Divided school board OKs Sept. 14 Bristol Warren re-opening

Superintendent is reluctant, teachers opposed, but school committee votes 5-3 to open as planned

By Ted Hayes
Posted 9/4/20

In a 5-3 split vote, the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee voted Thursday night to approve the Monday, Sept. 14 re-opening of schools, despite a request from the superintendent and some …

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Divided school board OKs Sept. 14 Bristol Warren re-opening

Superintendent is reluctant, teachers opposed, but school committee votes 5-3 to open as planned

Posted

In a 5-3 split vote, the Bristol Warren Regional School Committee voted Thursday night to approve the Monday, Sept. 14, re-opening of schools, despite a request from the superintendent and some teachers to hold off on welcoming back students until the district is more prepared.

Superintendent Dr. Jonathan Brice said during Thursday’s four-hour meeting that he would like to have an extra week to prepare classrooms and deal with staffing issues that cropped up after a Colt Andrews School staff member tested positive for the Covid-19 virus Thursday morning.

But those who voted to re-open — Sheila Ellsworth, Marjorie McBride, Adam Ramos, John Saviano and committee chairwoman Erin Schofield — declined to give him the extra time, saying a delay would cause hardships for families across the district, and that they have faith that the district’s plan is solid and as safe as it can be. Members Brian Bradshaw, Victor Cabral and Carly Reich voted against the Sept. 14 re-opening, and committee member John Bento of Warren was absent.

The talk of delay came about 12 hours after a Colt Andrews staff member tested positive for the virus Thursday morning. The staff member did not contract the virus at school, but due to contact tracing protocols at the Rhode Island Department of Health, several other staff members who had been in direct contact with the employee were identified and will be required to quarantine for 14 days, whether or not they ultimately test positive themselves.

Coupled with a sudden drop in available staff members, and a request by an unknown number of teachers to take leaves of absence this fall, Dr. Brice said the district is in a tenuous staffing position and he does not know what will happen at Colt Andrews.

“The situation has evolved, and as the superintendent and (management staff) we have to evolve with the changing dynamic,” he said. “Am I in favor of an additional week? Absolutely. That week would be helpful.”

Another issue he said could be a game-changer is the ventilation plan for all six district schools. The state is requiring that all classrooms have four to six complete air exchanges per hour, meaning that all air in every room will be flushed and replaced every 10 to 15 minutes. Though district officials have purchased 200 box fans and are working with HVAC contractors to check each classroom, he said not all schools are currently in compliance. He hopes that contractors will wrap up their work by early next week, and that he will receive reports stating the schools’ adherence to state standards.

Until then, he said, he doesn’t know. The extra time, during which students would be distance learning, he said, “gives us a chance to button things up, to get the air flow issue, which I think is a huge issue, resolved, and to make sure all our buildings have airflow consistent” with the state’s guidelines.

 

Teachers wary of re-opening
Throughout the meeting, school committee members were hit with questions and pleas from both sides of the aisle.

While some parents called in over the Zoom or YouTube platform to say they need their children back in school as soon as possible, others, including several teachers and several union representatives, said the district needs to slow down and think of safety first.

Teacher Michelle Way DaSilva, co-president of the Bristol Warren Education Association (BWEA), spoke out in frustration with earlier comments from parents who want their children back in the classroom: “We’ve become the enemy for a lot of you and we’re not,” she said. “We’re on your side. All your kids are my kids. Every one of these teachers ... we want to be in school with these kids. But at the end of the day, we need to think about health and safety first.”

“The problem, I think, is that the governor said parents could have it either way” by either opting for full distance learning for their children, or for opting to send their children back to school, said BWEA vice-president Brian Chidester, who is keeping his children home this fall.

“I would love to see my children (learning) in-person, (but) we’re expecting the schools to solve all of society’s problems. I’m a little bit frustrated.”

The situation is more complex than some realize, suggested Mt. Hope High School teacher Kerry D’Angelo, a 17-year veteran at the school.

Apart from the spacing of students in physical classrooms, which she believes will in some cases put students in regular, closer contact with teachers than state requirements allow, there are infrastructural issues with how the district is planning to educate. This holds particularly true at the middle and high schools, which will alternate all students between distance and in-person learning.

“Since we don’t have speakers for our Chromebooks, we will not be able to hear the majority of our students, the ones learning from home,” she said. “Since we do not have microphones, the majority of our students, the ones learning from home, will not be able to hear us. The idea that there will be quality instruction for students online and in person at the same time is just not possible.

“So the question remains, why are we risking the health of so many? We ask that you please allow us to teach in a safer and more effective environment, one in which teachers and students have some semblance of normalcy and most importantly, where all students safely receive the best quality education they can.”

“We don’t want to be playing Covid roulette with our students and staff,” added Colt Andrews teacher Jillian LaFazia. “I urge you to allow our administration to do a phased-in approach so they have the time that they need to ready our classrooms and ensure that we have the space that we need.

“The stakes are so high, so we want to make sure that it’s safe to be back ... and we get it right.

Said Mt. Hope English teacher Kirsten Towers: “If our district decides to go ahead and march into in-person school (on Sept. 14), we’re going to have to hope every day that that decision doesn’t lead to someone’s death. If we decide to go virtual to open, at least we can let that fear go.” 

 

Committee votes to go back
But throughout the latter third of the meeting, call-in parents and several school committee members said they need schools to re-open not just to ease parents’ burden, but to give their children the supervision, instruction and peer interaction they need.

“I have a second- and a third-grader," parent Jessica Loftus said. “I tried so hard in the spring to teach them. I think it’s emotionally really important for students to be around their peers. They need to have structure in their day. Right now, our kids are not getting that. We’ve been home for a really long time now, where everything has blended together (and) kids are suffering for that. We’re not doing them enough justice to try to work from home and teach from home.

“They need to be in school and learning from a certified educator” and trust the system, she said.
Committee member Marjorie McBride, who made the motion to go back on Sept. 14, agreed, and wondered aloud how much good an extra week will actually do.

“Eventually you have to pull the trigger, whether you pull it (next week) or a week later. You (Dr. Brice) brought the plan to us the other day and you said, ‘I’m ready.’ And then one individual right now gets Covid and all of a sudden we’re back-tracking ... and figuring out whether we should wait or not wait. And in the meantime, 73 percent of the families in this district (who opted to send their children back to in-person learning) want to send their kids back.

“Giving us one more week really doesn’t give us anything, because somebody else could” contract Covid, she said. "Why the plan if it’s not the plan anymore?”
Committee chairwoman Erin Schofield, who has children in the district, expressed her fears that if in-person learning is delayed, many families will be left in an impossible situation.

“In a lot of households that’s not even an option,” she said. “I do not feel comfortable with those kids getting the short end of the stick. Our vulnerable kids need a place to be. I don’t know what one week is going to do. If we’re not ready by the 14th, we (as school committee members) need to be back here on the 13th and not open schools.”

See a video of Thursday's meeting here.

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