SUPERINTENDENT, SCHOOL COMMITTEE STRONGLY REJECT NEW STATE GUIDANCE ALLOWING STUDENT DESKS TO BE JUST THREE FEET APART

PLAN FOR SIX-FOOT SEPARATIONS IN AMHERST REGIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO PROCEED 

Students in the Amherst Regional Public Schools will be spaced at desks six feet apart, some teaching may take place in large outdoor tents, and school could start later in the morning, among many other changes that are likely this fall.

District officials are considering several measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission when schools reopen. At a joint meeting of the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committees on Thursday, June 25 , committee members said they opposed new State guidance which would allow for a three-foot separation between desks. They asked Superintendent Michael Morris to continue developing plans for six-foot distancing.

Although using a three-foot distancing model would allow more children back in school at once, school committee members said there is insufficient evidence to support the more lenient guidelines released on June 25 by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE.)  The “Initial Fall School Reopening Guidance,” states that “schools should aim for a physical distance of six feet when feasible, and three feet is the minimum distance allowed.”  

Amherst School Committee member Peter Demling said the State guidance appears to rely on “pre-shutdown” data. “This is confirmation bias at its best,” he said.   Pelham member Ronald Mannino called the three-foot minimum “ridiculous.” “This whole plan is politically motivated for business as usual,” Mannino said.

Ben Herrington, a member from Amherst and the district’s assistant facilities director, said he is “not willing to budge” on distancing. “Our kids shouldn’t be lab rats … I don’t think it’s even worth considering,” he said.

The state guidance maintains that schools haven’t played a significant role in transmission of Covid-19, rates of infection are lower for children than adults, and children may be less likely than adults to infect others. The DESE document includes 84 footnotes, citing a variety of articles and studies.

Morris said the district has been formulating its plans based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendation, of six-foot spacing between desks, and that it has referenced that figure in surveys and communication with families.   

The state will require districts to produce three different models for learning, including with all students attending in-person, an all-remote scenario, and a hybrid combination model. The Amherst Regional Public Schools (ARPS) established 10 working groups in May, which have been planning for a range of scenarios.

Any online instruction that takes place this fall will be very different from what students received in recent months, Morris, said, adding that there are major differences between “emergency remote learning’ and true distance learning.

“The context was very difficult this spring,” Morris said, adding that the new instruction “would be more robust and look very different.”

Rotating schedules, where groups of children attend in person just a few days per week have been discussed, along with priority being given to elementary school pupils and students with special needs. School bus service could also be cut back to the state-mandated minimum, to reduce numbers of children simultaneously on buses.

Morris said that changes to the length of the school day and year may need to be considered, and that staff will need professional development and planning time.

Although he did not provide many details at Thursday’s meeting, Morris said he is more optimistic now than a few weeks ago about the number of children that can be fitted into the schools with six-foot spacing.  “There is more possible at six feet that we thought,” he said.

Morris said that an aggressive effort to empty the schools of clutter has yielded more room. “Dumpsters of materials have left our schools,” he said, adding that air quality, including cross-ventilation, should also improve as a result.

The full DESE guidance, which can be seen here, states that districts should plan for “an in-person return to school five days per week if feasible.” The state suggests that districts consider holding classes outdoors when possible, and advises repurposing libraries, cafeterias, and auditoriums as classroom space to reduce class sizes. The guidance also calls on districts to work with the community to find buildings that are not traditionally used as schools, like libraries and community centers, to create additional classrooms.

Meanwhile, Morris said the district has purchased 30 by 30 foot tents for the schools. “Outdoor education will be something we’ll want to consider,” he said. 

The district has purchased 400 more Chromebooks, Morris said, in order to provide them to kindergarten through second grade pupils, the only age group for which the district did not have laptops. 

The state is not recommending temperature checks at schools, given potential inaccuracies and complications, including that not all people who get COVID-19 have fevers, and others may be contagious before a fever sets in.

Concerning day-to-day school operations, the state guidance specifies:

*Masks covering the nose and mouth will be required for all educators and staff, and children grade 2 and above, and will be encouraged for kindergarten and grade 1.  Masks will also be required on school buses. Families will be expected to provide masks, although extra disposables will be available for students who need them.

*Physical distancing. While the CDC has recommended maintaining a distance of six feet between individuals, the World Health Organization’s guidance states approximately three feet. The state is encouraging districts and schools to aim for six feet of distance between individuals where feasible, but says that three three-foot minimum “is informed by evidence and balances the lower risk of -19 transmission and the overarching benefits of in-person school.”

*Handwashing. Students and staff will be required to wash or sanitize their hands upon arrival, before eating, before putting on and taking off masks, and before dismissal. 

*Isolation spaces. Schools will be required to designate an isolation space, separate from the nurse’s office, where a student who displays COVID-19 symptoms could be isolated until they were picked up a by a family member.

School Committee Chairwoman Allison McDonald said that she received numerous emails from teachers and staff about the DESE guidelines, raising concerns about exposure risks and safety measures. McDonald said teachers are also worried that they will spend more time “cleaning desks” and enforcing safety protocols than engaged in teaching.

“There was a lot of passion, a lot of emotion,” McDonald said.

In a recorded public comment, Amherst Regional Middle School teacher Marcia Gomes voiced “serious concerns” about the guidelines, and the “huge responsibility to keep all buildings safe,” that would fall on the staff.

About 90 percent of the personal protective equipment the district ordered has arrived, Morris said. “Our masks, our gloves, all kinds of things are stacked here at the middle school,” he said.

Morris said school districts including Amherst will receive an additional $225 in aid per student, which should help offset COVID-19-related costs to the district.

At Thursday’s meeting, the committee also approved a new contract for Assistant Superintendent Doreen Cunningham, continuing until June 2023, with a possible one-year extension. Cunningham’s salary was set at $138,000 for the 2020-2021 school year. 

State law requires that school districts provide free public transportation for pupils just in grades K-6, and only if they live more than two miles from the school they are entitled to attend.

Morris said the Northampton Public Schools are among districts that will be reducing bus service this fall.

“I do like the idea of carpooling for families from a public safety perspective,” he said.   

ARPS received 879 responses to a survey of parents/guardians and their plans for the fall, representing about half of all district students.  In that survey, about 35 percent of respondents said they will provide their own school transportation, and another 27 percent are “likely” to do so.

About 10 percent of respondents said they are “unlikely” to send their children back to the ARPS, with just over 2 percent saying they will “definitely not” return.

The numbers indicate that about 90 percent of current students will return. “We have to plan for the vast majority of students coming back,” Morris said.

A presentation on the survey results focused on “emerging themes” including that families’ final decisions about whether to send their children to ARPS will be based on government guidance and the prevalence of COVID-19 at the time.

An ARPS website with information for the fall will be fully operational this week, Morris said.

Morris said he should have more detailed information this week on scenarios for the fall, and the Regional School Committee discussed meeting again on July 2 and 14.  The committee also plans to hold “virtual town halls” this summer about fall planning, in which school staff and the community could participate.

Final recommendations from DESE are expected in mid-July.