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Date: 3/23/2021
CHICOPEE – The Chicopee School Committee met to discuss a variety of agenda items including a new food truck and in-person learning.
Melanie Wilk, director of Food Services for Chicopee Public Schools, gave an update on a recent grant the department received.
According to Wilk, $130,693 was given to the Food Service Department through the Food Security Infrastructure Grant. This money will be used to purchase a food truck, which will serve meals during school field days, National Night Out and in the summer.
“In general, the main use of it will be during the summer programs. We’ll use it to serve in the different parks across Chicopee and just kind of make food a little bit more available,” said Wilk. “I think it was pretty evident during this whole past year that school meals are more than just food. It’s really about food insecurity and increasing food access to our whole community and reaching as many people as we can, so this grant is what that was all about. The goal was to increase food access to all members of the community and, in particular, local food.”
Wilk said the department was shocked they received the grant, but are grateful and excited to be able to help increase food security across the Chicopee community.
“We were shocked and elated that we did get it,” she said.
Superintendent Lynn A. Clark also provided an update on in-person learning and the new requirements set by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeffrey Riley.
Students in grades K through 5 will transition to full, in-person learning on April 5. Middle school students will return on April 28 and high school students will return at a later determined date. These guidelines were adopted on March 5 after a vote from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE.)
According to Clark, this is a regulatory change and not just a guidance. It will be a shift from the current hybrid model Chicopee Public Schools follow, but Clark said parents still have the option to keep their children home.
“Families will retain the choice as to whether to send their children to school in-person or have them learn remotely through the end of the school year,” she said.
Parents who wish for their children to remain remote should call their child’s school. Parents will also have the opportunity to change their child’s schooling from remote to in-person at any time, according to Clark.
“Parents have the right to opt-in at any point now,” she said.
If a parent chooses to opt-in after the start date of in-person learning, they should call the school to let them know. It is then the school’s responsibility to find the student a spot in a school within four weeks.
According to Clark, Chicopee schools began pool testing on March 22. All staff and students are eligible to register for this pool testing. Elementary students and staff who sign up for pool testing will be tested every other week. Middle and high school students and staff will be tested every week.
“The difference to that is due to the transmission. As we know, as students get older the transmission is typically higher than we see at the elementary level,” said Clark.
Most elementary schools will not see a big change with the return of full in-person learning, said Clark.
“It doesn’t look like that big of a change for elementary. We are focusing on elementary first, making sure we can get them in, get them settled and then it will look much different for middle and high. There is no doubt because they have very few students who are currently in four days a week at those levels,” she said.
One change schools will see is the distance between students. Clark said that, so far, Chicopee has been committed to six feet of distance in all schools.
“The truth is, we can not continue at six feet. There’s no secret to that. Some schools can, some schools cannot,” she said.
Clark noted that some schools will go down to four to five feet of distance between desks, but this is dependent on grade level. It will be mostly students in Grades 4 and 5 who will see this change. Belcher, Bowe and Stefanik schools have the capacity to remain at six feet of distance for all students.
Clark said that all students of every grade level will now be required to wear a mask, per DESE requirements. During meals and any time kids are not wearing masks, schools must maintain six feet of distance.
In the fall, DESE will no longer require districts and schools to provide a district-wide remote learning option.
“If we wish to have families choose a remote option, we will have to apply to have an additional school. A virtual academy, as a district,” said Clark.
According to Clark, Chicopee does not qualify to apply for a waiver from these new regulations. She said that most districts do not.
“I do not know a district yet who has received one,” she said.
Clark reiterated that any parent uncomfortable with in-person learning should reach out to their child’s school. However, she noted that she has received many calls from parents excited to get their children in-person full time.
“Everything on the parents side so far has been positive,” she said.
In the coming months, Clark said the district will receive guidance from DESE on prom, field trips and graduation. Clark said that DESE will support summer learning programs and, in the fall, will continue to focus on full in-person learning across all grades.
Many School Committee members voiced their support on children returning to schools. One member, David Barsalou, spoke on his concern that high school seniors aren’t being prioritized.
Barsalou said he was hopeful that high school students would return to schools first, noting that the older kids need the socialization.
“Our seniors are being absolutely destroyed by these policies,” he said. “It just seems like our seniors are being seriously short-changed and, like I said, it’s going to affect them for the rest of their lives.”
Clark agreed, but noted that these are regulations made by DESE and not the district.
“Of course I’m concerned about all seniors knowing this is an important year,” she said.
According to Clark, there have been 450 students who have left Chicopee Public Schools in the past year to enroll in private schools or schools where there has been consistent in-person learning.
Those interested in viewing the School Committee meeting in its entirety are encouraged to visit the ChicopeeTV Facebook page.