August 6, 2020 at 3:37 p.m.
District unveils fall reopening plan
Final board decision set for Aug. 17
District unveils fall reopening plan
Burke noted the purpose of the meeting was to explain the plan and gather feedback from the board and the public. The plan is expected to be finalized at the Aug. 17 board meeting, just two weeks before the scheduled start of the 2020-21 school term.
Burke prefaced his presentation of the plan by noting that he had thought his first presentation as the district's new superintendent "was going to be a little different than this."
Burke was hired in February but officially took over the superintendent position July 1 following the retirement of Kelli Jacobi.
Before getting into the nuts and bolts of the proposal, Burke explained who had offered input on it.
"The plan I want to talk about today is made up of several parts," he said. "We have a staff survey, we have a family survey, we put together district committees, which I'll get into later, that was made up of staff members in the district and a couple parents and administrators."
He noted that district officials have been meeting "regularly" with representatives from the Oneida County Health Department, along with Dr. Julia Pickens and Dr. Kent Jason Lowry and the district nurses, who form the district's health advisory panel.
"Their advice has been, and will continue to be, very important," Burke said.
"As a father in this school district now, as a husband to a wife who will be in the school district, I really want students back in school," he added. "So that is kind of the starting point. But we have to look and see what is going on in our community with the virus and how do we best support our students and staff."
He said the one thing he is asking for from both staff and parents is trust.
"I know you don't know me very well, but I have a really great team that I work with that has been here for a long time, I'm asking that you trust us," Burke implored.
He said flexibility is the "key ingredient of the plan."
"How we are today can change in two weeks, it can change in a month, two months, but the plan is flexible and responsive, but also keeping education and safety as a priority," Burke said. "But believe me, we haven't thought of everything, and your input is going to be important."
He then presented the results of the family and staff surveys conducted over the last month.
Of the 1,106 family responses the district received, 53 percent indicated they prefer in-person learning, 25 percent prefer remote earning and 21 percent were unsure. The responses represented 85 percent of the families in the district, Burke said.
He noted the in-person option presented to the parents was for both five-day and four-day classroom instruction.
On the staff survey, 79 percent or 256 members responded, with 61 percent preferring in-person learning, 22 percent preferring remote learning and 17 percent choosing another form of instruction.
On the subject of masks, 79-89 percent of staff were in favor of students wearing masks while 11-21 percent were not. Between 68 and 76 percent of parents were in favor of students wearing masks, depending on the age level of the child.
He went on to explain that all parents will have the option to place their student in the full-time virtual learning program. However, they must commit to the child's participation in the program for the entire first semester.
As for those who are not interested in the full-time virtual learning program, or who feel it's a not the right fit for their child, the district has a three-level plan.
According to Burke, Level 1 is full-time in-person learning five day per week, Level 2 is a blended learning model with less than five days in-person instruction and Level 3 is totally virtual.
"Myself, in partnership with the leadership team and our health advisory panel, will determine what level we are in," Burke said. "Of course safety and cleaning protocols, face coverings being a requirement and our classroom, making sure that we can support social distancing and safety."
The three levels are color coded. Level one is green, Level 2 is yellow and Level 3 is red. If the district finds itself in the second level, the blended schedule depends on the grade level of the students.
"Elementary schools will be (in session) four days in-person, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday," under the yellow level, Burke said. "And middle and high school it would be two days. It would be Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, Friday. And Wednesday, across the district, would be a day for extra cleaning and teacher prep."
He noted that Level 3, remote instruction, "would look a lot like it did this spring."
"But even better, because we learned from what happened in spring," he added.
Under the current iteration of the plan, the youngest grades would return to school on Sept. 1, with safety precautions in place, and follow a normal schedule.
Grades 6 and 9 have a transition day that would be kept on Sept. 1 if the district opens in Level 1. The rest of the grades would start Sept. 2.
Based on current health advisory panel recommendations, the district would be at Level 2 if the term were to start on Aug. 4, Burke explained.
"By Aug. 17, which is when we'll make the final call at what level we are in, that could change to Level 1 or Level 3, based on what's going on in our community, our county," he said. "And we believe in this for a couple reasons. One, starting this way for the first month is a better chance to implement all of our procedures and protocols which we've never done before. We're trying to figure this out to be as safe as possible. It's a better chance to slow the spread among students and staff because there's a lot we don't know about how this is being spread."
He said his opinion is if the district opens at Level 1 immediately, it would get to virtual learning, or red, faster than if schools opened gradually. This might help slow the spread of the virus throughout the community, as well, he noted.
"Mitigation is not a term I have used very much in my life," he explained. "I've said it a lot over the last few weeks, and maybe it's a word that you haven't used that much, but I believe that reduction is a key responsibility for all of us."
He also noted that what the district teaches the students, in terms of hygiene, must be practiced at home and everywhere else to mitigate the spread of the virus in the community.
"The more we do that, the better it is for us to have that in-person learning, which is something I think we all want, for kids to be in school," he said.
Burke also noted that there will be barriers at "customer service points" in offices and in classrooms, signs to remind people about hand washing, increased disinfecting and cleaning of buildings and no shared objects, as well as other steps besides the wearing of masks. Information has been sent to parents and staff about home screening for signs of sickness, he added.
"If you're having these symptoms, don't come to school," Burke said.
Lowry commended the leadership team for the time, thought and effort that has gone into the plan's.
"We have been forced to adapt and change as we go through this and learn more about what we are going through," Lowry said. "And we will have to demonstrate that flexibility - both as an organization and as individuals - as we move forward. Even if the school gets it perfect, gets it right, I think the key to success is going to be the support of the community toward the school."
The floor was then opened up to the over 40 people in attendance for comments and questions. Approximately 18 chose to speak.
Some of the speakers voiced concerns about the 400 special education students on Individualized Education Plans who need in-person schooling for the social interaction that is so important for their development. One of these speakers asked about how IEPs will be taken into consideration when the district is at the blended level. Other concerns mentioned included busing, recess for younger students and whether dividers be erected to help protect students. All questions were taken down with Burke explaining that answers would be shared with staff and parents via the district website and email.
Lowry pointed out that medical professionals are learning more about the coronavirus every day, so having as much flexibility built into the plan as possible, as well as given medical personnel a seat at the table, is key.
"Whatever number we put out there now (for a threshold to spark movement between levels), in four weeks, the CDC could come out with a new number," he explained. "So we're going to change it. Early on, there was a desire to have predictability. I want that, we all want that. But what we're living through is unpredictable. We're learning every day we go through this, and we're adapting as we move through it."
Lowry also agreed that the community will have to be on board with masks, social distancing and other ways to help slow the spread of the disease, otherwise it defeats the purpose of what is being done in the schools.
Burke said material from the meeting will be made available through the district website.
"So that the people who weren't here tonight get the same information," he said.
He also urged those parents and staff with comments or concerns to contact him by email or phone.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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