attend four days per week as previously planned, since that would likely lead to crowding at Coburn School where most EL students are based.
On another topic, Connor said that the district had “heard loud and clear” that parents of cohort C students, who make up about 30 percent of the student body, want their children to continue learning from WSPS teachers, however, he said “there’s things we need to do to make that happen.” He added, “When you change to hybrid, it’s messy.”
Cohorts will be decided by student addresses, ensuring that siblings will attend school on the same days, while balancing class sizes between the cohorts.
“Our goal is to try to accommodate as much as possible, but people are going to have to understand, it’s really a numbers game,” Connor said of the cohort balance.
The details of how to schedule interventionists as well as related arts classes such as art, music, and physical education, will need to be considered. Connor said that the district would be attempting to limit faculty and staff moving between buildings to allow for easier contact tracing should the need arise. Related arts or “specials” may need to be delivered in a blend of live instruction and recorded lessons, he said.
Even with all of the planning and changes, Connor emphasized that the district may pivot back to full remote or end up fully opening schools. He said, “The plan is a whole lot of flexibility and trial and error.”