Schools To Open For SATs

Students who missed taking their SATs this spring will have a chance this fall — in person at area high schools.

This is the latest decision from the New Haven Public Schools Board of Education, which held an emergency meeting on Wednesday.

Aside from these testing opportunities, the Board of Education has closed school buildings to students out of safety concerns as the Covid-19 pandemic continues.

“We believe that to provide the best access, we need an SAT day here in the district,” explained NHPS’ sTyphanie Jackson, who is now overseeing school counseling as well as the district’s special education department.

In a traditional year, New Haven schools would convert a day of school in the fall into a chance for any high schooler to take the college entrance exams. Additional testing days were canceled this spring, leaving seniors fewer chances to take the SAT and juniors fewer chances to qualify for merit scholarships through their PSAT scores.

NHPS could provide waivers so their students can take the tests outside of New Haven this fall. The district could also work with other organizations to set up testing hubs, similar to the learning hubs that nonprofits and churches are beginning to erect. Neither of these are the best options and would create additional logistical hurdles, according to the district.

“We want to make sure students are in a place that they are comfortable with people who know them,” Jackson said.

Board members Wednesday asked for more details: What safety precautions will be in place? How many teachers will need to proctor the tests? How many schools will be open? Are those schools ready for students to enter?

Jackson answered that juniors would be able to take the PSAT on Oct. 14 and Oct. 29. Seniors would be able to take the SAT on Oct. 14. Ten schools would open as the testing centers and only ten students would be allowed in each classroom. This would halve the previous density of 20 students per classroom, allowing for social distancing, while still preventing students from being distracted by too many other students in the same room, Jackson said.

Each student would be required to wear a mask and would have their temperature checked on the way in. The district would take volunteers to proctor the test — one per room — from across professions in the district, including teachers, administrators and other school staff, Jackson said.

Jackson assured the board that the ten testing sites are ready and that she will do an additional tour to check.

“I don’t know that I would take at face value the statement that the schools are ready. If the schools were ready, the students would be in school,” said board member Darnell Goldson.

Goldson and the three other board members who voted to reopen New Haven Public Schools remotely for ten weeks have pushed for third-party certification that the school ventilation systems are safe enough for students, teachers and paraprofessionals to be indoors together. Goldson said that they had not yet seen that certification.

The district does not yet know how many students would sign up for the PSAT/SAT days. There are 1,300 juniors alone, Jackson said.

The vote was unanimous to open the schools for the SATs and PSATs. Board members Matt Wilcox and Darnell Goldson asked the administration to report back on safety measures and how many students sign up before the testing occurs.

“I would want to see before schools are open that safety measures are in place,” Goldson said. ​“There should be temperature checks at the door. There should be PPE. There should be social distancing and cleaning protocols, like hand sanitizers available. Students can’t use water fountains, so there should be water available for them also.”