More Chesapeake students opt for ‘blended’ model
CHESAPEAKE — More students are set to return to brick-andmortar schools in Chesapeake, though they won’t be learning in person five days a week like some of the younger students.
That’s according to a plan laid out by Superintendent Jared Cotton during Monday night’s School Board meeting.
Here are three things you should know about the meeting.
Blended model for most grades
OnMonday, Chesapeake schools welcomedbackall first, second, and third graders who selected the oncampus option. These students will join preschoolers and kindergartners for learning five days a week.
About 66% of Chesapeake students chose the on-campus option; the remaining chose an all virtual semester dubbed Chesapeake Online.
Over the next two months, the district has plans to bring back more grades, all under a “blended” model with some learning in school and some at home.
Starting Oct. 12, all fourth, fifth, and sixth graders will return to school. Seventh graders will return under the same model starting Oct. 26; ninth graders start Nov. 9; eighth grade starts Nov. 12 and grades 10 through 12 start Nov. 16. While these students chose the on-campus option, school administrators kept them home to start the year due to the high rate of positive coronavirus tests for the eastern region of Virginia.
The blended model calls for two days of on-campus, face-to-face instruction and three days of at-home learning with an online student support day once a week.
The district chose the blended model, instead of five days a week, because they need to keep the numbers of students in classrooms down so they can properly distance everyone, Cotton said. He said the blended option is necessary when the district does not have resources available to support a five-day return with adequate safety measures in place.
Cotton said the district hopes to eventually move fourth and fifth graders to five days a week but it depends on downward trends in COVID-19 cases and sufficient space for distancing in schools.
The district also plans for online student support days once a week, which can be used for small groups or one-on-one learning, Cotton said. They can also be used for student activities and events.
Teachers will go through training for the blended model over the next few weeks, according to Cotton.
Teacher survey gets large response
Amanda Lambert, an English teacher at Oscar Smith High School, was one of 18 speakers at Monday’s meeting.
A Navy veteran who has a 10year-old son in the school system, Lambert shared findings from a survey she conducted of her colleagues to gauge how they are feeling about the school year so far.
The survey, which was shared with the teachers as a Google form, did not ask for participants’ names.
Lambert said her hope was that the anonymity would make teachers more truthful and open. The downside wasshe had nowayofverifying that those who took the survey were, in fact, teachers, but says many of the comments she got were specific to problems teachers are facing.
In three days, Lambert said she got roughly 760 responses. She initially sent the survey out to a few teacher friends, but it “just took off” after that, with other teachers sharing the link to the survey on social media.
The survey asked questions like, “how many students can fit in your classroom based upon three and six feet of social distancing” and “how safe do you feel when you come to work every day.”
The survey comes as the Chesapeake Education Association, the union representing more than 1,000 staff members, says the district in most cases is not yet ready to welcome students back to campus safely.
Over half of the participants who answered said they were spending three hours or more outside of contract time each day to prepare virtual lessons, Lambert told the board. More than 60% don’t trust the quality of cleaning supplies they were given, and over 70% are using their own personal devices or using personal devices in conjunction with school-issued equipment.
The survey also touched on mental health. Lambert’s results show more than half of those who took the survey are experiencing increased fatigue and anxiety.
The results are troubling, Lambert says, because teacher well-being will ultimately impact students.
“If we as teachers aren’t at our best, we won’t be able to give them our best,” Lambert said in an interview.
Lambert says teachers aren’t given input and the district should conduct its own survey to include more than just teachers, such as bus drivers, cafeteria workers andother support staff. She also called for regular discussions between staff and administration.
During the board meeting, Cotton said they are getting input from educators through “Teacher Thinktanks.” This group includes teachers from across the district at all levels and meets to discuss ways to support staff.
Chesapeake Public Schools said staff members have ways to voice their concerns, including speaking with administrators or using an anonymous reporting tool called Quick Tip, according to a statement released by spokeswoman Angie Smith. There’s also a feature on the division website where issues can be raised without identifying yourself, or as a “hidden customer.” It allows for requests to be routed to the appropriate department for response but hides contact information from the division.
The district also said it received input from its staff, with over 40 focus groups, while developing the return-to-school plan. School Board members can also be contacted directly.
Coronavirus metrics on downward trend
Chesapeake’s School Health Advisory Board has tracked downward trends in two key metrics for coronavirus cases.
The rate of positive coronavirus tests for the Eastern Region was 6.1% on Sept. 20, down from 8.3% on Aug. 22. The weekly case incidence rate, which tracks new cases per100,000 population, was 65.2 on Sept. 20, downfrom 80.7 on Aug. 22.
In Chesapeake, the rate of positive tests was 6.3% on Sept. 20, a slight uptick from the week before but still on a downward trend from August. The weekly case incidence rate was 52.7 on Sept. 20.
Board members asked questions about when students can be expected to return to school five days a week.
Dr. Nancy Welch, the city’s health director, said there is no magical answer but the key is ongoing, continuing monitoring of metrics. Another key factor will be mitigation inside the schools, such as wearing masks, social distancing and proper cleaning and ventilation.
“You first have to get that blended (model) to work,” Welch said. “Then, if wehave a continuous good record and we haven’t had to cut back because we haven’t had a surge then we’ll keep going from there.”