nothin Teachers, Paras Ask To Opt Out | New Haven Independent

Teachers, Paras Ask To Opt Out

Zoom

Superintendent Tracey: We’re till waiting on state decisions.

Teachers and paraprofessionals asked school brass one question over and over on Tuesday evening: Can they opt out of teaching in person this fall to avoid the risk of catching Covid-19?

They posed the question during an hour of public comment at the end of a special meeting of the Board of Education on New Haven Public Schools plans for the fall. Administrators did not respond to any public questions at the meeting but promised to post answers with the video of the meeting on the NHPS website.

Most of the 22 parents and instructors who commented urged NHPS to resist guidance from the state to host every student every day.

If there is a known danger in my classroom, I would never tell my students to enter. I request that you think about school openings in the same way,” said New Haven teacher and parent Jessica Light. Do not gamble my life on compliance.”

Officials did not answer the teachers’ and paras’ questions during the session. In general they said they’re still waiting on the state for answers.

The schools human relations office has not yet responded to repeated inquiries from the Independent on the opt-out question either. Assistant Superintendent Paul Whyte told the Independent that the school administration is working on an answer to the question.

The school district has a draft reopening plan that covers details from how students will board buses to how much hand sanitizer schools will need to buy. The plan covers three scenarios of fully in-person, fully remote and a hybrid of the two.

Around 400 people attended the special meeting over the videoconferencing software Zoom to hear more about the plan.

In the draft plan, the district would hold fully in-person classes only if there are no reported cases of Covid-19 in the New Haven area. The current level of multiple cases of Covid-19 would trigger the hybrid learning model, according to the plan.

What is unclear is whether the state will allow New Haven to make this decision.

Superintendent Iline Tracey said that she expects to hear from the state around the first week of August whether they or the local district will have power over whether to open fully, partially or not at all.

Uncertainty about state control and the future spread of the virus meant that Tracey and her team did not have all the answers that board members were looking for.

Board member Tamiko Jackson-McArthur pushed Tracey’s team to settle pressing questions for parents, like how many students would be on each bus.

A representative for the bus company First Student, Paul Demaio, said that students would nearly fill the buses. Later, schools COO Michael Pinto clarified that in the current level of moderate community spread, buses would be filled to half capacity.

How do parents prepare? The reason I’m stuck on this is that last year we had a fiasco [with buses]. We never ironed that out completely,” Jackson-McArthur said.

Tracey responded that the number of students on each bus will depend on whether the school system chooses the fully in-person, hybrid or fully remote plan. Tracey said that she is waiting to select which plan based on state feedback, health trends and another survey of parents.

Right now, the situation is so fluid. We could get a different set of information next week. No one knows the nature of the virus, so we are all planning for all the options. Your questions are right on. I’m not negating them.”

Board members, particularly Darnell Goldson and Larry Conaway, pushed the administration to provide an answer to families by Aug. 15 so families can begin planning for the first days of school.

Reopening Debates

Around 400 people joined the special Zoom meeting (above).

While most commenters participating Tuesday night argued against reopening, a few pointed to schools’ importance in their lives. One grandmother, who identified herself as Donna, worried aloud about childcare for her grandchildren while their parents are at work.

I’m trying to figure out what will happen to the first grader on the day she’s not in school. We’re older and at risk, so we cannot take the children,” Donna said.

The director of education at Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services, Dennis Wilson, relayed concerns from refugee high schoolers about continuing the online-only learning from the spring.

English language learners really struggled in online classes. They worry that they will fall behind and will never be able to catch up,” Wilson said.

Families can choose individually to continue distance learning. Around five instructors on the call asked whether they can do something similar and whether they would face consequences like using up sick days.

Paraprofessional Karen Wilkinson asked whether she would be moved from her school if she opts to work remotely. She cited mold issues at her school as a reason for her reluctance — if the school was unable to handle mold in the past, how can she have confidence that the classrooms will be cleaned enough to ensure her safety?

(Read more about planned cleaning precautions in the draft document here and watch the discussion here.)

Others pointed out that many state-recommended safety measures are contingent on schools being able to put them into place, which will be harder for school districts with fewer resources like NHPS.

Teacher Nataliya Braginsky pointed to racism, segregation and school funding formulas as the reasons behind differences in resources between school districts like Salisbury and New Haven.

For whom will these lifesaving procedures be feasible?” Braginsky asked. 

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