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Date: 7/6/2021
WESTFIELD – Registration for the Westfield Public School (WPS) new Virtual K-8 School, which initially had a deadline of the end of June, has been extended through the summer.
Denise Ruszala, WPS director of assessment and accountability, told the school committee on June 21 that the registration for the Virtual School is following the same pattern as with kindergarten and other student enrollment, which slows down after school gets out and gets busy again in August. “We’re pretty comfortable with the projection of 100 students,” Ruszala said, adding, “We’re confident that it will be successful.”
Forty-nine students in K-8 had signed up by the original deadline, all of whom have been accepted into the program. Ruszala said there are three main reasons families are choosing the Virtual School: 50 percent are applying because their student has been doing well in a remote learning environment; 25 percent for medical reasons or because of apprehensions about COVID-19, and the final 25 percent are looking for home-school alternatives. Only Westfield residents may apply, according to current state regulations.
Students in the Virtual School will have access to Chromebooks, hotspots and digital cameras. “All technology and materials will be provided to families at no cost, just as if it were a brick-and-mortar school,” said Susan Dargie, WPS director of curriculum and accountability.
Dargie said a team has been working on the development of the Virtual K-8 School since December. She said they wanted to make a comprehensive plan for parents, teachers and the community that delves into the intention for the school and how it will be different from a brick-and-mortar school, with more exploration time to explore specialized interests and special subjects, for example.
The plan is posted on the district website at www.schoolsofwestfield.org, along with a link to register for the school.
The next step will be to select a principal and staff members, which they said will help to generate enthusiasm for the program. Dargie said a principal search is going on right now due to the retirement of Southampton Road Principal Kathleen O’Donnell, and some candidates may be interested in the Virtual School, as are some teachers. The principal position for the Virtual School will be posted soon, she said.
Dargie said they are not building high school into the Virtual School at this time but will build up the program with current eighth graders and can add ninth grade next year. She said high school students have other options, such as dual enrollment in area colleges and taking online courses. She said the district can also do individual learning plans for high school students, and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is allowing students in Individual Education Plans to go virtual.
“We do invite families to enroll in the Virtual K-8 School using our application link right up until school starts. We still have seats available in each grade level,” Dargie said, adding that if people have questions, they can contact the curriculum office at 562-2298.