Date: 8/10/2020
Dear Agawam Community,
I want to address my rationale for not supporting the hybrid model that was voted on by a 4-3 margin during the School Committee meeting held on August 7. I am the parent of 3 school aged children, one who will be a rising senior. If I had cast my vote based on feelings, wants and wishes, I would’ve sent my children back to school. I, like many of you, have struggled with the balance of working and having school be remote. But it is not my feelings, but rather the facts and the many unanswered questions that led me to vote for (the defeated) remote plan.
If Agawam’s commitment is to “Put Students First” and if “safety” is really our number one priority, then I think we were owed better answers from our administration to some questions before sending our children and our staff back to school.
Left unanswered for me:
•Will COVID-19 numbers be reported out to families so they can make informed daily decisions?
•What is the number of COVID-19 cases necessary before the school will inform a classroom teacher? a cohort? a school? those who ride the bus together?
•Although not in the guidelines, is it purely a monetary decision to not test our staff for COVID-19 at regular intervals?
•Who is teaching our children if families select the remote option? What will that curriculum look like, how will grades be affected and will electives still be offered?
•Who is available for help, technical support or academic questions during students’ home days in the hybrid model?
•What does Agawam mean by “fragile population” (those who will be prioritized for in-class instruction)?
•What is our plan for teacher absences or teachers that fall in high risk categories as under Phase III in MA it states on Mass.gov “high risk should work from home if possible?”
•What percent of time on learning is compromised if a family selects the remote vs hybrid plan? Remote seems to guarantee individual instruction consistently while hybrid has gaps and learning is interrupted on the home days of direct instruction. What happens to special education children? AP students? those who may not excel academically without daily interaction with the teacher?
One of the recent emails that I received had the words “Agawam Student Dies of Coronavirus” in my inbox. While that was just the header of an email meant to get my attention, it also implored of me to do my job! You elected us to do our job. And doing what is right is not easy. And doing what is right may not be popular (even in my own house, with my own children!). I do think the Governor & the Commissioner should have made this decision for us. But they did not. I knew that I would never make all sides happy with my vote, but after weighing the facts, I do not feel that we are ready to be in school at this point in time. I do not think we have had pertinent questions answered with the amount of detail that is deserved in order to protect lives. I will continue to work to ask the questions, push for answers and advocate to keep our children safe.
Wendy Rua
School Committee Member
Agawam
