CHIPPEWA VALLEY SCHOOLS DISCUSS USING HYBRID PLAN
Dialogue comes after in-person learning protests; plan would focus on elementary and special needs students
Chippewa Valley Schools administrators have presented a potential in-person hybrid option plan focused on elementary level and special needs students to the district’s board of education.
The virtually held special board meeting took place this past Monday, the same day as a parent-led demonstration. The demonstrators protested the lack of face-to-face education options, rallying at the administration building on Cass Avenue in Clinton Township.
The school board did not take a vote on the matter of a potential in-person hybrid option plan, but could do so during the next boardmeeting scheduled for Sept. 28. If the board approves the plan at that time, the district could begin to implement it on Oct. 12.
Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Don Brosky said a transition from full remote learning to some in-person instruction still means analysis of health department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information, aswell as compliance with the governor’s plans and the return to school roadmap. He added that a shift to remote learning could occur at any time that the district felt it could not implement safety measures.
On Aug. 10, the school board adopted a resolution to begin the 2020-21 school year providing remote instruction, and to monitor information related to COVID-19 for a possible return to in person instruction at a later date. The resolution indicated the Chippewa Valley virtual academy would remain an option for district students during the 2020-21 school year, but the board would monitor COVID-19 information and reopen schools for in-person instruction when the board deemed it reasonably safe to do so.
Plans must be updated and reconfirmed every 30 days throughout the school year. The district started the school year with remote learning on Sept. 8.
“Creating a hybrid plan for district our size is a major challenge. You know we have got one of the largest districts in the state of Michigan, and so when you talk about the fact that we are looking at bringing half of our kids into the building it was something that we saw as a huge priority forus,” Executive Director of Secondary Education Paul Sibley said.
Sibley also said challenges of a hybrid are greater at the secondary level, and health department recommendations indicate in-person learning should begin in phases, utilizing a hybrid. Administrators recommended beginning with elementary students, illustrating benefits of bringing K-5 students back rather than just K-2.
“We’ve been able to track howmany students we have in CEVA which would be our virtual academy and how many students are part of our remote learning,” said Marina Licari, elementary education director. “So we take a look at that number of students. In each of our buildings, on a given day if we went with a hybrid model that includes K—5, our largest building would have no more than 300 students. Our smallest building would have 125 students. These are manageable numbers.”
Walter Kozlowski, the district’s director of innovation and learning, said the hybrid would involve a group A and group B plan.
“Group A would be in on Mondays and Wednesdays. Group B would be in on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And on Friday we would do a remote learning scenario, which may allow our teachers to focus on a social/emotional with the whole class,” he said.
Kozlowski also said students in the virtual academy would continue with the remote instruction Mondays through Thursdays, with Friday allowing themto also interact with students in hybrid, as hybrid students will be remote on this day. Fridays would also be a day in which students would participate in activities that did not require all-day screen time. Kozlowski said hybrid students would continue to learn at home on days they are not in the buildings.
Special needs students on ECSC or CLP in grades K-12 would also return on the hybrid model.
“Monday through Thursday that would be in-person learning. They are already in smaller groups than what our other classes may be. And Friday we would have them have the opportunity to participate in their nonspecial ed classes but from in the school building,” Kozlowski said.
Licari discussed elementary level learning schedules and staffing challenges. She said classrooms would be reconfigured for social distancing and discussed some cleaning procedures, as well as procedures for arrival and dismissal. Students would be encouraged to bring their own materials. Teachers would travel to classrooms as needed rather than students traveling, and students would receive specials in 10week blocks, rather than attending a different special each day of theweek.
“If ever there was a positive case we could limit any of the exposure that our students have by keeping them in their classroom as much as possible,” Licari said, adding students would have assigned seats to assist in contact tracing also.
Assistant Superintendent for Business and Operations Scott Sederlund said the district has enough PPE to get through the first half of the school year.
Sibley said students and staff will health screen at home before entering a building, and all students and staff will wear masks, including on busses. He added that even busses will have assigned seating, with siblings sitting together, and discussed bus cleaning routines.
More detail on the return to school plan is available on the district’s website at chippewavalleyschools.org
Tom Sokol, a parent of a student in the district, served as the spokesperson for the demonstrators to the media. He also spoke during the Sept. 21 board of education meeting.
“I am here to say that nobody knows what is best for our kids like the parents. And we are here to tell you that we want to get our kids back to school. Andwe don’t really align with the reasoning that there are board members that are doing this for the sake of safety. In the name of safety. You know we are not convinced that our kids are at severe risk,” Sokol said, adding that parents were concerned about the mental health effects of keeping students in remote learning and the need for a sense of normalcy.
Hundreds of parents attended the four-hour board of education meeting, some supporting remaining in remote learning for the present and some supporting having the option of in-person learning.
On Sept. 22, the Macomb Daily received a letter from district teacher Bridget Blackwell, stating she believed some community members were “pushing for a return to face to instruction prematurely.” She wrote that although teachers want to return to the classroom, she believed that other districts are just starting to see results of in-person instruction, including COVID-19 spread and closings.
“I have heard several vicious rumors that the board/district has decided to return to face-to-face instruction — sooner rather than later. This decision was no doubt made due to the pressure received during the board meeting Monday night. If this is true, I am very disappointed in the board and the district for crumbling so easily, falling prey to the demands of disgruntled parents who are threatening to vote them out of their jobs. Parents, who believe it is, ‘…better to get a virus than for our children to suffer mental health issues from not being in school,’” Blackwell wrote.
She further wrote that although a learning curve is needed for remote learning, remote learning is “coming around, people are settling in — families and teachers alike.”