I was surprised to see a quickly scheduled meeting of the School Committee, for August 25 at 4:00pm, posted on the Electronic Posting Board on August 20, with the following agenda item:
Discussion and Possible Vote: Fall Return to School Plan
I was surprised because the School Committee, just a few days ago, on August 14, already approved the plan by a 7-2 vote.
There are no written materials attached with regard to this item, as opposed to the extensive presentation on this topic for the previous sessions, so you have to wonder what’s new. As far as I know, not much has changed with regard to the incidence of Covid-19 and nothing much has changed with regard to state guidance (except the availability of more testing.)
The date may only recently have been set, but the SC had indicated already 2 weeks ago that a final vote was scheduled for the week of the 24th. I believe the thinking was, if Covid metrics significantly changed, this gave an additional chance closer to the start of the school year. Since ultimately the metrics haven’t changed much (if anything, they’ve improved a little), it would seem to require a significant explanation if the vote did change.
However I wouldn’t ascribe sinister motives, as this meeting had been communicated for a while.
Meanwhile a group of Newton South students have been collecting signatures in support of the NTA’s plan.
Paul Levy is the author of How a Blog Held Off the Most Powerful Union in America, and this is the eighth installment of an ongoing campaign intended to demonize teachers and their union.
In this post, Paul falls back upon his trusted “agnostic post, toxic comment” strategy – this time with a double use of the “I was surprised” affectation.
This technique will be scrutinized in a chapter of my upcoming book, The Highlanders: How a Cheap Blog Was Used to Turn a Wealthy, Liberal, Under-Taxed City Against Its Teachers in Less Than a Year (and How the Same Strategy Can Work for You).
Some observers have ascribed specific motives to Paul’s anti-teacher (ahem, anti-union) campaign. I am pleased to say that my book will include new material on the most plausible theories, as well some unique insight into whom he may be working with (or for). Allegedly, etc.
Also, I’m grateful that Paul has now provided us with a statistically-significant sample size of his anti-teacher posts. As a result I’ve been able to perform a full regression analysis that correlates the day of the week and time of day of Paul’s posts with the number of legitimate positive replies. To maximize your anti-union success, you will not want to miss Appendix A of my book The Highlanders.
I’ll try to share some of this data right here on V14, but first let’s wait for the “toxic comment” component of Paul’s strategy to play out in the subsequent comments, after we hear from the usual anti-union suspects.
Hi Paul,
As Jay said, the SC had already planned for a final vote the week of the 24th. Hopefully the seven members who voted to approve the NPS hybrid model will take into consideration the massive backlash their well-intentioned but unfortunate decision has engendered on the part of students, families, and educators.
I’d encourage everyone to read the superbly written student-initiated petition (that Jerry Reilly posted above) in support of the NTA’s plan. A synthesis of the proposal can be found here: https://www.newteach.org/
Additionally, since “you have to wonder what’s new,” here is a short list of recent reads & things to watch that might help inform people about issues the SC, and all of us, should be considering:
Much-maligned, absurd Mass. DESE memo:
https://d279m997dpfwgl.cloudfront.net/wp/2020/08/2020-0821five-topics.pdf
News coverage re: DESE memo:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/08/22/metro/state-criticized-over-calls-teachers-work-empty-classrooms-this-fall/
https://www.wbur.org/edify/2020/08/21/massachusetts-remote-learning-teachers-in-classrooms-dese-guidance
Current COVID data (contrast with other districts going remote, like Brookline, Cambridge, & Watertown, and note that there are many students and staff members in NPS who don’t live in Newton…)
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/community-level-covid-19-data-reporting
Re: the limited utility of Gov. Baker’s map:
https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/curtatone-a-color-coded-map-is-not-a-plan/?fbclid=IwAR3a0hwH691dHTAIBVjFvo_VuDnwQFkS0a1mzjryPVRJPJxnrST-tvG9zTc
Boston Public Schools starting remote, phased return:
https://whdh.com/news/walsh-boston-schools-will-begin-new-year-with-fully-remote-learning-return-to-classrooms-will-be-phased-in/
Cambridge Public Schools starting mostly remote, phased return:
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/8/9/cambridge-public-schools-remote-fall/
https://www.cambridgeday.com/2020/08/17/letter-from-cambridge-education-association-denounces-hybrid-reopening-plan-for-schools/
Helpful graphic: “A side-by-side comparison for Return to Learning” (NPS vs. NTA plans)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CEAb6BuAJFW/
An actual teacher’s explanation of schedules in the NPS vs. NTA models:
NPS: https://www.loom.com/share/3b416984c45f4e21b141ee4bbb03c648?fbclid=IwAR25RX0D2neZ27J_wYa5FU8tDMLboz7jU6EgojcZsGOYB11VZVp5Sd4DGW4
NTA: https://www.loom.com/share/6b4ca14846e541309a42b2b00ad1a571?fbclid=IwAR3G5zU19Z4pifwNglhSqqJCvtDsG56gDXeBDnNgWVHAY0NSbdCiMW-acg8
David,
Thanks for all these links.
I agree that portions of the DESE memo were silly in many ways, including an “expectation” that teachers teaching remotely should go into school each day. Beyond the fact that the state does not have the authority to enforce this idea (so the “expectation” has no force in law), much of the logic was faulty, e.g.,
“It allows administrators to provide better support for teachers, where they are able to more readily observe instruction and provide real-time feedback and coaching.•It allows administrators to monitor the level and amount of instruction students receive throughout the course of the school day, ensuring a more consistent experience across classrooms and student cohorts.”
Such support and monitoring can actually be done more easily on-line than in person, given the various electronic tools available to teachers and administrators.
Further, if teachers already have to balance their home life needs during this time, why create an expectation that they will allocate a portion of their day away from home while commuting to an empty classroom?
Human behavior, actions, internal policies, and protocols can’t be quantified. People take solace in data. However, data isn’t the end all be all. Like I have said to Paul on multiple occasions: if one feels confident and comfortable with the hybrid model, I beg you to dig a trench and jump in. Germs do not live on a leash.
Just got an email from NPS that at the meeting NPS will share the results of the survey and that based on that info they are going to provide recommendations on adjusting the plan. I really hope the kids are able to do some in person learning.
The tone of the email leads me to believe that most kids opted for in-person learning and most teachers chose to abandon them.
Can someone please enlighten me about the proposed COVID-19 case metrics by which NPS as well as NTA would deem full in person learning (and hybrid learning) ‘safe’? I can’t recall having seen them.
Interesting to watch the assessment of risk and tolerance of risk to be very different for NPS/NTA vs. private schools with in person learning, daycare facilities, and i.e. hairdressers. COVID-19 is unlikely to magically disappear in the next year, so I’m hoping for less red tape, bureaucracy, and union objections about lack of professional development etc, and a more ‘can do’ mindset, similar to virtually every European country. In the mean time, we will unfortunately have to run to private pod/private school.
Craig or NH Mom or others, Would you please cut and paste the email and post it here? Thanks!
Ah, here it is (without the meeting links):
Dear NPS Families,
As you know, last week we asked you to complete a survey selecting your preferred educational model in which to start the school year. At the same time, we surveyed our faculty and staff to better understand our staffing for the school year. We are still in the process of reaching out to families who have not yet responded to the survey.
This process is incredibly complex as we look across the district to fully understand the needs of all of our students and our staff. We are working quickly to analyze these survey results to determine class placements, scheduling, and additional staffing needs. However, the initial survey results indicate that NPS will need to modify and change its proposed recommendation to the School Committee.
Given this information, the School Committee will meet on Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. At the meeting, district administration will share the survey data and provide recommendations on adjustments to the fall learning models. Following the meeting, at 7:00 p.m., the district will host a live Q&A session in which families can ask questions.
Craig,
Please expand on your theory about teachers. Are you contending that teachers are to blame for how this process has unfolded? If so, how and it would be great if you can elaborate.
Jason,
The blame isn’t solely on the teachers. A group of hysterical parents that evidently never took statistics certainly isn’t helping things, and the useful idiot kids parroting Olszewski’s Metco argument are pretty gross.
However one only needs to look as far as the private schools that are starting full time, in-person learning next week. Those teachers worked all summer to implement a plan that would serve all stakeholders, most importantly the kids.
Our teachers chose to be “labor,” and as a result have no right to complain about the plan that “management” put in place.
Craig: “most kids opted for in-person learning and most teachers chose to abandon them.”
Wow, what an incredibly offensive and ignorant comment.
I hope most people will listen when we educators say that we ALL want to be back in school, but with a safer, more sensible plan than what NPS put together. We’ll see if/how much NPS and the SC change direction on Monday.
Craig, have you looked at the NTA proposal to contrast with the NPS hybrid plan? What about a thoughtful, detailed plan for a remote start followed by a phased reopening constitutes “abandonment” in your book?
I think all educators respect and empathize with families who have been put in very, very tough situations, and received few clear answers. Many of us are parents ourselves, and some in Newton. I’d hope people could reciprocate that same empathy and understanding with us.
80% of educators in Newton prefer a remote start with a phased return, but we were not involved in the process and have seen our concerns repeatedly dismissed or ignored. We are highly trained professionals, with expertise in our subject areas and in pedagogy. We’ve dedicated our lives to teaching your children and understand what’s workable in our buildings.
So, if the vast majority of us are seriously alarmed about glaring inequities, and the lack of clarity and transparency coming from leadership, I would hope that would give people at least a little pause.
I’d hope you’d hear us out and try to understand where we’re coming from, rather than wantonly dismiss and essentialize all 2000+ of us as uncaring jerks bent on leaving kids behind. If we educators were as selfish as you imply, don’t you think we’d consider a field a bit more…lucrative? Do you think that all those warm, friendly teachers, driving their “Honda Civics” to “pay for their own classroom supplies,” are just putting on a show and are actually out to get kids?
Unlike you, I’m using my full name here. So, if you’d like to have a civil discussion instead of casting aspersions, feel free to email me.
David,
I think I made my views clear in the post above.
The teachers have known since July that 70% of Newton students preferred to come back to school. You state in your post that 80% of you voted not to meet them in the classroom.
I don’t know you. I don’t know why you chose to be a teacher. I don’t know what kind of car you drive. I’m sure you are a perfectly wonderful person. However our kids are facing a crisis and they desperately need their teachers.
What defines safe enough to return? How long will virtual schooling be – 3 months? 6 months? the entire school year?
Why not give the option to return to parents and students who want to return to in person classes and give a virtual option to those who don’t, similar to what NYC is doing?
What I’ve noticed in this whole matter is a lack of leadership from the city leaders (Mayor, School Committee, and Superintendent) in framing for the public what they are trying to accomplish, why it’s important, and why what they are doing to design curricula, figure out logistics, and minimize risk to families and staff is not only sufficient, but excellent. This is not to say that they haven’t worked hard, or that the state DESE has not worked hard. It’s just that everything that’s presented to the public feels overwhelmingly technocratic, where the NPS leadership seems to assume that the details and charts are persuasive. They are not.
In contrast, individual teachers and the NTA have been effective in presenting their arguments in a more persuasive fashion.
So, now, it appears this week the NPS and School Committee will vote on a new plan. Undoubtedly that plan will reflect what they’ve just said in their email–information from families and teachers–but it feels like a real failure in process if that vote reverses or makes major changes to what was approved just a few days ago. Really, there’s very little that would warrant such a change that has not been known–or could have been known–much earlier in the summer.
My biggest fear in all of this is that the lack of confidence the process will engender will result in less community support for the Newton Public Schools over the coming months and years. That lack of support will cause real harm, when the Council or the citizenry needs to increase financial support to maintain educational excellence, a situation that is surely coming along.
Craig,
Public and private schools are apples and oranges. It makes me batty when people go on this route. One can’t compare these two vastly different worlds. Private schools can not be the litmus test. Yet, people love to go there. Can one contrast NPOs and corporations? Nope, they aren’t in the same wheelhouse. Are private school classes the same size, guided by state mandates, IEPs, somewhat fixed curriculums guided in the direction of standardized tests, and other mandates, etc? One can state that NPS teachers had all summer to prepare. However, how does this translate? Should NPS teachers be standing by like every breath of their existence is reliant upon David F’s decision?
Craig,
You stated, “However our kids are facing a crisis and they desperately need their teachers.” This pandemic is bursting with question marks. Students, parents, families, teachers, and administrations are all trying to gain their balance. Anyone that states this is solely about students isn’t in tune with the circumstance. It feels ludicrous to say this, but everyone has skin in the game?
Paul – The letter from the administration is very clear what has changed: they have the results of the student and teacher surveys, and clearly the math doesn’t add up in some way.
Planning for this situation is a logistical nightmare – how many students and teachers are UNABLE to return to the building for health reasons/age that made them at high risk for serious disease? In addition, many students and teachers may not be able to return to in work in person because they live with someone at high risk. In order for this model to work, you’d have to have the proportion of students and teachers at 14 grade levels align.
Other teachers may have been forced to take a leave of absence because they are essential caregivers for someone who lives outside their household. What did you expect them to do – abandon a sick relative?
Teachers and students in these categories can be accommodated in a remote model. Teachers in typical times take care of personal and professional responsibilities. Students who live with a high risk relative can attend school. But right now we live in a new world that requires flexible thinking.
By the way, you try so hard to look like you respect public education as a profession and respect unions. This post was too clever by half. You knew exactly what had changed.
Jane, in your hypothetical situation, where large numbers of teachers AND students didn’t prioritize in-person school, the solution would be pretty straightforward. However according to David Bedard, that is not what happened.
Covid cases in Mass are still as low as they’ve been in five months. Grocery store workers are still coming in every day. Kids are still playing sports. Nurses are still prepping patients for colonoscopies. Daycare centers are still open.
The only thing that changed is that 80% of teachers opted not to return to work.
Jane,
RE: “By the way, you try so hard to look like you respect public education as a profession and respect unions. This post was too clever by half. You knew exactly what had changed.”
I was talking about a failure by the elected and appointed leadership. Read it again.
How would I know “exactly what changed?” Nothing has been published except the email.
I’m not trying hard to look like anything. I’m a citizen observing what’s going on.
And of course I respect public education as a profession. My daughters had a marvelous experience with the NPS, and I am also a product of many fine public school teachers. And I respect unions. I worked very closely and productively with them during my career (with one exception). You have a lot of nerve making those generalizations. When I express disagreement with the union, or the administration, it’s not a sign of disrespect. It is simply a sign of disagreement.
Jane, this is not about me. It’s about the future of the NPS and the credibility of our governing bodies. That’s what’s in jeopardy. All of us in Newton have an interest in that issue, whether we have children in the system or not. Time to wake up and see that we’re on the same side.
I’m an NPS parent & former PTO Council (district-wide) leadership and so many of these posts are disheartening. Newton teachers advocating for the same are not exactly out of bounds. It would be a challenge to list the local (& nation-wide) private schools, colleges & graduate programs choosing remote (with exceptions) starts to the school year. Institutions opening “in-person” or hybrid are significantly constrained and are warning their communities to brace for shutdowns. On that note, any number of NPS parents and students openly expect that the hybrid could be extremely short-lived. Educators are the “insiders” and front-liners who understand the limitations of their school environments and how students genuinely behave and interact. A school setting cannot be compared to medical office, for instance, with its individual screenings and other tight controls. Again, remote models for educational institutions are widespread in this moment. Educators can help with a path forward over time but it will be more difficult if they face constant judgment and criticism.
Correction: …A school setting cannot be compared to a medical office, for instance, with its individual screenings and other tight controls.
Re: NPS Proposed Modifications – Don’t be Bullied to Start All Remote
Dear School Committee, Superintendent and Mayor (via email)
Recently, in the face of withering and highly emotional opposition from NTA members, the school committee took a difficult vote, and with a solid 7-2 majority had the courage to offer students and parents some in-person learning through a hybrid model. The plan was not conceived of in a hasty matter, and over 70% of parents surveyed were in favor of hybrid or full-time in-person. Furthermore, when national CDC and MA DESE guidelines, as well as Newton’s specific local COVID-19 numbers (“Green” status) all justify full-time, in-person school, the approved hybrid plan clearly errs on the side of great caution.
Yesterday, in the background of an open letter (August 16) from Mr. Zilles of the NTA (a threatening missive with totally one-sided demands) and an upcoming school committee meeting, we received the cryptic statement from NPS: “However, the initial survey results indicate that NPS will need to modify and change its proposed recommendation to the School Committee.”
Does this mean the parents’ survey? Everyone we know has opted for Hybrid. Or the faculty/staff survey? As voters and taxpayers, we should not be disenfranchised by a well-organized public sector union. The survey results must be made public.
We were told all summer that plans might change due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but things have only improved. Since the original vote, the statewide test positivity rate is at an all-time low of 1.1%, and Newton remains Green. Some committee members and teachers have expressed concern for NPS’ students residing in Boston, but that is a “Yellow” community (hybrid recommended) and in fact, has a test positivity rate of only 2.1%, well below the 5% WHO and NY state guideline.
Mr. Zilles paints Drs. Jha and Wallensky as outliers in the medical community on “one end of the spectrum”, yet they are in fact in the mainstream of broad scientific consensus favoring in-person school (the American Academy of Pediatrics (and its MA Chapter), Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Redfield (CDC Director) and DESE’s experts including leading infectious disease and public health professionals). The European CDC just published a review (August 6) finding “data from a number of EU countries suggest that re-opening schools has not been associated with significant increases in community transmission.”
Certainly, there is no public health justification to consider a remote only start given our very favorable local circumstances. If you give into that demand, the goal posts will keep moving, and it will never be enough for NTA to get the kids back in-person. Many of us moved to Newton because of the school system, however, since the debacle of last springs’ remote school and the prolonged uncertainty regarding the upcoming year, this is the first time that my wife and I have considered private school for our daughters and from what I hear, we are not alone.
Don’t be bullied. Stay the course that you already recognize as best for students, teachers and the community.
Respectfully,
Stefanos N. Kales MD, MPH, FACP, FACOEM
Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Professor & Director, Occupational Medicine Residency,
Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
Division Chief, OEM, Cambridge Health Alliance
Thank you Dr. Kales. Very well said. All of this needs a light shined on it.
Dr. Kales, thank you for adding your voice to the chorus. Further up the thread a teacher from Newton North indicated that 80% of the teachers do not want to return to the classroom. It is unclear whether this % is based on sentiment among his peers or if it has actually been revealed to the teachers as fact.
Either way, it obviously creates a mismatch with the 70-80% of students who want to get back to school, and is a pretty shocking number.
@Dr Kales is right on. The administration and the school department both need to step up and take control of the schools and the process. The conversation should include the union, but the union should not be controlling the direction of the school system. The teachers are under contract as their contract directs and if they cannot do this for whatever reason, then that is a personal decision, and the schools will have to adjust staffing assignments.
The failure to return the kids to school is causing serious harm to the children, their families, and the community. (increased violence at all levels) Obviously many people agree with me as 70% of the parents want in-person school for their children,
Camps, sports leagues, and a host of other activities have operated through the summer with no issues or shut downs. Many kids are holding down jobs and life is going on in many ways. The Superintendent should lay out the options for NTA employees, and get up and running.
City Council you can weigh in on this!!!
I completely agree with Dr. Kales comments. If we can’t open now with the very low positivity rates, our schools will never ever open even in a hybrid model. Everyone I know has also selected the hybrid option and kids are excited to get back to some semblance of in-person school. If the NTA had laid out specific metrics regarding the different phases, that would have been more reassuring that they actually really intend to get back to school. But there are no such metrics laid out in the NTA plan. How much lower does the infection rate have to get for them to come back to school? Who decides this? Can these metrics be spelled out and adhered to?
And while there is talk about the hybrid plan not serving the whole population well, as Dr. Kales mentioned, families who can afford it are leaving the public school system, skewing the education process even more towards benefiting the wealthy. We have been big fans of NPS from kindergarten on. We spent today talking to private schools and if NPS goes remote, we will be (very sadly) moving out of NPS.
I am a professor. Students are arriving to campus now. They are happy. I can’t wait to teach my classes in person. They won’t be spaced in 6 feet apart, rather the distance apart will be closer to the 3 foot DESE recommendation (which NPS ignored). Its OK. Just like many millions of people across the world, we will take precautions and carry on.
The Superintendent’s email said: “However, the initial survey results indicate that NPS will need to modify and change its proposed recommendation to the School Committee.”
But as of this time, there is no written presentation on those survey results in the School Committee’s meeting materials. Here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mD9uaeL4bu9b2pXmiU8DJF8R4r7ocd24
Is the administration expecting the School Committee to modify the reopening plan without having seen the data that forms the basis for that recommendation? It’s inconceivable that the members would only be able to see that data at the time of the meeting, leaving no chance to digest it and consider the implications before voting. Equally important, wouldn’t it be helpful for the public’s understanding to have a chance to read the material in advance? At the previous meeting, where the 7-2 vote took place, the materials were posted and available to all parties well in advance.
In my opinion, the meeting should be about two things. First, the specific decision to be made. Second, presenting a process to the public that generates confidence in the judgment of the administration and the School Committee. There’s more at stake here than the plan for reopening. As I said above, maintaining and building public support for the NPS and its governing body is going to be important for years to come.
Craig:
You’ve successfully followed up on your offensive post with additional misinformation. If you actually read what people have been saying, 80% of educators (in an NTA survey) preferred a remote start with a phased reopening – similar to the plan being implemented in Brookline. That’s hardly the same as your claim that “teachers do not want to return to the classroom…” In fact, single one of my colleagues and I would very much like to get back to normal and do what we love to do, in a safe environment. Unfortunately, there are many, many parents, students, and educators in Newton who 1) feel the supposed safety measures being taken are utterly insufficient, 2) think the NPS hybrid model does not live up to the NPS purported values of “Equity and Excellence,” and in fact undermines both, and 3) see the hybrid as pedagogically unsound. A few questions for you: Do you think a high school with 2000+ students and 200+ faculty and staff is comparable to a daycare center? How is it that a nurse in a hospital prepping a patient for a colonoscopy, with sufficient (I hope) PPE and medical training, is similar to a teacher trying to get a roomful of 2nd graders to keep their masks on, in a century-old building with poor infrastructure and ventilation? Do you think it’s appropriate or fair to make blanket statements denigrating the entire profession of teaching, all while hiding your full name? Do you have professional experience in education or expertise of any kind you’d like to share?
Professor Pontiff:
I’m glad your students seem happy. I also sincerely hope most of them will still be in school in a few weeks after sitting 3 feet apart in your classroom (initial DESE guidance subsequently rejected by most MA public school districts as unfeasible and unwise). I hope your misplaced optimism doesn’t endanger them, their families, or people in your own circle. Presumably your students are coming from all over the country to study at your university, but perhaps I’m wrong and they’re all magically coming from places that are green or white on Gov. Baker’s vaunted map? In teaching your students about corporate finance, how do you reconcile free-market liberal capitalist principles with your active efforts to infringe upon the rights of NPS educators, who are afraid for the lives of their loved ones, to choose whether or not they must go into a building they consider safe?
If this “over 70% of parents surveyed” is referring to the early summer survey of families, with “results” in the SC meeting doc from July 21 (pg 12), then some context is in order.
Parents were asked three separate questions. As I recall, these were of the form:
– Would you send your kids to NPS in All in-person
– Would you send your kids to NPS in hybrid
– Would you send your kids to NPS in full distance.
This wasn’t an either/or choice. 70 % of *responding* parents said yes to the first, 75% said yes to the second, and 66% to the third. Note that these numbers add to much more than %100. For example, I said yes to all three, on the assumption that the plans for each would be reasonable and fully complete when it came time to make a choice. To construe it as a vote, which most of the above comments do, is really misleading.
Secondly, I fully expect most parents to sign up for hybrid, but this should be considered in the context that the “Distance Learning Academy” was described in less than *half a page* in the 39 page “Return to Learn Blueprint”. Given the minimal amount of planning and description that NPS demonstrated in explaining the DLA, anyone might be hesitant to sign up for it. I don’t think that it would be reasonable to assume that whatever numbers come back from the new parent survey are indicative of what parent preferences would have been with a reasonable DLA plan.
Finally, to Paul’s point about there being no written presentation yet in the meeting materials – I agree that this doesn’t seem like a very functional process. The same thing happened with the “Return to Learn” plan, which was posted at 2pm on Aug 10 for the Aug 10 7pm SC meeting.
In that case, several of the SC members were unhappy with the lack of time they were given to review the plan before their chance to ask questions at the Aug 10 meeting. The administration isn’t communicating particularly well here, but it’s up to the School Committee to set expectations for when documents will be posted, and it’s up to us as a community to encourage the School Committee members to ask hard questions.
Does anyone know where I can find information on the work that was done by the Public Buildings Department and the Health Department regarding inspections of each of the school buildings that meet whatever ventilation requirements that may or may not have been proscribed by the State? What renovations/work has been done to increase the ventilation systems in the school buildings? I didn’t see anything approved by the City Council so I presume that if any work was done, it was done under the School Department’s building maintenance budget? I think it would go a very long way to help assure parents/teachers that each of the building spaces have been retrofitted or have been inspected to assure compliance….
Now something quite interesting. School Committee member Matthew Miller posted the following on Facebook:
“The info [about the surveys] I have came out during an executive session. Thus I am legally not able to share it. I do not approve of this email [from the Superintendent]. I expected info and details. Not sure why the department wouldn’t release all info they have with a disclaimer that they are still processing it. Why make everyone wait until Tuesday.”
“Transparency is key. I don’t understand why we can’t just include everyone. Trust has been eroded beyond compare.”
So the School Committee was discussing parent and teacher survey results during an Executive Session that was posted as being a strategy discussion about collective bargaining? http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/105661. They’ve all seen the results but have chosen not to post them in advance of the meeting at which they will deliberate on district-wide policy?
And now there’s an additional Special School Committee meeting on August 26 at 7:00pm, posted this afternoon, at which they will discuss and vote on the “Updated Return to Learn Blueprint.” http://www.newtonma.gov/civicax/filebank/documents/105713 That would seem to suggest that they won’t make a decision at tomorrow’s meeting.
To call this a goat rodeo would be an insult to goats. The behavior and judgement of NPS, the school committee, and the NTA is a race to the bottom.
The one thing I do know is that I want none of these people involved with my children. Might be time to go.
While I realize the complexity of the issues being handled by NPS, School Committee etc, in comparison to other neighboring school systems, we seem to be in a state of utter chaos. It is Aug 24th. We have no idea what is happening in less than a month. We thought we did but apparently not. How are we to handle our jobs (where both parents actually have to physically go to work) and lives with no idea of what our kids will be doing? Time to go indeed.
The rates of infection are low so I feel that we should strive to get the kids back in school especially in the early fall when weather wise we can take advantage of outdoor space and opening windows. I think it is key for kids to start the year making connections, They have suffered too long being out of school. In the spring teachers at least knew their students to some extent. I worry about both kids but especially my freshman who felt quite a bit of emotion from the way last year ended and worries about the transition to high school. I’m not saying that people should be placed in unsafe conditions but I feel we can take precautions and proceed.
NPS did share the following facilities fact sheet which explains their plans on managing air flow etc at a high level:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UTRsWnUTqrjI2MPMvxKy9FTI2lPegGsmXSNRvYqgJao/edit
I agree with Amy in that specific information on what was done in each building (which is what I expected this document was going to have when I got the email) i in order to meet all these criteria would help parents and teachers have more confidence in the safety of each building.
I agree with Paul that there is potential for a lot to be lost by the school system. I hear parents of means talking daily about sending their kids to private schools. I firmly believe in public schools but I am starting to question myself. I was very patient last spring…now not so much because I know how much my kids have to make up for this lost time both educationally and emotionally. One quality that makes our schools great is that parents are invested and engaged in our schools. I fear that may slip away.
Parents,
Let Dr. Fleishman, the Mayor and School Committee know how you feel before the meeting by email. The NTA has spoken. You need your voices to be heard as well.
At the end of the day, hospitals are about the patients, they don’t close because the workers are afraid; the first responders, the custodians, the grocery workers and now so many others went and go to work.
The schools are about the students- period. The teachers themselves would say they are essential workers. It is time for our city leadership to take charge an get the schools open.
Paul, I guess that the School Committee scheduled the August 26 meeting so that they can vote on what is presented at the August 25 meeting. As I understand Sch Comm rules, they’re not allowed to vote on an item in the same meeting in which it is introduced.
So what are they voting on? Is Hybrid taken off the table? This is so confusing.
Echoing Dr. Kales:
Everybody should be emailing and calling the members of the school committee, the mayor, and Dr. Fleishman. Any outcome this week that does not see our kids back in school in September would severely undermine confidence in the entire education apparatus in Newton.
Governor Baker may be the most cautious governor in the country and he has stated with zero ambiguity that schools should be open across the state. Our kids need us to face our fears and help them get on with their lives.
Matt’s right about this being confusing. Why doesn’t the Mayor or the Chair of the School Committee issue a simple statement saying what’s going on, what’s being considered or reconsidered, and the factors that will be examined by the school committee in the next couple of days. Even if they don’t have documents ready to share, it would help to summarize the main points and provide people with some sense of confidence in the process. I understand that neither person can predict what all of the committee members will decide, but there’s nothing improper about giving the public a roadmap.
A lot of planning and forethought went into outlining how there would be public input for matters such as police funding and even the city seal. It seems to me that this is an equally, if not more, fundamental matter. Yes, it’s a significantly more complex matter. But that does not mean that there are not ways to manage sharing information and making clear how decisions are being made.
By the way, if the School Committee executive session covered the items suggested by Matthew Miller, shouldn’t those have been part of a discussion that was open to the public as required under the open meeting law?
@Matt Lai,
I doubt that hybrid is being taken off the table. Since the vote, DESE has issued guidance that in a nutshell suggests that teachers conducting remote classes should do so from a classroom. This is, unsurprisingly, a huge issue for staff who need to work remotely. It’s somewhat self-defeating to allow “remote” instruction but to require staff to appear in person.
I would think that if anything, fewer parents signed up for in person instruction than indicated in the prior survey, but we will know tomorrow. If the numbers indicate high hybrid attendance, that might certainly throw a kink in the plan to have teachers conducting remote classes from inside the school while maintaining minimal class size with 6 foot distancing.
Whatever the recommendation, I don’t think that the purported justification for requiring teachers to be present in school to conduct remote classes is justified. There’s no logical reason why school principals can’t zoom into remote classes to observe the teaching if that is the issue. If a science teacher needs the lab to demonstrate something to the class then I get it. For that class perhaps it does need to happen in a lab setting. Beyond hands on demonstrations requiring particular equipment, I just don’t think DESE justifications hold up.
Lisap, true. Plus, the issue is outside of DESE’s jurisdiction. The word they used was “expectation,” but it has no force. The notice just served to aggravate people, especially those who already think that DESE is out of touch with what’s happening on the ground. A self-inflicted wound, in my view, and a shame because I think the agency has done quite good work on other aspects of the reopening.
Some teachers I know can’t return to work, because someone in their household is high risk. I have heard from other teachers, that they won’t be able to see their parents if they return to work. I haven’t had a meal with my mom since March. But I am not using that as an excuse NOT to return to work. My mom took care of my now college student, a few days a week from newborn to age 5. They have a HUGE bond. She missed his birthday. We had cupcakes outside of her apartment for her birthday. We missed Passover. We missed graduation together. He drove an hour to her to say goodbye in a hallway with a mask.
We aren’t stopping our lives because we won’t be able to see her. While I sympathize with teachers about not seeing extended elderly family members, I don’t want that to be an excuse. It stinks, but my mom doesn’t expect me to stop my life because we can’t visit. Some adult kids are caretakers. I provided weekly grocery service to my mom in April, May and June. I dropped the groceries off at her front door. I didn’t walk inside her apartment. We didn’t touch. I did what I needed to do.
What I have issues with is the state of the school buildings. Have we had an outside consultant examine every single office and classroom????? I don’t want a facilities manager looking into each classroom. I want each classroom examined for ventilation and windows. Each bathroom. We know not every window opens. We know that there are classrooms that don’t have any windows.
I want to know the repercussions for non mask wearers. We can’t compare outside day camp to inside (old) school buildings.
Students and adults have a right to know that their classrooms are safe.
It would have been nice for principals to email families what is being done in that specific school. We have heard nothing.
And the other thing, is that NPS doesn’t have the technology that was promised to our kids. No communication has been sent out to families yet. If we go full remote, how do we expect K-12 learners to learn without the technology. NPS technology is preloaded with the software.
And at this point, it is going to be hard for the parents to purchase technology for the kids. I have an incoming freshman, with no laptop. She made due on a mini ipad for the spring. I don’t really know what we are going to do for her regarding technology, as we didn’t budget a laptop for her, and are Chrome books able to be purchased at BestBuy? And still NOTHING from the school.
If we go full remote, I do hope we can meet and great teachers outside of classrooms, so kids can reduce their anxiety about the first day.
Common sense seems to be lacking here.
Look around the country at schools and colleges trying to open – kids are kids, they aren’t going to follow the rules to the extent needed, and the schools will be closed down due to spikes in a few weeks.
It doesn’t matter what they do to the buildings.
Sorry – but the comparison to schools/colleges around the country does not make sense. MA is not GA or FL – the community transmission rate is far far lower here. School students are not college students. They are not living in dorms and they won’t be partying maskless – the major reasons for the spikes. If NPS enforces mask wearing, and kids are living at home, AND the currently proposed protocols are in place in the schools, the risk to students and teachers is minimal.
Agreed. A lot of common sense is lacking. This is why we should rely on the medical experts and those who have looked at the totality of data on schools opening around the world, such as the expert panel put together by DESE, the CDC, and the AAP. Now is the time to listen to the science.
Along these lines, Jake Auchincloss is having a Zoom meeting with Dr. Jha (an expert, unlike us) Thursday at 7 pm to talk about safely going back to school. You need to register. A link is below.
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_shoE4jamQoSUZgEmTZzq3w?fbclid=IwAR3qC0isjBvbmZeWjWXy-rr5LMuFXNoLpbT2Ur7ZCvr1DOYPSDRMUumHOqI&utm_source=Newton+News&utm_campaign=bbe5666766-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_26_02_38_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_db53519c6c-bbe5666766-36320859
As I’ve thought further about what Matthew Miller shared on a group social media board, I’m dumbfounded. First, it seems inappropriate to share what topics are addressed in executive session, which ought to be confidential, in such a forum. Second, he relates that he’s not pleased with the way in which the administration is communicating or presenting matters. The school committee is elected to serve as the governing body with oversight of school matters. Isn’t it part of the job of the school committee to hold the school administration to account? Why isn’t the committee setting out standards with regard to communication and consultation? It would be one thing if Mr. Miller were sharing concerns as a parent, it’s another when he’s an elected representative of the school board. Given his stated disdain for the administration’s process, how can he work collaboratively with other members of the school committee or indeed the administration to come to a fruitful outcome for all of the stakeholders? This also seems to say more about his inability to work with his colleagues than it does about them. I find this very troubling.
Dr. Stefanos Kales has posted multiple times advocating for the NPS and School Committee to “stick to the plan,” and others have supported his statements. In the spirit of informed discussion and decision-making, here are a few things to consider:
First, in the parent-organized Zoom meeting a couple of weeks ago (which didn’t include a single Newton K-12 educator voice), Dr. Kales and his fellow presenters advocated for a FULL in-person return to school, and claimed that the 3’ of social distancing initially suggested by DESE was appropriate. Neither of these positions were even options on the table for NPS, given that the district (in this case correctly) deemed them unworkable in our buildings, with our school populations. In his presentation, Dr. Kales also cited outdated statistics from June 2020, and ignored both the facts that infected children who present as asymptomatic can still transmit the disease as well as the studies that have shown that children > 10 can spread COVID at similar rates to adults.
Here, Dr. Kales has written “…over 70% of parents surveyed were in favor of hybrid or full-time in-person.” In fact, in the (admittedly confusingly written) NPS family survey, 70% of NPS parents said they would send their students back full in-person, 75% said they would do so in a hybrid model, and 66% said they’d do remote. Moreover, these survey responses were submitted earlier in the summer, prior to any public information about what the different plans would entail.
Dr. Kales characterizes the School Committee meeting as follows: “…a solid 7-2 majority had the courage to offer students and parents some in-person learning through a hybrid model.” I’d argue the only people demonstrating courage at the 8/14 SC meeting were Tamika O., Matthew M., and the three student representatives, who all asked necessary tough questions about equity and safety despite repeatedly being dismissed. Dr. Kales also claims “The plan was not conceived of in a hasty matter…” ~100 Newton educators worked all summer in planning committees, only to be denied any meaningful input on a problematic hybrid plan that was unveiled to them at the last minute. The SC was given mere days to digest the plan as well, necessitating a delayed vote. The district then required a quick survey turnaround from both educators and families despite giving few details and fewer answers to people’s questions.
Dr. Kales asserts that “We should not be disenfranchised by a well-organized public sector union.” As I’ve written previously, our union is comprised of individual educators, many of whom are parents in their own right, so I’m wondering about the use of the pronoun “we” here. Educators, as well as many students and parents, are advocating for the same kind of safe, logical plan (remote start with phased return to school buildings) that has been implemented elsewhere (e.g. Brookline, Cambridge); I’d disagree that this somehow constitutes being “disenfranchised.” And as I’ve noted elsewhere, Dr. Kales’s own institution, the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, is going fully remote in September: “We are planning for virtual instruction to continue through the 2020 fall semester… We don’t know what will be safe for WinterSession and the Spring semester yet and will be carefully monitoring the situation and making decisions as soon as possible.” This seems eminently reasonable to me.
On Gov. Baker’s map, “Newton remains Green.” However, 1) Mayor Fuller herself has expressed concern about the uptick in August, 2) the virus knows no city boundaries, and 3) many students and educators don’t live in Newton. We have educators who commute to work from all over eastern MA and even as far as NH and RI.
Drs. Jha and Wallensky were kind enough to take time to speak with many of us educators. However, Dr. Jha has said himself: “…in the spectrum of most public health experts, I am on one end about being aggressive about trying to open up schools…” Additionally, educators submitted over 400 questions during their one hour Health and Safety chat, which speaks to how well-founded concerns have continued to be dismissed. I’m sure there are many of us who would have felt reassured after the doctors’ presentations if A) a third party HVAC assessment had been performed, B) if NPS hadn’t cherry-picked doctors who support their position to create the illusion of medical & scientific consensus on this issue, and C) many more of our questions (e.g. implementing essential safety measures, making clear enforcement policy around compliance) were addressed.
Last, Dr. Kales says “Many of us moved to Newton because of the school system…this is the first time that my wife and I have considered private school for our daughters and from what I hear, we are not alone.” However, 1) private school is not a financially viable option for many, and 2) “the school system” is comprised of students and their teachers. If Dr. Kales is a nominal proponent of the public school system, I would expect greater empathy for the educators who have taught his children.
People reading might rightfully wonder “ok, so what’s the alternative”? Great question: I’d argue that the NTA proposal is a much safer, more sensible alternative. But, I hope people will decide for themselves – I’d encourage everyone to attend the NTA community meeting this Wednesday 8/26 at 4pm; questions can be submitted prior to the meeting: https://www.newteach.org/ (see website for mtg info as well as a synthesis of the NTA proposal).
Where’s the “like” button for David Bedar’s comment?
I think David’s earlier points urging people not to denigrate the teachers who disagree with the (soon-to-be-former?) school reopening plan are very, very important. From my years of experience with the schools, I’ve found the teachers to be devoted to and caring about the children. I don’t believe those characteristics have changed a whit. Likewise, teachers are like the rest of us, with a broad range of ability and willingness to take personal risk in public settings.
In our system of governance in Massachusetts, a local elected School Committee has the unenviable task of deciding on broad policy matters like the current one. The test (pass-fail, not “needs improvement!”) that the School Committee faces is twofold: (1) using their best judgment as to the issue at hand; and (2) making a persuasive case–along with the Superintendent–to the public that the process they used was reasonable.
Being on a school committee is probably the hardest municipal job because everyone thinks of themselves as an expert in education. (After all, we all went to school, right?) But here the job is compounded by degrees of uncertainty with regard to public health matters.
While many of us on this forum (and others that I’ve been reading) might disagree about which reopening plan makes the most sense, I think we all would want the debate to end with a feeling that the School Committee engaged in a thoughtful, rigorous, and inclusive process. And, a student of organizations, I’d also like to think that the Committee came through the process as a stronger, more unified, and more collegial body, where disagreements are substantive and not personal.
The School’s Committee’s exam book is about to be handed in. How we all grade their performance will have long-lasting impacts on the ability of the NPS to deliver an excellent educational experience and to attract and retain the best professionals to oversee our children’s development. Their performance will either present Newton with an inflection point to a superior educational system or the beginning of a long-term degradation of an essential community asset. Whether you have children in the system or not, you have an interest in the result.
David,
You seem like a nice person and I can see in your posts that you really do feel that covid 19 is an existential threat to young, healthy people. When all of this is over I think we’ll look back on the fear mongering and complete abdication of responsibility on the part of our media as a catastrophe on par with the war in Iraq in terms of stupidity and societal cost.
The problem with the NTA plan is that it is not a plan at all, but rather a laundry list of impossible hurdles that no school board could ever meet. You can’t even give specifics as to what level of covid incidence would be small enough to allow for in-person learning. People agree on almost nothing these days but nobody believes that covid is likely to completely go away during the 20/21 school year. New Zealand hasn’t been able to stamp it out despite being a remote, closed island with extended, draconian lockdowns.
There is no perfect solution to school during middle to late stage covid. However tens of thousands of schools across the state and across the country are committed to making it work. Nobody thinks that the school committee plan is perfect and nobody thinks that it can’t be tweaked over time.
What the majority of concerned parents in Newton are worried about is that if we don’t get back in school now, we’ll lose an entire year. And speaking for myself, I care a lot more about that than I do about your union.
There’s a lot of back forth here, but its obvious that the union doesn’t want to return to teaching in person in the hybrid format already approved. What a disgrace. They got a big raise in their contract last year and now they don’t even want to try the hybrid model that the majority of parents support. What a disgrace and a disaster for the students.
I’m generally a supporter of NTA, but I think their way of handling this is missing the mark. Their letter reads like they’re committing extortion. Their plan is as half-baked as the NPS plan, maybe more so.
My last post on this topic:
Parents were notified over the weekend about the School Committee meeting potentially changing some aspects of the plan, but educators received no notification; I learned about it on Facebook.
As one award-winning colleague said to me, “By not consulting its educators, the district is squandering the intellectual power of its extraordinarily talented staff to create the best and richest online curriculum in the state while keeping students and staff safe.”
I’d encourage those who are interested in engaging in a fair-minded evaluation of the evidence to attend both the SC meeting today as well as the NTA meeting on Wednesday. Zoom info for NTA mtg here: https://www.newteach.org/
@Mom of Newton High Schooler
And you can’t compare a global statistic like transmission rate (or R0, etc) to a specific situation like a school classroom.
It just takes one “superspreader” – a non symptomatic child (or adult) with shedding virus – to ruin the day.
I come from a large extended family of teachers – and my daughter is currently a high school teacher in Harlem NYC – and she is currently quite worried about what can (and is inevitably going to ) happen, especially since A) she has had COVID already B) she has a four month old (tests NEGATIVE). She applied for medical dispensation but was rejected. She has had COVID (and is participating in numerous studies at Mount Sinai as she has high levels of anti-bodies in her) but she is concerned about becoming a spreader, bringing it home to her newborn baby (my grandaughter) and spreading it in general. Can you blame her, or any other teacher? I think you should all volunteer to be substitute teachers and walk the walk.
P.S. How many people on this board are currently back to offices at work?
All of my clients have not opened their offices, and current dates for reconsideration run from September to October.
Rick,
My office is allowed 25% occupancy, and my husband’s office is closed til further notice. However, I am not going back in the office until my kid is back in school (even if it is part time).
@Rick-I have an advanced degree in chemistry and would be more than willing to volunteer my time to teach some in-person high school classes if current teachers are not able/willing to return to in-person teaching. They could put together a lesson plan, and I’d be more than willing to go in to teach the lessons. Great suggestion, I’m sure there are more people willing to help out, if needed.
@Rick Frank – I empathize with your daughter’s situation – that’s tough. People do have distinct situations but as was mentioned earlier in a post, jobs that you have committed to and have responsibilities for, need to get done. And FYI – both my spouse and I are back at work FT and have been for a while. I actually needed to be in my office throughout the lockdown as well and so was at work at the peak of the pandemic.
As I said before, if there was a considered, measured plan for phased return to school with specific metrics and deadlines, I think that many of us advocating for in-person return would be all for it. The problem with NTA’s plan right now is that there is no plan for such a return. Thus, leaving us parents to wonder if the NTA really will ever agree to an in-person return at all this entire school year regardless of what the transmission rate is, whether there is a good cure, or even if there is a vaccine.
I have been going to work for nearly a month now.
I am willing to step-up and volunteer to teach a high school course in statistics, economics, or finance. I think we can find a lot of well-qualified volunteers.
As a parent and a teacher (who is going back to work in person full-time fyi), I can only say that neither the hybrid nor the remote solution is ideal. School will not be anything like we know it next year, and we need to except this fact.
That said, why not give people a chance to make a choice? There are opportunities and inequities on both sides. There are risks and fears on both sides. There are whining and complaining people on both sides. There can be joy in either arrangement. What I personally find intolerable is the self-righteousness with which some people are arguing against the hybrid option.
However, blame lies far outside the reach of Newton. When public health, education, and economic recovery operate in conflict to each other, it is due to a gross failure of leadership at the highest level. I hope that we can take the vitriol we are hurling across Centre Street, aim it at the White House, and vote for real change in November. Only then, will we return to anything close to school as we know it.
And there you go. For High Schoolers – distance learning ‘for the foreseeable future’. Primarily because too many people chose it (probably because the DLA option was ridiculous). So even though everyone chose hybrid for HS – we are getting remote with no plans for hybrid.
We are out of NPS.
Newton Public Schools, run by adults for adults.
Absolutely shameful. 85% of high school students wanted to go back to school.
20% of high school teachers couldn’t even be bothered to respond to the survey.
It’s ridiculous and sad. Highest % of HS students want to go back to school – so the decision is that they are never going to go back to school. Lowest % of elementary kids chose to go back to school – so they are getting hybrid. This is beyond belief.
I presume that non-responders will be terminated?
What was the decision? I can’t join.
You can watch it on NewTV. Basically elementary and MS get hybrid (phased in). HS gets distance learning. Forever.
What does hybrid Phased in mean?
My apologies, I can’t get newtv on my computer. Does that mean my elementary/MS kids go back in September in hybrid? Why the change?
ARGH.
Also, thank you MoNHS.
Here’s the link to their “Return to Learn plan” document:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uJZ-uBWt0s4If8VG8kQob0M0pqG7GJpo
(I was stalking the school committee website and grabbed the document as soon as the meeting started)
The latest gem is that high schools will be open for “community building” and sports. Just not school.
Epic fail.
High School remote “for the foreseeable future”. That’s an excellent plan. Unbelievable…actually it’s totally believable, which is sad.
So…. 85.2% of the HS students and families opted for hybrid (the highest of any level!) and they ended up with NO in-person learning? This makes no sense.
Plus it sounds like NPS didn’t appropriately measure the schools before now. Why are space issues just coming out now? They could have ordered modulars and hired more staff if they prepared. What have they been doing since March???
People need to show up at the Q&A tonight and make their thoughts known.
What a failure of planning. When 74% of responding staff indicate they are able to return if childcare is addressed, and 85% of students select hybrid, we end up with distance learning. There’s no excuse for nearly 20% of our teachers not to respond, but it also should have been foreseen that a meaningful proportion of teachers would not be able to return in person and that childcare will need to be dealt with. We’ve had half a year to think about this… has anyone ?
This is such a failure for our hs students. Loved how they stated that the chromebooks for high school students weren’t expected in until January 2021. So not only is hs going remote indefinitely they are going to have to scramble to make sure students have devices. Also found the SC thanking the staff etc for their efforts. I understand this is a huge undertaking but this result is incredibly underwhelming.
Dr. Fleishman just said it. HS is going remote ‘for the foreseeable future’ because they don’t have enough staff. 20% of HS teachers refused to even respond. So much for caring about their students.
I implore the readers of this blog to remember this day when the teachers put on the red t-shirts and attempt to shame the parents of Newton into giving them yet another raise.
Today was a dark day for Newton. There is a large cohort of high school students whose education has been essentially ruined, while their friends in Needham head back to school.
NPS should have surveyed the teachers months ago.
Instead they have wasted the entire summer working on a plan that they could never execute.
Now they are scrambling.
I am glad however, that 2 of the school committee foresaw this scenario and voted no to the proposal.
This is an epic fail. At least NPS have realized it is such and are now making realistic decisions.
What is amazing to me is that there is no attempt to come up with any creative solutions to the HS issue. They could’ve tried to just do the core courses in person and the electives online. They could’ve put up tents in the school fields. They could’ve hired sub teachers. They could’ve asked the PTO to try to raise funds for PPE, testing. Nothing was done and moreover, there appears to be no plans at all for ever doing anything.
The NNHS principal actually said that where they take classes didn’t matter and that the students could maintain their connections to their building by coming to school to do extracurriculars!!!
And the teachers. Wow. Talk about abdicating on their responsibilities. How does Needham manage to do hybrid HS and Newton can’t? All these years of loyalty to the NPS system. So many of us HS parents have been talking tonight about how sad, disgusted and furious we all are at this complete abandonment of our high schoolers.
Simon, the two committee members who voted no are actually some of the worst actors in this whole play. They weren’t upset about the lack of in person learning, rather they wanted to waste the entire year for “equity.”
There are heroes that jump into the gap and then there are…….
@Craig
I have to respectfully disagree.
Go back and listen. My take from it is rather simple. They didn’t believe what was presented to them was realistic. A week later and here we are.