Support builds for school reopening plan with students in school one day per week

August 8, 2020  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Harwood Union High School. Photo by Gordon Miller.

The Harwood Union School District’s plan to reopen schools in September using a mostly remote learning model gained more formal support this past week as teachers voiced agreement and the school board yielded to letting the plan move forward. 

The administration’s proposal to reopen schools starting Sept. 8 calls for students learning from home four days per week and in school one day per week in class groups that are split to allow for distancing. That will mean teachers are in school two days per week to teach each group in person.

The district also has offered families a plan to forego in-person instruction and learn with a completely remote plan as well. 

After state guidance at the end of last month noted the roles of school boards in the process of creating reopening plans, the Harwood Union School Board discussed evaluating its role and possibly getting more directly involved with administrators in formulating the plan. 

At a meeting Wednesday, however, the board formally voted to let the plan move forward with the administration leading the decision-making while providing updates to the board along the way. 

The board’s decision comes as administrators and teachers have been working in small groups this summer to figure out the many details that will be involved in conducting the upcoming school year both remotely and in-person while adhering to public health guidelines to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus that shut down in-person school in mid-March through the end of the last academic year. 

Superintendent  Brigid Nease has presented a plan to align with the state guidance but is also one of the more conservative approaches among school districts with its single day per week for students to attend school in person. For example, many other districts have announced plans for students to spend two days at school to start off the year.  

At Wednesday's meeting, Nease defended the approach comparing it to Gov. Phil Scott’s cautious and gradual “opening of the spigot” with small turns as the state has slowly opened specific sectors of the economy since mid-May.

“We figure what’s good for the governor is good for us,” Nease said. 

While many states are grappling with growing numbers of COVID-19 cases, Vermont is leading the nation in its containment of the virus to date. One factor contributing to that record has been the state’s cautious approach to lifting restrictions. The national trends even led Gov. Phil Scott last week to issue a mandate for the public to wear masks as a precaution given that the virus can transmit without infected individuals showing any symptoms. 

And while state public health and education officials have issued guidance to school districts that express a desire to open schools to in-person learning, they have not required schools to adopt a specific model to start. That’s led to a multitude of hybrid plans that vary in the amount of remote and in-person learning. 

The school board and administration have heard from parents wishing for more time for children to be in school. Public health officials also note the desire to return children to the classroom for social-emotional connections they miss being at home and for a better learning environment especially for the youngest students. Others have expressed support for the cautious plan, particularly teachers who are eager to return to their classrooms and students in person but concerned about the risk of the virus spreading once everyone returns to school.

At this week’s School Board meeting, leaders of the Harwood Union Education Association, the union representing school teachers and staff, shared results of a survey of their members regarding back to school. 

“We had 133 members respond to the survey. Ninety-one staff members, or 69.4% of the respondents, claim they are comfortable with the current reopening plan,” said Steve Rand, a Harwood Union High School English teacher and co-president of the association. The 30% not comfortable with the proposed hybrid model were split between those wanting an all-remote model and those hoping for more in-person learning, Rand said. 

Much like the community in general, Rand said, teachers and staff have expressed a wide range of opinions on the topic but he said the group agrees on the need for safety and preparation to guide the process. “Safety for our students and staff means protecting the most vulnerable among us. Being prepared means being ready for the best case scenarios and worst case scenarios,” he said. 

Given that, Rand said teachers would urge the School Board to not get involved at this point to alter the plan that’s coming together. “We can be successful at redesigning our schools but it’s going to take time, and the concern is we may lose precious time if we do not solidify our plan,” he said.

After much discussion and two densely worded motions, the board essentially opted to not dive into the process to alter its course. The group voted 11-2 with one abstention in favor of letting the administration lead the decision-making for the hybrid learning model. All four of Waterbury’s members and Duxbury’s two members voted in favor of that action. 

In a separate motion, the board voted 10-1 with two abstentions to continue meeting and getting updates on the plan’s progress. Chair Caitlin Hollister of Waterbury did not vote on that question and Alex Thomsen of Waterbury voted no. 

Thomsen said she thought the second vote was unnecessary and that diligent communication would work to keep the board involved in the process as it moves along. 

Thomsen shared some of her thinking on the broader question of reopening schools and managed to sum up much of the ambivalence of parents and educators on the issue. “I believe in the team and its ability to make really good decisions,” Thomsen said but added that she is taking to heart recommendations from state and national health experts who warn of impacts on children who are not learning in school. 

“We have no way of calculating the consequences of these decisions we’re making in terms of in-person schooling,” she said. “Unfortunately the recommendations of our team and the experts are really different. … This is not a straightforward decision.”   

Nease stressed to the board that the administrative team’s goal is to work toward more in-person learning days as the school year progresses while also having a well-thought-out plan for remote learning. She noted that the state’s low rate of the virus right now could justify opening full-time in person, but educators believe it's vital to begin with a hybrid model to establish a solid plan that leans on remote learning. School officials need to be prepared should public health circumstances change and require a shift to all-remote learning for everyone, she said. 

Toward that goal, Nease said school leaders will aim to review the hybrid plan about a month into the school year and consider increasing to two days for students to attend in person by mid-October. 

In his remarks, Rand suggested that teachers meet with students and parents before the school year begins as part of the preparation for a radically different school experience. Nease said that would take some effort and she wasn’t sure whether it was practical. 

Rand expressed optimism that the school year could be successful if everyone shares the common goal of readiness to meet whatever circumstances unfold. 

“We are about to embark on a medical experiment the likes of which the world has never seen before and this raises so many questions. Can we — institutions of education — mitigate the spread of a highly contagious virus among the world’s children, young adults, and a select group of adults, all of whom, by and large, will be working together in enclosed spaces? Can we do this safely? Can we do this successfully?” Rand asked. “Yes we can do this successfully, but school is going to look and feel radically different.” 

Where and how to get more information 

In other reopening news, Nease along with Hollister and Vice Chair Torrey Smith have held two online question-and-answer sessions for the public. Two more are scheduled for Monday evenings on Aug. 10 and 17 starting at 6:30 p.m. Instructions on how to attend via Zoom, phone or YouTube are on the HUUSD website homepage.  

Recordings of the recent Q&A sessions and School Board meetings are also posted on the YouTube site. The School Board meets next on Aug. 19 at 6 p.m.  

The district also has launched a new weekly communication with its first Friday Community Bulletin emailed to families in the district and posted on its website homepage.