There might have been an assertion that they’re not having any interaction with the Portsmouth teachers, and that’s not the idea.”

Emily Copeland, Portsmouth School Committee

Who’s choosing full remote learning?

As of Aug. 21, more than 80 percent of students attending Portsmouth public schools have opted for a hybrid of in-person and distance learning, according to figures presented to the School Committee Tuesday night.

As for those who have opted for full distance learning, here’s how it breaks down by school:

• Melville — 68 students (about 20 percent)

• Hathaway — 88 (about 19 percent)

• Middle school — 126 (about 19 percent)

• High school — 142 (about 16 percent)

• Total — 424 (about 18 percent)

PORTSMOUTH — A plan to use a third-party vendor as part of Portsmouth High School’s remote learning program has sparked concerns among Little Compton school officials who say it could result in “inequities” for students who are opting for full distance learning. 

Confusion over the plan reigned during a virtual Little Compton School Committee meeting Aug. 19, which was attended by Emily Copeland, chairwoman of the Portsmouth School Committee. She assured board members, however, that the vendor, Edgenuity, is intended to be only a supplemental “tool” for teachers. 

The concerns were first raised at the Little Compton meeting by committee member Rita Kenahan, who sits in on Portsmouth School Committee meetings as a liaison to Little Compton on matters pertaining to PHS. (Little Compton sends its public high school students to PHS.)

“When I attended the Portsmouth school reopening forum a few weeks ago, everything seemed to be in order,” said Ms. Kenahan. 

Things changed when a Little Compton parent of a PHS student told her there seemed to be some “inequity” around the plan, so Ms. Kenahan spoke with Elizabeth Viveiros, Portsmouth’s new assistant superintendent, to learn more.

“So for whatever reason, no one is forced into a school building,” Ms. Kenahan said. “If a parent feels or a student feels they want distance learning in Portsmouth, they will be taught by this third-party vendor. It’s the same program they used for their summer school, so they seem satisfied with the programming; they say they’re getting the same curriculum and the same grading system.”

However, she said the plan would provide inequities because it’s an “asynchronous” model. 

“Students don’t have interaction with the teacher; there are no teachers associated with the Edgenuity program,” Ms. Kenahan said. “That is directly opposed to what the (Rhode Island) education commissioner, (Angélica) Infante-Green said today (Aug. 19) at the governor’s briefing — that they do not approve of asynchronous teaching.”

The district’s attorney, Jon Anderson, said his understanding of the plan is the same as Ms. Kenahan’s. 

“You’re paying a lot of money,” he said. “You’re paying over $10,000 per student to attend Portsmouth. I don’t understand how asynchronous learning is appropriate.” 

If Little Compton parents are unhappy with the plan, they could either insist their children are educated in a manner similar to what is being done in Little Compton in grades K through 8, or “ask the commissioner to preclude Portsmouth from doing asynchronous learning,” he said.

Little Compton Superintendent Laurie Dias-Mitchell said she knows of other districts that have “put this third-party option in their plans,” but she was under the impression it was only for the rarest of cases — “for that rare student and family that cannot participate in real-time teaching and learning.”

She hopes the commissioner will take steps to prevent districts from offering asynchronous learning, which is not taking place in Little Compton. “All of our options involve our teaching staff and our specialists engaged with our kids throughout the day, every day,” she said.

Committee member Polly Allen is the parent of a PHS student who’s choosing distance learning due to family health reasons.

“As a mother and as a school committee member, I just feel it’s not equitable that we have kids that due to health reasons or family health reasons (and are) home distance learning, that they might be on their own, teaching themselves,” she said. “As parents of kids whose brains aren’t fully formed — let’s be honest — and need some interaction with their peers and their teachers, we have been told that the kids who sign up for distance learning will not be Zooming with their peers, that they will not be Zooming at all.”

Ms. Allen said she needs answers to her questions before Portsmouth makes any final decisions. “I’ve made my decision; I just want to know what I have to fight for,” she said, addressing her remarks to Ms. Copeland. “I’m worried you guys will go too far down the rabbit hole and my son’s going to be stuck on a dashboard.”

Portsmouth responds

Ms. Copeland told the board that nothing is written in stone regarding Portsmouth High’s reopening plan. “A lot of things are in flux and we’re getting different guidance and things are changing every day,” she said.

And at Tuesday night’s Portsmouth School Committee meeting, Superintendent Thomas Kenworthy said he also listened to Commissioner Infante-Green’s remarks and didn’t hear her dismiss asynchronous learning out of hand — only that it shouldn’t be the only option. Synchronous and asynchronous learning will be part of the plan for all students, he said.

(Answering a question during the governor’s Aug. 19 briefing about the different types of hybrid learning models, Commissioner Infante-Green said, “What we don’t want to see is asynchronous, which is pre-recorded the entire day.”)

At Tuesday’s meeting, Ms. Viveiros said while there will be synchronous and asynchronous learning for all, there will never be “a full class live-streamed.” She added although there will be some “bumps in the road,” she’s confident that every student in a class will see each other as cohorts.

Ms. Copeland shared her understanding of the plan with Little Compton officials last week: “On Mondays, all students at Portsmouth High School will be engaged in distance learning with their teacher for whatever class they’re engaged in. Then, they’re going to be split — like (grades) 9 and 11 and 10 and 12. Two grades would be in for one day, and two grades would be in on the other day. If we are allowed to resume in hybrid fashion, they would obviously be in school for two of those days. Then on those other two days, all students would be engaged in distance learning with the Portsmouth teacher.”

Students choosing the remote learning option are on that classroom teacher’s roster and are engaged with the class full-time when they’re doing distance learning on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, she said. 

“The idea is this third party, Edgenuity, is a tool that teachers can use both as a supplement for those students who are engaged in in-person learning and as a potential option for students who are engaged in distance learning,” Ms. Copeland said. “There might have been an assertion that they’re not having any interaction with the Portsmouth teachers, and that’s not the idea.”

The PHS plan still needs to be “fleshed out,” she said, noting that the governor will decide whether schools will open in person on or around Aug. 31, and schools will open in some fashion on Sept. 14. 

School forums

There are also going to be three virtual informational reopening forums for parents of children in all schools. They are all at 6 p.m. on the following dates:

• Portsmouth Middle School: Tuesday, Sept. 1

• Portsmouth High School: Wednesday, Sept. 2

• Hathaway and Melville: Thursday, Sept. 3

Please support your local news coverage

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the local economy - and many of the advertisers who support our work - to a near standstill. During this unprecedented challenge, we continue to make our coronavirus coverage free to everyone at eastbayri.com - we believe it is our mission is to deliver vital information to our communities. If you believe local news is essential, especially during this crisis, please consider a tax-deductible donation. 

Donate Here

Thank you for your support!

Matt Hayes, Portsmouth Times Publisher