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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-28-SC-min LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Tuesday,July 28, 2020 Conducted by Remote Participation CALL TO ORDER AND WELCOME: 6:00 p.m. Chair Kathleen Lenihan welcomed and introduced committee members SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Kathleen Lenihan, Chairperson Eileen Jay, Vice-Chair Deepika Sawhney Scott Bokun Sara Cuthbertson, Clerk STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Sara Mei SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS PRESENT Dr. Julie Hackett, Superintendent Mr. David Coehlo, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations Dr. Christine Lyons, Assistant Superintendent to Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development The minutes were taken by Kristen Cronin, Executive Assistant to the School Committee Ms.Lenihan read Governor Baker's Executive Order from March 12, 2020 which allows public meetings to be conducted remotely due to the state emergency related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Ms. Lenihan covered additional ground rules for an effective and clear conduct of business and to assure accurate meeting minutes. Ms. Lenihan thanked everyone who has written to the School Committee and participated in the Zoom chats with Dr. Hackett. Ms. Lenihan noted that members have read all of the emails and many have participated in the Zoom chats. She said committee members are reading studies and countless articles of the challenges of reopening schools. There are no easy answers and we are struggling along with School Committees all over the country with how to do this as safely as possible. Ms. Lenihan said the committee will continue to work collaboratively with Dr. Hackett to make a decision on moving forward in a way that best balances the health, safety and well being of Lexington Public Schools students, staff, and their families. Ms. Lenihan announced that the middle school and high school PTOs will be hosting an event titled, "I'm Not Racist. . .Am I?" Previously postponed due to COVID, we now have a unique LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC opportunity to bring this event to you virtually at a critical moment in our shared history. For questions, you can email Christina Lin at Linbutler@Zmail.com COMMUNITY SPEAK: LPS Teacher: Can be a better teacher in a healthy virtual environment than in a mask-to-mask setting. Asked School Committee members to delay tonight's vote on the LPS Blueprint. Unclear on how a vote can be taken on something that is not really a plan, but more of an idea. Many of the high school teachers expressed concerns over the lack of details. LPS Teacher: Expressed concerns about social/emotional health for students and staff under the hybrid model. When students are calm and focused they are ready to learn and reach their full academic potential. When students are anxious and worried, they have trouble acquiring, processing, and retaining information. The safety measures for the 2020 school year will be difficult and unlike anything they have experienced. It's clear that students' best opportunity to interact with peers and their teachers is by remote learning. Anxious staff will have difficulty delivering the high quality education that LPS students and families expect in person. We want to continue to provide excellent academic and social/emotional support for our students. It is clear that we will be able to have more face time with the whole class, small groups, and individual students through remote technology. Let's work together to make remote learning successful. Kelly Chang, 23 Lillian Road: Expressed concern about not having specific parameters regarding synchronous teaching in the Blueprint. What are the specific parameters LPS will set forth with regards to synchronous learning and teaching with a live teacher? Concord, Arlington, Waltham have issued specific guidance on synchronous teaching. We would like these questions answered before the vote. Ask that the School Committee hold out on today's vote until there is a more granular plan for both elementary, middle school, and high school. Avon Lewis, President of Lexington Education Association: Dr. Lewis noted that two weeks ago the district asked staff and family members to submit their preference about being remote vs. hybrid. At that time roughly M of LPS staff indicated a preference for hybrid while % indicated a preference for remote. Dr. Lewis said that over the last two weeks there has been a change within the staff. The results of a recent LEA survey showed that 75% of staff reported being fearful or very fearful of returning to the building. The breakdown of staff members' first choice of models was: 52% of staff express a preference to return fully remote; 28% of staff express a preference of a phased return; 16% of staff express a preference for hybrid; 3% express a preference for a full return in the buildings. The staff has read and studied the Blueprint and have tried to imagine what it will be like to educate the students of Lexington under these conditions. They have concerns not only about contracting the disease, but also concerns for the mental health of the students. Not being able to interact with students and staff in a normal way will be a constant stresser, which will interfere with learning. Teachers are concerned about creating effective learning experiences in the hybrid model; for example, small LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC group work is difficult in a socially distanced classroom. Urge to go fully remote or mostly remote start for the beginning of the school year. LPS Teacher: Remote learning was difficult for everyone this past spring, however, the current hybrid model will not be the typical school year we are used to. Teachers will not be able to handle the workload of in-person and remote learning simultaneously. Judy Crocker, 5 Courier Court: Ms. Crocker provided an update on Safe Routes to School in Lexington. As of July 1, 2020, working with the Town Manager and The Board of Selectmen, Safe Routes to School will now be an "in house" responsibility through the Town Transportation Managers office. The Lexington volunteer Safe Routes Committee expressed their gratitude to Lexington Public Schools for posting the walking/biking routes on the Central Registration webpage. Would like bike and safety instruction included in the health and wellness curriculum. Vanessa Zang, 21 Deering Ave. (LPS Alum 2017): Deeply concerned about safety of students and staff under proposed hybrid plan. Ms. Zang shared personal concerns from her experience at the high school, such as deteriorating conditions, no A/C in classrooms with little ventilation, cafeteria space over capacity forcing kids to each lunch in the hallways. Do not trust the building to be a safe environment for any member of the school community this coming year. The hybrid model is unsafe and unfeasible. Helen Yang, One Solomon Pierce Road: Spoke about Concord-Carlisle's upcoming plan, which is simultaneously remote and in-person learning. Suggested starting fully remote for the first couple of weeks to build a solid foundation and ease anxiety and help rebuild the trust. Natalia Hunik, 11 Volunteer Way: Expressed strong opposition to the proposed Blueprint; lack of accountability; lack of transparency; lack of inequality; & lack of parent inclusion. Chiang Fu, 9 Bicentennial Drive: No teacher or parents involved in the planning in the Blueprint. Request to form a Task Force with parents and teachers for remote learning. Carol Webb, 11 Revere Street: Expressed concerns of airborne transmission of COVID-19 and the HVAC systems at the high school. Want to ensure that the School Committee and the district get the best scientific engineering advice possible on the potential for airborne transmission through the HVAC systems, or lack of, at the high school. Would like to know when the report will be available and when the School Committee will be reviewing the report. Commented on a sentence in the Blueprint that teachers can maximize air flow and minimize potential for virus circulation with fans. How will teachers know how to do that realistically? Is LPS considering the use of portable filtration and air cleaning devices (ultraviolet, germacital, and radiation)? LPS Teacher: Would like committee members to contemplate on the fact that many families seem to react to the asynchronous and synchronous learning opportunities based on the Spring experience. Feel that it is a missed opportunity and to understand and envision what it could be this fall. None of us have ever been trained in remote teaching and learning prior to the LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC pandemic. Students were reeling from losing their spring, sports, proms, friends, etc. Restarting this fall remotely would afford us the opportunity to teach effectively using the technology. Urge School Committee to put in balance the fact that we all know what happened in the Spring was teachers trying to learn something in a very difficult environment. Many concerns about the hybrid learning academy and trying to divide time between doing things in person and then trying to divide time into an asynchronous week. The asynchronous weeks will feel underwhelming once again. Eunice Hercule, 4524 Lexington Ridge Drive: Concerned for the safety for the teachers, families, and students. Think remote learning would be a good start and then transition kids back into the schools. Alison Schnidman, 6 Pickhern Place: The Superintendent chats are forums for comments and not for conversations. Having a meaningful dialogue is one of the key things parents have asked from the district. Other districts had parents, teachers, administrators, and students working on Blueprints together and Lexington chose not to do so. The parents of Lexington have requested a seat at the table. Requesting to launch a Task Force that includes parents, administration, students, and teachers to rebuild trust within the community. Suzanne Abair,6 Woodbrick Road: Concerned that this plan is going to be voted on when there is not enough detail as to what is going to be offered in terms of the synchronous and asynchronous learning. Georgia Swan, 206 Manor Terrace: Ask the School Committee to prioritize in-person learning for any Special Ed student who needs it. Also concerned about the teachers. Has autistic son will not wear a mask at 5 years old. Would like the School Committee to offer hazard pay for teachers. Tanya Songtachalert, 5 Village Circle (LPS Alum 2014): Working as a contact tracer with Partners In Health. It is very clear that COVID 19 is very infectious in closed rooms and houses. This meeting is happening on Zoom, which means you all understand that COVID 19 is very infectious. As an alum, know first hand that the classrooms are not ventilated very well and there is not great circulation. Very concerned that students, staff, and teachers are very much at risk. Urge School Committee members to delay the vote, rethink the plan, and consider full remote learning for now. LPS Teacher: Do not feel safe with the hybrid model. Would like the School Committee to consider full remote. Dr. Amy Boutwell, 20 Flintlock Road: Suggest a plan with crisis management principles. Crisis management principles include using data and measurement, over-communicating, engaging with town hall meetings, and holding more frequent meetings and forums. Recommend that any future plan that is approved has a Task Force and community engagement strategy. LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC Natalie Huitema, 2 Hancock Avenue: Echoed what other parents have mentioned, especially the lack of trust. The plan should have more detail and parents should be at the table in order to restore the trust. Laurie Giterman, 26 Eldred Street: Would like to see an outline of what the plan is for the Fall, how much will be synchronous and how much will be live teaching. LHS student: There is a lack of ability to control social distancing among the student body, outside or inside school walls. How will the administration approach and support the guidelines beyond campus walls and enforce that the virus will not come into the campus walls? Justine Neely, 19 Bellflower Street: Had a few comments regarding the negative comments about remote learning in the spring. Asked if the district has any childcare partnerships. Echoed comments that severe special education students (elementary) may need to do more in person. SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT: Dr. Hackett reported on the following: LPS Back-to-School Blueprint: Dr. Hackett reported that State teachers' union leaders are encouraging locals across the Commonwealth to take votes to endorse the positions recommended by the Executive Committee to "return to school only when it is safe." There is no unified agreement—in the United States or in the Commonwealth—to clearly dictate which health metrics we should use to trigger a return to a full remote experience or a full return to in-person schooling. Lexington has made every effort to include detailed health and safety measures in the Blueprint that other districts are replicating in their own back-to-school plans, such as a thorough three-step process for assessing air quality. Dr. Hackett said that the decision with which the School Committee is faced tonight requires them to be simultaneously nimble and intractable. She noted that we learn new information about COVID-19 each day, which requires us to keep an open mind and to understand that conditions can change at a moment's notice. At the same time, the district needs to plan for the future, which requires the administration to make definitive decisions and to use the best information available at this moment. Dr. Hackett recommended that the School Committee adopt the recommendations of the LPS Back-to-School Blueprint this evening (including the new updates to the 2020 school calendar). Dr. Hackett also recommended that the School Committee reconvene on August 25, 2020 for the purpose of reviewing the decision made this evening, in light of the health indicators at that time. Dr. Hackett reported that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DESE) announced on July 27, 2020 that they are decreasing the number of school days for students to 170 days. School start date for teachers is August 31, 2020, the first day of school for students is September 14, 2020. Dr. Hackett asked for families who wish to LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC participate in the Hybrid Model to plan to return to Lexington by August 31 st and keep their children home for two weeks to ensure a safe start to school. For a complete copy of the Superintendent Report click here. Mr. Bokun moved to approve the donation from Cary Memorial Library to Lexington Public Schools gift account in the amount of$800.00 seconded by Ms. Cuthbertson. Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote;Approved 5-0. SCHOOL COMMITTEE DISCUSSION & QUESTIONS: Ms. Jay asked if students with special programs would still have a start date of September 8th as stated in an earlier meeting. Dr. Hackett replied yes. Ms. Cuthbertson asked, if the conditions trigger a complete district wide closure, what will the closure for kids that chose the hybrid model look like? Dr. Hackett replied that the expectation would be teachers would teach in the remote environment like they would have organized and structured in the in-person environment. Dr. Lyons replied that the Remote Learning Academy would stay the same but the hybrid model would need to be modified. Teachers would still be planning on a two-week cycle. The former in-person week would include more synchronous learning, but definitely not 100% of the day. Remote week would maintain a lot of the characteristics it already has. The specifics are in the process of being developed and will have more detail in the next version of the Blueprint. Ms. Cuthbertson asked if a schedule has been created for the high school during passing time. Dr. Hackett said a team is working on the scheduling, but the idea would be that students would be staying in some locations instead of traveling throughout the building. Ms. Sawhney asked how the students transitioning into different schools will take place in the fall? Dr. Hackett replied that when the students return to a full return, the district has to give them time to process what's happened. Give time to come together as a school community and build the relationships. Ms. Jay said she has some discomfort in approving to adopt a plan before knowing some details (i.e., how much contact will people have; how many blocks will be had during the day; safety issues). By continuing to develop specifics for the hybrid model at the high school level, we would be in a better position to vote to adopt the LHS plan. Ms. Jay asked that the planning team take some other things into consideration as they are doing their work. Some concerns that would be helpful to consider would be the discrepancy between the number of students vs. staff who choose hybrid. Ms. Jay said she would like to hear some information from the team with regard to what happens when teachers and students get sick (who would cover classes?) LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC Mr. Bokun asked about the lunch process for the schools. Would lunch be in the classrooms or outside? Dr. Hackett replied, both. Dr. Hackett noted that the Board of Health said it would be best to take things outside and utilize outdoor spaces whenever possible. Mr. Bokun asked if all of the buildings have been tested or just the high school. Dr. Hackett replied all of the buildings have been tested. Department of Facilities checks the HVAC systems regularly and they have also hired an engineering firm, EAH&E, that will be testing every building. Dr. Hackett said reports/data would be available before the buildings are open. Mr. Bokun asked if the testing would be done every month or is it just this one time? Dr. Hackett replied that it would not be every month. She suggested having the Director of Public Health attend a meeting to review the analysis of the results so people can have a clearer understanding of the results. Mr. Bokun asked if the PPE order has been delivered. Dr. Hackett replied yes. Mr. Coehlo and his staff have been keeping track of all the PPE and getting it ready for distribution. Sara Mei: Very impressed with the proposed Blueprint. Echoed concerns of peers and friends over the safety and wellbeing of teachers. Ms. Mei wants the teachers to be comfortable with the option they chose or are given. Would never want to be the reason for teachers or friends getting sick. Recognized the hardship that both teachers and parents face no matter which return to school model is chosen. Working parents won't be able to watch their kids and keep them on track 24/7 especially if they have elementary children. At the same time, many teachers are worried about daycare as they return to buildings. As many have pointed out during community speak and with many questions that the school committee has received, it is clear that we still have a lot more work to do, "we" as the town, not as the school. Since parents are allowed to change from the hybrid to remote learning and vice versa, how long will the transition be to change and will there be a curriculum discrepancy between the two models? Dr. Hackett said that in the recent DESE guidance, a wait period of about 4 weeks would be the reasonable transition period between switching from hybrid to remote and vice versa. Dr. Hackett replied that Dr. Lyons and the curriculum supervisors are working to be sure there is alignment between the two models to be sure people aren't getting a different learning experience. Sara Mei asked if elementary kids would be in the same group/class as they were in last year with their same teacher. Dr. Hackett said it was talked about but they are not considering doing it right now. Dr. Lyons said this process is called "looping" where they would travel up to the next grade with their students, but then they would have to learn an entirely different curriculum for that grade level. Ms. Lenihan asked if all of the classrooms have working windows and would we be using those spaces as classrooms with inoperable windows? Dr. Hackett said that we do have classrooms that are completely interior with no windows at all. It all depends on what we hear on the report. Ms. Lenihan asked if the district has the ability to do "fit testing" with N95 masks and if possible maybe the district can look for guidance from the state. Dr. Hackett replied that the district does LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC not have N95 masks for everyone. Mr. Coehlo said the district has cloth masks for staff; disposable masks; N95 masks specifically for the nurses to use along with the smile masks. If we went to all N95 masks, the fire department in Lexington could probably help provide the "fit test" services. We believe we have the safety and mechanisms in place at multiple layers to make sure people are safe. Ms. Cuthbertson commented that she had received some communication concerns from Special Ed staff with concerns about compliance with masks because of the population that they serve. Wondering if the district has the ability to provide them with additional protective equipment? Mr. Coehlo replied that what has been purchased for staff that works with some of the Special Ed students are face shields, surgical scrub tops, disposable gowns, and headware. There are several layers of protection available, in addition to sanitizer and cleaning products, at each of those levels. Ms. Sawhney suggested that School Committee members, possibly jointly with the Select Board, send a letter at state level to advocate for support to have COVID testing and tracing for the schools. Ms. Sawnhey moved to send a letter of concern to Governor Baker and state elected officials about the inadequacy of testing and the need for school and town systems to have support around testing and contact tracing to ensure a safer return to school, seconded by Ms. Jay. Ms. Lenihan did a roll call vote;Approved 5-0 Mr. Bokun asked about the transportation process? Dr. Hackett said it is a staggered seating and one student per seat, wearing masks. There are a lot of logistics that will have to take place. Boston students have an even longer ride, we need to be more thoughtful about that when we think about how we are going to transport those students. Mr. Bokun asked if a teacher is teaching half the cohort class live one week and the second half of the cohort live the following week, is it the same teacher? Who is teaching remote learning? Dr. Lyons said it is important to have a lot of asynchronous activities/learning during the remote week. In the flipped learning model, the remote part comes first and that is where the remote gets cued up and set up for the following live week. Ms. Jay asked what happens if the hybrid model has to go to full remote? Would teachers be able to teach their whole class instead of separating the cohorts? Dr. Lyons commented that the exact process of how this will work is still being developed. Much easier to engage a smaller group of students online rather than a large group of students. We are looking into the possibility of a learning management system that DESE is putting together, so this is another option for remote learning as well. Ms. Jay asked, at the secondary level, if a teacher chose to combine their class and teach everyone at the same time remotely, is that a choice that could be done? Dr. Lyons said flexibility needs to be built into the system. Mr. Bokun spoke on behalf of Ms. Sawhney: If something happens and the district switches to full remote, would the teachers be able to handle the workload? Dr. Lyons replied that yes, the LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC teachers would be able to manage. Dr. Hackett said the district has to be ready to go full remote at any time. If more kids go into remote from hybrid, we will need to adjust accordingly. VOTE CALENDAR: 2020-2021 Ms.Jay move that the Lexington Public Schools calendar 2020-2021 have a school start date for teachers of August 31, 2020 and first day of school for students is September 14, 2020, the first day for students in Special Ed programs and other identified vulnerable students is September 8, 2020, and last day of school for students is June 16, 2021 -seconded by Ms. Cuthbertson. Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote;Approved(5-0) VOTE BACK-TO-SCHOOL BLUEPRINT School Committee members had further discussion on the Blueprint prior to voting. Ms. Cuthbertson made a motion to adopt the recommendations outlined in the Lexington Public Schools Back-to-School Blueprint for the 2020-2021 school year inclusive of the changes identified as follows: to reconvene on August 25, 2020 for the purpose of reviewing the decision made this evening in light of the health metrics at that time-seconded by Mr. Bokun. Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote;Approved 5-0 Mr. Bokun made a motion to adjourn at 10:25 PM, seconded by Ms. Sawhney. Ms. Lenihan took a roll call vote;Approved 5-0 LSC 7/28/2020 Meeting Minutes-Approved 9/8/2020 KC