Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heading back to school
Palm Beach County students back in class as safety debate rages on
Palm Beach County became the first in South Florida to reopen its school buildings, but it did nothing to quiet the debate about whether students and teachers are safe.
The first day Monday was marked by disagreement among parents, a lawsuit from teachers and a declaration by a School Board member that the whole plan “is just wrong.”
The day could offer a preview of what’s to come in Broward and Miami-Dade. The Broward School Board will meet Tuesday to discuss whether it plans to agree to a recommended reopening on Oct. 5 for elementary, K-8 and some special schools and Oct. 12 for middle and high schools. Miami-Dade
is recommending a staggered reopening with different students returning Sept. 30, Oct. 5 and Oct. 7.
Some happy Palm Beach County parents posted photos of excited kids wearing backpacks and masks. Others complained that the new classroom format — with teachers simultaneously instructing kids in person and virtually — was a disaster.
About 54,000 students — a third of the 164,000 enrolled — attended schools in person Monday, according to district estimates. About 110,000 continued with distance learning while 3,000 were absent. On-campus attendance was below the 41% expected to return, based on parent surveys.
Teacher absences were twice as high as a year ago with 944 calling in, district spokeswoman Claudia Shea said. But since enrollment was also lower than expected, schools were able to cover classes. Superintendent Donald Fennoy said the district also had substitute teachers and district staff with teaching certificates available to fill in.
Over 1,000 teachers asked to work remotely, and most requests have not been granted so far.
On Friday, eight teachers filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the reopening, saying the threat of COVID-19 was still too great.
“The virus has no boundaries — and
is particularly pernicious and contagious in indoor settings, where large numbers of people congregate, such as as the county’s public schools,” says the lawsuit, filed in circuit court.
A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, said lawyer Barry Silver, who is representing the teachers. The Classroom Teachers Association has not joined the suit, Silver said, although he said he’s gotten at least 200 calls from interested teachers.
Schools were allowed to reopen as the lawsuit continues.
“The district’s legal team is handling the litigation of the matter and does not comment on the strategies of matters that are in litigation,” Shea said in a statement. “As for district campuses, many efforts have been made to balance the need to have teachers in the classroom for those students who have chosen to return to brick and mortar. The district has been working hard to ensure that both employees and students have an enjoyable and safe return.”
At least one School Board member agreed schools weren’t ready to reopen. Board member Debra Robinson blasted the district’s plan on her Facebook page Sunday
night.
“I am heartsick. This reopening plan is just wrong,” wrote Robinson, a retired physician.
She said state leaders in Tallahassee pressured the district to open too soon. She also criticized the district’s plan to require teachers to have virtual and inperson students in the same class.
Some parents also blasted the new teaching style.
“This is awful. My daughter’s poor teacher is trying to focus on virtual and the in-person kids, but with kindergarten it isn’t possible and it’s affecting my child and the other virtual kids as well,” parent Sarah Sally wrote on the district’s Facebook page.
“I feel the district should have planned a little better,” Sally wrote. “.Maybe if it was planned better it would have been less
stressful to everyone.”
Fennoy told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Monday that the plan was created to allow a seamless transition from virtual to in-campus learning — and back to virtual if the virus creates a need for quarantines or school closures. School officials say it would have upended class schedules if the district had to start assigning new teachers to students, based on whether they were at home or at school.
Carrie Perez said her children encountered unusual classes at their schools in Boca Raton. Her daughter, Ana, attends Spanish River High, and her son, Lucas, goes to Omni Middle across the street.
“One teacher at Omni was doing ‘virtual,’ even if you were live at school,” meaning she was working from home, Perez said.
“The civics teacher said she had permission to work from home until more of her kids come back.”
Lucas was sent to an overflow room during another class. Aides or other school staff supervised the children when a teacher wasn’t physically present,
Perez said one of Ana’s classes had only two students in it.
Some parents praised how everything went Monday.
“We have had the most positive experience heading back to Coral Sunset Elementary,” Naomi Spotts wrote on Facebook. “Her teachers and staff have been amazing! Thank you!”
It’s been a turbulent effort to get to the first day, with numerous complaints by teachers, school administrators and School Board members that the district waited too late to prepare.
The Classroom Teachers Association called for the removal of Fennoy, a request the School Board has rejected.
Fennoy described Monday as the “calm after the storm.”
“I’ve been in three schools today and have seen no chaos,” Fennoy said. “I have seen a lot of smiling faces on our campuses this morning.”
Fennoy said those still working at home can come back to campus at any time if they give their school one week’s notice.