By Jean Perry, Neighb News Correspondent
Some Fairhaven students will return for full-time in-person learning when the school year begins 9/15, but most students will be offered either a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning or the option to go fully remote through a third-party online learning provider.
The Fairhaven School Committee voted on 8/12 to reopen school full-time only to students in pre-school, grades 1-2, and students placed in one of the substantially separate special education classrooms.
Students in kindergarten and grades 3-12 that participate in the hybrid option will be separated into two cohorts, A and B, with an alternating schedule of one week of school in the physical classroom followed by one week of virtual online learning from home. While cohort A is attending school one week, cohort B will be virtually learning independently from home via the computer and vice versa.
The fully remote learning option will be provided completely online by TEC Connections Academy Commonwealth Virtual School (TECCA), an already established accredited online public school that adheres to the Massachusetts curriculum and standards for grades K-12.
Superintendent Dr. Robert Baldwin knows his proposal for the mid-pandemic 2020-2021 school year might not be what parents, students, and educators want to hear, saying: “I totally have empathy and respect and understand that people may disagree with what is being presented, but I am going to try the best I can to say these are the parameters with which we are proposing to the School Committee and it is the [committee’s] role to either vote them in or not.”
Dr. Baldwin’s proposal to go hybrid and only open the classroom full-time to grades 1-2 was based on whether there was adequate space to accommodate safe distancing of desks, enough teachers, and whether the budget could support additional teachers.
“Every decision we’ve made has safety behind it,” said Dr. Baldwin. “The mode of hybrid that we’re recommending is based on safety, the mode of distancing in classroom is based on safety…. The safety of our children and our educators is our top priority.”
The district underwent a state-mandated school reopening feasibility study on its four schools and determined that it could accommodate a hybrid model for most grades and keep desks six feet apart. As a result, fewer students can fit into a classroom and more teachers would be needed for in-person learning.
“Decisions that are made regarding the reopening of school are guided by facts, science, and data in the context of Massachusetts, and Fairhaven in particular,” said Dr. Baldwin.
A graph showing the state’s COVID-19 positivity rate compared with other states shows it at the lower end of the graph at or below 5%.
“If I were living in a different state I’d be making a different decision,” said Dr. Baldwin. “We live in Massachusetts, the decision needs to be made in the context of Massachusetts.”
Dr. Baldwin displayed the Department of Public Health’s new color-coded metric of each municipality in the state showing those with higher infection rates in red and yellow, and lower rates in green and white. For red and yellow-shaded towns, a hybrid learning model is recommended. Green and white areas are where full-time in-person and hybrid models are recommended. Fairhaven and Acushnet are both white with fewer than five new cases in the past two weeks.
“If there’s not a time to get kids back now, when is there a time?” said Dr. Baldwin.
He said the feasibility study helped determine the safest mode possible of returning to school, but added, “And I didn’t say 100-percent safe — safest.”
He told parents and guardians: “You need to make the best decision for your families moving forward.”
The in-person grades 1-2 classrooms will contain roughly 12-15 students each spaced six feet apart. Grade 1-2 students will also be offered the remote option, but the hybrid model will not be available.
“Grades one and two are when you learn to read,” said Dr. Baldwin. “Those are pivotal primary years when you learn to read and we said we were going to prioritize the academic program. We’ve said that from the start.”
Grades 3-12 broken into two cohorts will be roughly nine-10 students in the classroom at one time while the other group learns virtually from home. The cohorts will work on one continuous curriculum, Dr. Baldwin said, adding that the virtual learning week would not be limited to enrichment and review of what was taught in-person.
“It is not what we did in the spring,” said Chairperson Brian Munroe. “It is a more robust program that’s going to have a schedule [and] routine [and is] part of the overall graded coursework.”
The remote option with TECCA includes core courses taught by a teacher live online twice a week. Designated Fairhaven staff will be assigned to each remote student to monitor enrollment, attendance, and “to make sure this is happening,” said Dr. Baldwin. The work will be graded and attendance documented.
“It’s the real deal,” said Dr. Baldwin, not the “emergency program” of prior months.
The TECCA program is facilitated by TECCA teachers, and according to their website, www.connections academy.com, structured lessons are blended with self-paced learning in core subject and electives, including Honors and Advanced Placement levels. TECCA also offers an online special education curriculum individually tailored to meet the student’s needs and facilitated by special education and general education teachers.
Remote students should expect a daily schedule of six hours of online learning.
Students without access to an online device may be provided one of several brand new laptops purchased by the school.
“If you choose that route you will get the education that you need and deserve,” said Mr. Munroe. “It’s the real deal and many people currently use it now… and it’s good stuff.”
For parents who had considered homeschooling their children: “I totally respect that,” Dr. Baldwin stated, “but don’t leave us yet because [TECCA] is a really viable, robust program that people may choose to partake.”
Dr. Baldwin made it clear that whether parents choose the hybrid or remote option, that decision is final. He said four weeks into the school year a parent might decide to switch from the remote to hybrid, but adding additional students to in-person learning would impact student safety once classrooms are configured.
“We can’t have people in and out,” he said. “We cannot be fluid and safe.”
Based on the data, Dr. Baldwin said it would be foolish for Fairhaven to adopt a remote-only learning model for the entire district.
“This is temporary,” said Dr. Baldwin. “We all want to go back to regular life and we all want our kids to be back in school with a Fairhaven teacher learning the way they used to learn. It’s not going to be that way…It’s going to be different.”
He cautioned parents on minding their reactions to the reopening plan.
“There are going to be things that you’re going to be okay with and there’s going to be information you’re going to get over the coming weeks that you’re going to be upset about,” said Dr. Baldwin. “All I can say is I’m in the same boat as you, I feel the same things you feel, but how I react to those things in front of my children will directly impact how they will react to those things.”
The next survey will be sent out to parents immediately and they will be asked to make a final commitment to one of the learning models by 8/24.
At the next meeting on 8/19 the superintendent will present the safety protocols for returning to school and vote on a mask and face covering policy. Upon first review of the proposed mask policy, Mr. Munroe recommended removing a section exempting students in grades 1 and below from requiring masks.
“Everyone in our school is required to wear a mask. Period. The end,” said Mr. Munroe.
Only students with a doctor’s note stating a valid medical reason will be exempt. The “I can’t do it” reason is not acceptable, he said. “Whether you agree with masks or not, quite frankly, it doesn’t matter…You want to come to school in Fairhaven, you’re going to wear a mask unless you a have a doctor’s note stating why you can’t. You don’t have to like me for it — I don’t care. The bottom line is this is the policy that we’re going to set.”
Non-compliance would be dealt with as any other disciplinary matter, he stated.
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