Plans Set For W. Rock, QSTEM Students

West Rock and Quinnipiac students who want to start learning in-person will have that option on Feb. 17, one month after other New Haven elementary schoolers.

Administrators Tuesday evening revealed those and other details to families at two schools set to shutter permanently after this school year: West Rock STREAM Academy and Quinnipiac Real World Math STEM School (Q‑STEM).

The delay allows the school system to conduct a ​“mini-lottery” to place West Rock and Quinnipiac students who want in-person instruction at other schools. After the lottery, the district will set new bus routes for those families and get schools ready to receive their new students.

“We realize these students have been displaced, and we want to make sure they get a proper welcome,” said Superintendent Iline Tracey.

Students who want to continue learning remotely for the rest of the year will get to stay with their current teachers at West Rock and Quinnipiac. They will have to apply for a new school in the district-wide lottery this March and will start at the school they are assigned to next fall.

Last week, the district announced that the two schools will not reopen for in-person classes on Jan. 19 with other New Haven elementary schools. The Independent reported on Monday that the district has decided not to reopen the West Rock and Quinnipiac buildings even after the Covid-19 pandemic ends.

The primary reason for the closure is that the buildings are too old for modern ventilation systems that can prevent the spread of Covid-19.

West Rock was built in 1965. Quinnipiac was built in the 1950s. The latter school does not have an HVAC system at all, New Haven Health Director Maritza Bond said during the presentation.

Tracey said that she had originally heard from one of the city, state, university and corporate groups inspecting the schools that opening windows at West Rock and Quinnipiac would be enough to make classrooms safe during the pandemic. The city later decided that would not be enough.

Each school will send out surveys to families on Wednesday by email and text about whether they want to stay remote at West Rock or Q‑STEM, or whether they want to enroll in the mini-lottery. These surveys are so the district knows approximately how many students to plan for in each category.

If a family wants their student to attend classes in a school building this year:

• They have to submit their application in the ​“mini-lottery” by Friday, Jan. 15.
• The New Haven Office of School Choice & Enrollment will try to place their student in one of their top choices for schools by the end of January. If there are no in-person seats at any of those choices, the office will find that student an in-person seat as close to their home address as possible.
• If the family does not like that option, they can decline their seat and continue learning virtually at their current school for the rest of the year.
• If the student does like their new school option, that student will start at their new school on Feb. 17 and continue attending that school — even if that school switches to remote-only instruction — through the end of the 2021 – 2022 school year.
• Read here about which grades will go into their school building four days a week and which grades attend two days a week.

If a student chooses to study virtually for the rest of the year:

• They will stay in their current West Rock or Q‑STEM virtual classroom, with their current teacher, until the last day of school in June.
• They have to fill out an application with the district’s lottery system with their top choices for schools to attend in the fall. That application goes live on Feb. 1 and will close on March 5.
• West Rock and Quinnipiac students will be first in line for their top choices in the district’s lottery system. The school choice office also tries to keep siblings together and give students extra weight if they live in the same neighborhood as the school. The results of the lottery will come out on April 2.
• The student will start at their new school in the fall of 2021.

On Tuesday night’s video call, Quinnipiac and West Rock families typed their questions to the district, and the administrators responded to the questions. Tracey explained that the format was to avoid Zoom bombing, where one attendee takes over the call with pornographic or racist audio or video.

“I feel like you all are beating around the bush. You have not bluntly said that Quinnipiac is closing. I feel like we deserve a blunt answer, not something ​‘buttered up,’” one anonymous attendee wrote early in the chat.

“Why don’t you just say the school is closing? Where’s the money to fix it?” asked Quinnipiac attendee Tania Cabello.

Assistant Superintendent Paul Whyte answered that the Q‑STEM building cannot be repaired enough to be safe. The district plans to present more details on this to the Board of Education and make the inspection reports public.

Terese Stevenson asked what school fifth graders will graduate from.

Tracey said that those who opt for remote will graduate from Quinnipiac. Those who switch to in-person will graduate from their new schools.

Magnet Program Coordinator Michele Bonanno added that fifth graders who have set their hearts on specific schools for sixth grade — like West Haven-based Engineering & Science University Magnet School — might want to stay remote for the rest of the year. That way they are eligible for the March district-wide lottery. If they go through the mini lottery, they have to stick with their choice for the following year as well.

“What will happen to the teachers at this school? They have poured their hearts into this school and have done an amazing job both last spring and this fall,” asked Quinnipiac attendee Selina O’Toole.

Assistant Superintendent Keisha Redd-Hannans answered that all teachers and staff members will interview for other jobs in the system and are guaranteed a job at another school.

“It’s almost like a death. The school has been in the community for quite a few years. It’s not something we take lightly,” Tracey finished.

She spoke about all the struggles families are dealing with during the pandemic and how this is another difficulty added to her students’ plates.

“It’s tougher on you now being disrupted, but we consider health and safety to be paramount,” Tracey said.

She asked families to direct further questions to their principals, to Redd-Hannans, to the Office of School Choice & Enrollment and to Coordinator of Parent Engagement Daniel Diaz.