Our new virtual Zoom culture has left out a crucial voice as we head back to school – that of parents. Zoom information sessions held by the Newton Public Schools have been one directional. We have heard from the administration, but have not been able to actively engage. Only pre-written and pre-screened questions have been permitted. The School Committee no longer has meeting shown on the summer calendar, but even when in session, the School Committee limited questions and comments. The result is a one-directional experience for the parent community.
As we look toward the upcoming school year, NPS will be delivering by August 11th their plans for full in-person reopening, along with already developed plans for full-virtual and hybrid. The window between now and August 11th is a unique opportunity for parents who are interested in full in-person education for their children to have their voices heard.
Some of you were signatories to an April 2020 Change.org open-the-schools petition circulated by David Goldstone, a parent of two Newton South students and a middle school student at The Rashi School. As many of us who have friends and neighbors with children at private schools know, private schools did not miss a beat during the closure, and are planning full in-person reopening in September. Others may know Stefanos Kales, parent of Newton North children, and medical doctor and professor of medicine at Harvard’s TH Chan School of Medicine. Doctor Kales and others at TH Chan have been messaging the need to open schools while communicating relative COVID risk.
On Thursday evening August 6rd, David Goldstone, Dr. Kales, myself, and a few others, will lead a NPS Zoom session where parents who have a desire to see the schools open for in-person instruction can discuss how we provide the encouragement and confidence the elected and appointed Newton officials need to successfully deliver that alternative to our community.
Here’s a recording of the Zoom meeting
and here are two PDF’s of presentations that went along with the meeting:
Parental Expectations for Learning – 2020
Public Health Aspects of Returning to School
Valerie Pontiff has lived in Newton for 18 years and has two children at Newton North. Professionally she is a commercial real estate broker, managing the Boston office of Mohr Partners. She has served as co-president of the Bigelow PTO (2016-2017) and the Newton North PTSO (2017-2020) and is committed to the success of public education.
How can anyone possibly compare NPS to private schools? We have a lot of schools here and each facility is very different – not every school is Angier or Zervas. A lot of the older buildings have poor ventilation, classrooms too small to socially distance, or other issues. Not to mention all of the money that private schools have. Public schools, especially in a large district like NPS and with neighborhoods with economic diversity, have a lot of different challenges than a single private school.
I don’t see how NPS can safely offer full-time in-person school right now. And I’m not sure how many parents want that, anyway. As tricky and imperfect as a hybrid system is, I think that’s the only way in-person school can be offered safely.
I read Valerie’s post as a sign that all is not well between the School Committee and the constituency they are meant to represent. I’m not so much addressing the issue of in-school versus hybrid versus remote learning during the coming year, but rather that some percentage of parents feel that their voices (whether creative suggestions or critical comments) are not being solicited or heard. In saying that, I am cognizant, of course, that this is an extraordinarily difficult time for the School Committee and the NPS administration, trying to design for a moving target. It takes a huge effort just to do the work necessary to make plans that can work in the face of great uncertainty. It’s not unusual for organizations to focus inwardly in the face of such tasks; but it is at such times that looking outward is especially important.
In prior Village 14 posts, I’ve made the point that the upcoming Memorandum of Agreement to be signed by the district and the NTA will likely have a bigger impact on the educational environment than the recently approved multi-year contract. The April 1 MOA that was signed to cover the end of the spring term had no public review or comment, appears to have had no engagement by the School Committee as a whole, and was approved in a manner inconsistent with good practice. But those were really trying times, and perhaps things had to be rushed. The next MOA has to be done better.
And returning to the theme of this post, it has to be done in a way that generates public confidence in the School Committee, the NPS administration, and the NPS as a whole. Why? Short term, the schools will be needing more revenue than currently provided, and those funds will have to be supplied by the City, and there will need to be political support to garner those revenues. Longer term, if people don’t have confidence in the people running the schools, the attractiveness of Newton as a community will diminish.
So, there’s a lot at stake here. Ordinarily, I would agree with the general practice that negotiations between the School Committee and the union should be confidential. There are years of theory and practice that support such an approach during contract negotiations, and I don’t believe that practice should change. But here, the situation is different. This is not a normal set of collective bargaining negotiations, and the results will be immediately understandable and impactful to parents. I wonder, therefore, whether the School Committee might want to take steps during the process to advise and consult with members of the public as talks proceed. The union, through its parent Massachusetts Teachers Association, has already made clear what its expectations are. (See here:https://massteacher.org/-/media/massteacher/files/news/proposaldese.pdf). In contrast, we have no idea what the School Committee’s strategic objectives are with regard to the MOA, or how it views the MTA proposals, or how it will try to interpret what parents want.
Valerie,
Thank you for this effort.
There is no good option here. There will be parents who want full return and parents who want only remote. You can not compare a private school to a public school who has to ensure that all students are being provided an equal education. Private school students mostly all have their own laptops; private school students mostly all know where their next meal is coming from. That is a false equivalence to say they were up and running faster than NPS (which is actually not true for quite a few private schools.) in addition, the decision to go back or not go back is largely a medical decision. School administrators are consulting with appropriate medical personnel, as is the governor. A bunch of squeaky parents who want their kids back in school full time should not have a place in this discussion. The people who should have a place in the discussion are teachers, those most likely to get sick and die from COVID.
Wow, that pretty exclusionary: “should not have a place in this discussion.” Which parents should have “a place?”
The discussion goes beyond whether the schools are open in class. Even with hybrid and remote, there are important issues of educational focus, rigor, and structure. Are parents to be disenfranchised from those, too?
Sorry, “that’s.”
Newton mom – according to the NPS survey 70% of responding parents wanted their kids back in school full time.
The original reason behind the shelter/shut down was to avoid overwhelming the hospitals with COVID patients. What is the reason now? The risk of children dying from COVID is less than from the flu. My understanding is the risk for people under 70 without underlying health conditions is similar. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
Other countries, like Germany, are reopening their schools. Sweden never shut them.
Personally I don’t think we will see a cure or effective vaccine for COVID in widespread use within 2 years. I say this as someone who has been waiting over a decade for a medical cure was supposed to be within 5 years. I am also signed up to participate in COVID trials with the NIH, phone’s not ringing.
I think the whole issue has been politicized and is not being rationally discussed.
Lucia, that is not true. 70% of parents said they would send their kids to school if they went back full time. 70% also said they would send their kids if school was hybrid, and 70% said they would remain in the Newton Public Schools if it was all remote. The questions were specifically asked to be able to cover their tushes. The real question on the survey should have been which do you prefer. Asking parents who send their kids to public school if they would continue to send their kids there (when they really have no other options) is not an honest question.
Paul, I did not mean to be that exclusionary. You’re right, I was being dramatic to make a point. I’m just saying that administrators have a lot of perspectives to consider and there will be no right answer to make everyone happy. Just because they have decided not to go back in full, doesn’t mean they’re not trying to balance all perspectives.
Totally agree, NMom! Thanks. It’s a tough time for them. I don’t envy them a bit.
Public and private schools are apples and oranges. This is a silly juxtaposition that has no place in this discussion. Like I always tell, Paul, go the easy route and stick a dagger in the NTA and NPS teachers. Wait for it………..if things become contentious we all know who the straw man will be. Again, if people were forthright about why they want the students back in schools, these testimonies would be astounding to hear.
Jason, Yes you do always say it or something like that, but I always respond that no one I know is even remotely talking about attacking anybody. Why don’t you, for once, tell us what your name really is, whether you live in Newton, and if you have any affiliation with the union. You seem intent on creating animosity and division, and it would be really great to know why that is your pattern.
Further, your comment that something is “a silly juxtaposition that has no place in this discussion” is simply disrespectful of the person who was drawing those comparisons. Why not just argue that the comparison is not relevant and explain why rather than attacking the thoughtfulness of the person who offered it. And who are you (or any of us for that matter) to decide what has a place in this discussion? (Back to who are you, anyway?)
And, finally, why do you accuse people of not being forthright about why they want the students back in schools? I’ve heard two reasons as I’ve talked to friends and read comments here. (1) They want the children to be back to learn; and (2) they would like to be able to go back to work full time. Do you think there are others? If so, state them rather than impugning people’s honesty.
Paul,
I am in no way denigrating people. Where do you see the rational in comparing public to private schools? Is it sensical to contrast a state university to a private college? They function under different designs. Would you disagree with this statement? There is no question one can learn from the private school model. However, when it comes to comparing, this is for naught. As an act of good faith, can you state that the citizens of Newton, MA, look at this as though it is 50/50? These situations get messy. Anyone that denies that there are deeply conflicting reasons why is naive. Again, Paul, this is a pandemic. The issue at hand pertains to human beings (pl—-not just students and education). I am frazzled by people’s incapacity to see beyond their way of viewing the world. One can find evidence, data, statistics, and everything else under the sun to validate their argument. This is the world we live in, Paul.
Opening schools safely must be possible if we focus on doing that -rather than the politics of it.
As a community, country and Humanity we have achieved more extraordinary things that this.
Agustin,
How can this be accomplished in a deliberate, mindful, and considerate fashion for those that are directly involved? The global community is combatting a pandemic. Thus, there are factors that significantly encumber this process.
I listened to the first 30 minutes of this Zoom. I was disturbed that the first doctor referenced many things from June, 2020, when there was a different environment. As a parent, I am bothered that he said that some communities have returned to school safely, and Hong Kong was one of those countries. I know that their remote learning started in February and at the end of the school year, the child had four weeks of in person learning. The child I know is starting high school remotely on August 14 in Hong Kong.
While this call, was a zoom call, Dr. Kales then said three feet is acceptable. IMHO, three feet at all times is impossible while kids move around, and three feet before 18 inches. NOT safe. Back in June, when three feet was floated, the rate of transmission was low, and inside gyms had not opened. We were mostly an outside community. Now in August, the rate is a bit higher, and putting more kids in classrooms, three feet apart doesn’t seem safe to students or staff.
The YMCA person spoke about the small groups. Small groups is possible at camp. How does in person learning have 25 kids in the classroom inside the building. Inside is more risky than outside. And kids had motivation to wear masks at camp, since it is fun. School is different.
And I have a question in general. A first grade teacher has a cohort of kids. What about the art teacher and the music teacher, who see EVERY SINGLE child in an elementary school. The teachers are more exposed than the kids.
Another question – testing takes 8 days to get back. If a child gets a test, will they be allowed in school, while waiting for the result? What is the ramifications of when a child is tested and the parent doesn’t reveal that they are waiting for a test?
I didn’t hear anyone that is in the Newton schools every day as an employee.
I just added the video of the Zoom meeting and the two associated PDF’s to the post above.
Hi Jerry, I tried clicking on the links but it said Access Denied. Thanks for sharing them, though, I’ll come back to check later!
Thanks for the tip MMQC. I think those links should be working now. Give them another try.