Newton Public Schools Update
Two items from Mayor Fuller’s email newsletter…
The Newton School Committee finished a meeting a short time ago. We had voted a little over a week ago to give parents and caregivers of all students the option of either some in class learning (a.k.a., the hybrid model) or fully distanced learning.
Since then, the Newton Public Schools received information from parents on their preferences and from teachers on their ability to teach in-person.
As a result of this matching of students and teachers, class by class and building by building, NPS made some important adjustments to the plan.
School will start for all students, whether they chose the hybrid model or distance learning, on Wednesday, September 16.
For those elementary students (Kindergarten – Grade 5) who chose in-person learning, the hybrid model will be phased in starting September 16 with students spending two mornings a week in-person and eventually expanding to two days a week in the classroom on November 1.
The Middle Schools (Grades 6-8) will begin the year with all students working online. The plan calls for students who chose the hybrid model to transition into some in-person classes at the start of the second marking period on November 16.
All students in the High Schools will be learning exclusively online for the foreseeable future. Opportunities will be available for high schoolers to connect in-person with adults and fellow students at the school buildings ̶ to have orientation activities, to create community and connections, to connect with councilors and to participate in extracurricular activities (theatre, sports, music, clubs, etc.), with health and safety protocols in place.
Students (elementary, middle and high school) identified as high need will have in-person opportunities for learning, if they prefer, four or five days a week.
NPS will send out more detailed information to the school community tomorrow. In the meantime, here is the PowerPoint presentation from the School Committee meeting earlier today which includes more about the reasons behind the plan.
Tentative Agreement with the School Nurses
I’m so pleased to share that last week we reached a tentative agreement with the Newton Public Health Nurses Professional Unit of the Massachusetts Nurses Association which represents the nurses working in Newton’s twenty-three school buildings.
Our school nurses are vital in making our schools places where our students are safe and healthy. In this complicated time with a global pandemic, the work our nurses do is particularly critical. They are experienced, professional and compassionate, and have my deep respect and gratitude.
The City and the Nurses’ union has been working to finalize the fine print, and the Nurses are scheduled to vote on the agreement tomorrow.
I have an incoming 9th grader and she is crushed. She hated Zoom in the spring. She is a social kid that has been at home all summer.
The kicker is that the technology for the incoming 9th graders is on backorder until January 2021. We don’t have an extra laptop. We were counting on that Chromebook.
And the “community” events for the high schoolers have not been planned. While NPS has been planning for the fall for so many things, how can they really have capacity to do more planning. And will the teachers return to school for community events?
85% of high school families opted for hybrid.
0% of high school students will be in the buildings.
They just completely abandoned all our high school kids. The teachers did – they don’t have enough staffing. And so did the school system. No attempt or plans to do anything about them except to let them sit at home. Who in their right mind thinks that having a teenager sit at home on their own for 6-7h a day on their laptop is good for them? For an entire school year???? What a shameful decision.
I have 2 High schoolers and they were both disappointed. The one who doesn’t particularly love school who enjoys playing a sport said he would rather physically be in school than be able to play his sport. He’s a junior and he commented on how is he going to make up what has been lost and be ready for college . NPS did a huge disservice to the high schoolers. The bar of my expectations for online instruction has gone way up.
@Mom of Newton High Schooler,
Reading your post my heart truly aches. This is such a critical age developmentally for teenagers. Isolation is an issue for many kids in school in ordinary times. I can’t imagine how hard this is and I am truly worried about our cohort of high schoolers. Little consolation, but Riverside Community Health is a tremendous asset for our community. I say this for all the parents reading here whose teenagers may be struggling with social/emotional issues. Riverside provides multiple programs and – 24 hour mobile crisis care though I hope and pray no one in our community needs that level of intervention. But forewarned is forearmed.
@Lisap – thank you for your concern and advice. I am very very concerned about the mental health of our teen high schoolers. This is such a developmentally vulnerable age for them. We both work FT (and yes, we go to work outside the house and have been for months), and the thought of my teen sitting by themselves at home on their laptop makes me want to cry.
As someone who is typically very sympathetic to both teachers and administration, I found myself totally outraged by today’s events. The sudden change of direction is being blamed on the survey, but the results do not seem surprising. Most families want their kids to have some time in school, and with apparently no cooperation between the administration and the NTA, a significant number of teachers, rightly or wrongly, are not willing to teach in person. Who didn’t anticipate that result? Why was the community led to believe we would have a hybrid option if the balance was so uncertain?
I’m crushed by the false hopes of our school committee and superintendent, but not as much as my 7th grader was tonight. Shame on them.
My family is devastated upon hearing the altered plan from the Newton Public Schools administration to force indefinite remote learning on our high school aged children, with no plan to bring them back to classrooms at any time. This sudden change comes two weeks after a hybrid plan was approved by our school committee and goes directly against the advice of health professionals across our state, our nation, and the rest of the world. This advice is clear and adamant in recommending that all K-12 children return to in-person learning for their short and long term development, safety, and mental health. This is advice that our school committee cited and followed two weeks ago when they voted to provide a hybrid model for all K-12 students to ensure students’ academic and mental health needs were met in Newton. The metrics are low and safe in Newton and there is no reason all our kids should not be back in classrooms.
They administration at Newton Public Schools is using a staffing shortage to justify this abrupt change to what was recommended. This is a teacher shortage that was foreseeable and expected by our entire community, and is a logistical issue that is NPS’s responsibility to solve. This staffing issue in no way justifies the priceless cost of an equitable, adequate, and safe education for our children, nor does it justify the sacrifice of our children’s mental and emotional health.
Why in the world would NPS let us tell our high schoolers they would be back (at least hybrid) to then turn around and say all distance. My son asked why and I had no good answer. Then he asked when, again, no good answer. What a disgrace. Mass has low % consistently. This is nothing but political. If you care about the safety of our kids, let them back in the building because I assure you there’s going to be more detrimental results to their mental health than anything. Honestly, shame on you. Our kids deserve better. My son learned NOTHING via Zoom.
To say that yesterday’s 180 was a disappointment, would be the understatement of the century. A slap in the face to every high school parent and family in the City of Newton. We were asked what we wanted, given the hybrid option, only to have it yanked away by (89) teachers refusing to show up for work.
These same teachers were the recipients of our overwhelming if not unanimous support during their contract negotiations. The groundswell of regret is already starting to bubble.
Like the commenters above, I share their fear on what the combination of isolation and the cloud of darkness over our entire society due to Covid will do the psyche of our teens at this most vulnerable stage of mental development. If even a drop of blood is lost, it’s on the hands of NPS and the SC. “Thoughts and prayers”, would be an insult at that point.
There is a march being formed today at Noon at Newton South. Hope it makes a difference.
But at least Mayor Fuller included not one, not two, but FOUR phot ops of herself in that email. Gimme a break, Ruthanne.
I agree all of the disappointment expressed above. I share it in the extreme. This is unacceptable. I feel profound disappointment in our City and School Leadership, and in the NTA.
Obviously Covid is a once in a century event. These issues are all far “out of the box”. Yet there are so many unanswered questions. So many things might have been handled differently. I get that there was likely a lot that happened behind the scenes we’re not privy to.
However, some quick thoughts:
Our teachers are essential workers just like our police, fire dept, medical community, telecommunications providers, super market workers… What if these groups had declined to work in the past 6 months? Many essential workers received special pay to partially compensate for the circumstances. Was this offered to the teachers? Did we at least consider it?
Most agree that Spring’s distance learning was a band aid at best. How will things be different this Fall and beyond? It doesn’t seem that we have a playbook/procedure ready to go for the HS. Why not? Why is this all being decided on the fly? How was the Summertime used? We could have hired consultants, etc. We seem incredibly unprepared! (Example – will we require teachers to present from their empty classrooms and to be available for 1:1 in person student meetings? Who knows?)
I understand that many HS teachers were willing to work. I thank them. But if the NTA thinks that HS parents won’t remember this the next time a contract is negotiated, then they’re making a very big strategic mistake. It seems that our Administrators might have done a better job working with the NTA, but in exchange for community support the NTA also needed to step up. It clearly didn’t.
Our elected officials need to be held accountable. This includes Mayor Fuller.
We’re already seeing parents with strong financial means posting on social media about pulling their HS students from our system to private schools. It’s a horrible dynamic. I certainly hope that in the next few days the City, School Admin, NTA, etc. can get it together for the sake of our High Schoolers. Time is out. We have to work together to do better for all involved. This has to be the most important community priority. Newton can do better!
Aside from the teens, the rest of the community should be incredibly concerned about keeping high school kids home for the “foreseeable future.”
4k+ teenagers are NOT going to spend the upcoming flu season in their basements, alone. They are going to congregate anywhere they can for basic human interaction. Ditto many of the tween middle schoolers. It’s not realistic to expect parents to keep them at home. Laptops are mobile. All you need is internet or a hotspot. All of Newton is now a classroom. Perhaps it will be good for coffee shops and restaurants, even if the kids aren’t big spenders. Or perhaps the site of many teenagers will deter regular customers. Who knows.
If you had concerns over gatherings in the summer, buckle your seat belts, or perhaps stay home … how long? Well, for the foreseeable future, apparently.
Otherwise, please try to be kind, even or perhaps especially if they are rude. Please know that many of them won’t feel wanted anywhere. Their teachers are afraid to be near them, their parents want them out of the house. Please know they would gladly be at school and not at the place you too wanted to spend some quiet time. Please know there is no teen centre like in Brookline or anywhere other than the parks or the library if it ever re-opens. Please know there is no end in sight, just the foreseeable future. Please check your outrage, please don’t post kid’s pictures, please think before you assign blame, and most definitely please pause hard before you call the cops.
Just please.And thank you in advance, the foreseeable future.
The lack of adequate notice is so disappointing and exemplifies poor leadership. Notice of a plan being voted was posted on Monday 8/24 at 3:30pm for a Wed 8/26 at 7pm but, just in time for the MA Open Meeting Law to meet the 48 hour notice but the actual plan was not posted until Tuesday 8/25 at 3:59pm or 27 hours before tonight’s new school committee vote. That doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of adequate notice. It was called sneeky by one School Committee member, I would call it dismissive. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with this new plan, the rush to vote is cowardly, they don’t want vetting or questions.
Before blaming the teachers for the high school switch from hybrid to all-distance, consider the following:
1) There isn’t that much difference between the percentage of teachers unable to teach in the hybrid model (21%) and the percentage of students who wanted distance only (15%). If the hybrid model was unable to work with that small of a mismatch, under what conditions would it have worked? Furthermore, this was entirely predictable:
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 17.4% of adults under 65 in Massachusetts are at higher risk of serious illness from Coronavirus. Based on this and the fact that many teachers live with other people, we’d expect the percentage of teachers with a high risk individual intheir household to be *larger* than 21%. The hybrid plan was never going to work from a staffing point of view.
2) The NPS slides for the new plan also say that with 85% of the students choosing the hybrid model, there isn’t enough classroom space given the distancing requirement. In other words, too many students chose the hybrid model. But this shouldn’t have been a surprise given the minimal amount of description that NPS delivered about the DLA. By under describing the DLA, NPS forced families towards choosing the hybrid model, and in doing so, set up the hybrid model to fail.
Both of these problems were predictable during planning. Hold the administration accountable for presenting a plan and then discovering after the fact that it wasn’t feasible.
Michael Slater is 100% correct. Every single elected official with a hand in closing down schools should be held responsible. Although the high school plan is the most egregious decision, the middle school and elementary school plans are also needlessly detrimental to the kids. Don’t believe the excuse that every school district is doing the same thing. Maybe Boston is, but most of the communities that we compare ourselves to are not.
My wife and I decided to pull one of my kids out of NPS this morning. My second child is a senior, so he will have to live with the scars of the school committee’s decision.
I will march at Newton South at noon.
Michael Slater: excellent post. It is true that the teachers behaved shamefully, but they have made perfectly clear since I’ve been in Newton that they are Labor with a capital L. Every change must be fought for tooth and nail, and the kids are an afterthought. Anybody expecting cooperation and a can do attitude hasn’t been paying attention.
The mayor and the school superintendent knew exactly who they were dealing with here and had to expect this result. The time to get teachers on record as unwilling to come back was in June, so that we could have worked on solutions during the summer.
I would say to the mayor and elected leaders of Newton, if there was every a time to step up and lead, that time is now. We went from having school for middle and high schoolers to having little for one and none for the other in a matter of about a week. Let’s get to work and fix this problem and get the kids back to school where they belong.
What can we all do as concerned parents to put pressure on the administration to find a solution to this issue? I did not know about the march (is there another social media site that I should be looking at?) and unfortunately, can’t attend since unlike the teachers who all apparently ‘care about their students’ but refuse to work, I actually have to physically be in my office at work.
I am not optimistic that the admin will do anything at this late stage. But we really need to try for the sake of the mental health and well being of our teenagers. NPS, School Committee and Mayor Fuller – shame on you for abandoning the kids.
As the father of a young High School teacher Harlem, who works at a “second chance” High School – the kids are over 18 and have been to prison – and loves her students – I find the comments here about teachers both ignorant and disgusting. Do you really think that teachers aren’t afraid of their health? And YOUR health? After all, the kids are going to give you the gift of COVID not to mention the yearly flu this holiday season if they all go into the classrooms.
Do you really think that my daughter WANTS to do “Zoom” teaching? Please spare me the idiocy.
Shame on you all for not seeing that we are in this together, and for being anonymous cowards for not using your real names.
Good lord.
Mayor Fuller’s update is irresponsible and misleading. We have NOT voted on this plan. Not only has her update gone out with incorrect information, but job postings for positions are already up online.
This is yet one more example of the lack of transparency that our administration seems to be guided by.
Don’t blame the teachers…they were backed into a corner by leaders that withheld info, waited until the last minute and refused to listen to the community.
There is one person to blame: Superintendent Fleishman.
And btw, my daughter as of last week is being required to go to her classroom every day this fall, although she would prefer not to, even though she and her husband have already had covid, and although their 4 month old tests negative.
Let’s all hope for the best, and that the upcoming flu season doesn’t become a disaster.
Attending the school committee meeting yesterday, I want to point out a few things:
1) In her email, the mayor presented the main issue for HS in-person learning as staffing, but that was in fact not the focus of the reason for the changes- Toby Romer pointed out that with 85% of kids choosing hybrid and with the 6ft rule, there is not enough room in the buildings. 130 hs classes had over 25 students last year, meaning even at 85%, class size is an issue. This is data that was presented as brand new, even though any teacher or building administrator could (and did) tell them this at the end of last year. Opinion: I find it reprehensible that the mayor put the blame solely on staffing when 20% of hs teachers said they were unable to work in person and 15% of kids said they wanted remote- the gap here is salvageable and manageable. The teachers aren’t the reason the plan was changed- the incompetence of the people in charge is.
2) The DLA model was incomplete and encouraged parents to select the slightly more-formed hybrid model. The hybrid model, however, left a lot to be desired in the form of the schedule in particular and the overlapping A/B class meetings. However, the DLA model, as stated by Toby Romer, was so inequitable at the hs level that it could no longer be an option (which is obviously what parents thought as well, given on 15% chose it for their kids). Opinion: It is completely mind blowing that the HS committee didn’t figure that out day 1 and instead wasted all summer coming up with a plan that didn’t work. The DLA model was an after thought and abandoned the students who could not attend school in person. It had to change.
3) As far as I can tell, the NTA is basically another way of saying “all the teachers and admin or aides that work in the buildings” and the NPS is “all the administrators at the city level making all the decisions.” The NTA can only present their concerns and plans to the NPS and then NPS presents their plans. What we’ve heard is that NTA concerns and plans were overlooked. What we’ve heard is that now all of those concerns are actually things that make the NPS plans unrealistic- building issues, class sizes, inevitability among students. Then NPS waits until AFTER they made a plan to poll teachers AND they poll teachers at the same time as parents, pitting them against each other.
Opinion: The NPS administration is solely to blame for this “crisis” they created. If they polled teachers in May or June and listened to concerns, they could have created plans that account for all of these issues. And now everyone is scrambling, parents and teachers alike. And they successfully pitted parents against teachers when in reality 80% of teachers said they were able to work.
4) Had NPS not surveyed parents on a plan that was not executable, parents wouldn’t be as up in arms. The unrealistic hybrid/DLA option wouldn’t have been on the table. In fact, had they worked with the NTA earlier and presented a clear plan to teachers and parents, we would probably be at a completely differently place now.
Opinion: The blame should be on NPS administration. Parents and teachers (whether you like the union or not) are pushing for what is best for the people who will be int he buildings. Whether you or I agree on what is the safest, the NPS largely ignored both sides and made their plans before taking into account the realistic concerns of everyone. We aren’t here because of teachers who can’t work in person- we’re here because NPS didn’t even bother to ask until it was too late. Inexcusable. Let’s keep the focus on the right people.
@Matthew
No, let’s blame the teachers- after all, they’re just in it for the money.
@Rick-so what should the metrics be for ever going back to in-person classes? All of the metrics that are used by the state and newton have show that both mass and newton are better than most of the states in country and many are at or near the lowest level we have seen since the pandemic started.Covid may be around for a long time (years); there may never be an effective vaccine. So what is your plan to get back to some in-person teaching? It’s not an easy question, but I don’t agree with having no metrics.
NPS leadership has failed our high school students, who are now being blindsided by a last minute decision to shift entirely to remote learning based on a single survey.
85% of families supported a return in a hybrid model.
While 20% of teachers may not be able to teach in person, no information has been released regarding what subjects this impacts, and no effort was made to re-think the teaching models to cover this shortfall which can only participate remotely.
Why not consider team teaching approaches where those who can be in person cover alternative cohorts of students in person, and those who can only be at home, do the remote sessions?
Why not take advantage of Zoom platforms to simply split classes and stream sessions to alternating groups of students who take turns being in class, or access all remotely if needed.
Streaming can take place from home for any essential/core curriculum teachers who cannot be in the classroom, with in person support provided by aids.
NPS is failing our students!
Please join our STUDENT ORGANIZED protest and march to City Hall TODAY at NOON at Newton South.
What does it say about the School Committee that a member of that very committee, both here in the comments above and on a private group social media board, is casting blame on the school superintendent, without any acknowledgement of their role in this unfolding?
Matthew, you are a member of this same school committee that voted unanimously just a few weeks ago to extend the superintendent’s contract by three years.
This is the committee that we as a community have elected to have oversight of the schools. Where were they in driving this process, setting up expectations, and requiring milestones and answers?
And, as you laid out on social media, the school committee members clearly discussed (perhaps illegally under the Open Meeting Law) this information during their last executive session. Did you object to that at the time?
The School Committee is equally culpable here. Every member – from the Mayor, to the Chair, to each individual elected committee member. And yes, you Matthew. If you are so unable to persuade a majority of your colleagues to see the flaws in their approach, it says as much about you as it does about them. Stop playing the victim. Stop throwing your colleagues under the bus. All it does is undercut your ability to work collaboratively to deliver the solutions this city so desperately needs.
There is so much we could have explored with some real leadership at the city level.
For Public Comment and via email – August 26 School Committee Meeting
Newton is a well-funded city. Moreover, based on all national, state and local COVID-19 metrics, NPS should be offering full-time, in-person school. Nonetheless, most of NPS will be remote.
All summer, the debate has masqueraded around public health issues. However, in the end, the curve is now totally flat, and this was just a power play. Sadly, the Superintendent and Mayor have completely capitulated to a well-organized union.
While 85% of HS parents opted for the hybrid model as endorsed by the school committee’s vote, the NTA wrote one nasty letter and a portion of its members opted out. Twenty one percent of HS staff- without documentation required- said they are unable to return in person, and 18% did not even bother to answer the survey. Voila! Dr. Fleishman surrenders. Tragically, children and parents are disenfranchised and cancelled, even though the former are the schools’ clients and the latter pay its bills.
I am not anti-union. For more than 25 years, I have worked closely the International Association of Fire Fighters, their state and local affiliates and collaboratively with more than a dozen unions as Director of Employee Health at Cambridge Health Alliance. While I oppose the NTA’s position, they are doing their job to aggressively support their members. If only Dr. Fleishman and Mayor Fuller could advocate for taxpayers and our children with the same fervor. According to internet searches, Dr. Fleishman is the highest paid employee of Newton, and the school system receives more than 50% of the city budget. They should be able to open schools.
Are there teachers with health conditions and vulnerable family members? Of course- yes. However, the same is true for numerous healthcare workers, first responders, grocery and Amazon workers, postal carriers and so many others who mask-up and go to work.
Dr. Fleishman, Mayor Fuller and NTA how did you eat, receive medical care and get other needs met since March? Answer- essential workers. Schools are essential too. You must figure it out for our children.
School Committee- vote NO on the distance learning debacle. Send Dr. Fleishman and the NTA back to the negotiating table.
NPS leadership has failed our high school students, who are now being blindsided by a last minute decision to shift entirely to remote learning based on a single survey.
85% of families supported a return in a hybrid model.
While 20% of teachers may not be able to teach in person, no information has been released regarding what subjects this impacts, and no effort was made to re-think the teaching models to cover this shortfall from those who can only participate remotely.
Why not consider team teaching approaches where those who can be in person cover alternative cohorts of students in person, and those who can only be at home, do the remote sessions?
Why not take advantage of Zoom platforms to simply split classes and stream sessions to alternating groups of students who take turns being in class, or access all remotely if needed.
Streaming can take place from home for any essential/core curriculum teachers who cannot be in the classroom, with in person support provided by aids.
NPS is failing our students!
Please join our STUDENT ORGANIZED protest and march to City Hall TODAY at NOON at Newton South.
During the Q&A last night (over 400 questions in two hours, by the way!), there were a lot of comments about the newly proposed grading plan (A, B, pass, fail). Samples:
“Why is it necessary to come up with a new grade system? I am a parent and I am not alone feeling that this is a system which will not be helpful. Other students from other districts will have an advantage over our students.”
“I am not following sure why pluses and minuses would be any harder in his model for the high school? Won’t they have homework and graded assignments all term? Given there are no standardized test scores to show colleges these differentiated grades seem important. But with a plus and minus on each A and B you had 6 choices and now there are 2 (A or B). Those pluses and minuses do motivate people. And the lack of tests seem to say more why grades will matter.”
The Pioneer Institute has just published a policy paper on this topic, with a recommendation that’s quite different:
The COVID-19 pandemic-related revisions to Massachusetts’ remote learning regulations should restore state and local accountability by specifying that any remote academic work shall, to the same extent as in-person education, prepare students to take MCAS tests, and that grading criteria should be the same across in-person, remote, and hybrid learning environments, according to a new policy brief published by Pioneer Institute.
“Unlike last spring, the Commonwealth has had plenty of notice that schools would likely be at least partially remote in the fall,” said Jamie Gass, Pioneer’s director of education research and policy. “It’s imperative that the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education send a clear and explicit message that core academics, grading, and MCAS expectations will be fully restored in the 2020-21 school year.” https://pioneerinstitute.org/press_releases/education-pr/press-releases-online-learning/mas-remote-learning-regs-should-specify-consistent-district-grading-policies-return-of-mcas-in-2020-21/
Matthew. The school committee has applied no pressure on the administration to promote student education. Look no further than yesterday’s SC evaluation of the superintendent. Here is a direct quote.
“David continues to provide strategic, thoughtful, and strong leadership for the district. He communicates continuously with NPS and the community to keep people abreast of the status of initiatives and changes to the plan. He engages the community through social media, email, and now Zoom meetings to get feedback and to understand where the district can improve. David has a tough job in a big district, and he keeps a lot of balls in the air, especially this year.”
So disappointed in NPS. Our HS have already lost last spring. This last minute change is beyond frustrating. The thought of being all remote “for the foreseeable future”. One question that arose in my mind regarding HS staffing is how would it be feasible to return to school at any point if so many educators cannot return to school and they cannot go the route that they are going with the ms with other personnel in the classrooms? A vaccine? I feel like these community building types of activities that they are promising just doesn’t cut it. You are going to lose a set of kids who just will not participate in these types of activities. I also feel that students are not going to connect with their teachers as well via zoom. How is a teacher going to know my freshman? She is a very good student but does not like attention good or bad and I feel zoom magnifies that. She is more likely to pull back and not participate. School truly matters to her. She works independently but I feel she will lose out on the value a teacher brings and just be trying to learn on her own.
As far as grading it is a mess. South prev did not include freshman grades in their gpas and there was mention that last year’s grades would also not be apart of their gpas. I have a rising junior who is looking at playing a sport in college so he is being asked about his gpa. I was orig told to report what the school would put on a transcript. I’m not sure how he accurately reports who he is. Remote learning is just not the same so I’m not sure how you could grade in the same fashion as you would for in person learning. Pioneer is way off base about MCAS. They are just a waste of time right now. The kids need to be focused on the basics.
Environmental Engineer and my good friend Jeff Pontiff, I have owned my blame in all of this and have announced it openly in as many ways as I can. I acknowledged my role in this process failure during my statement during last week’s vote. I will say it again:
I failed to push the district to include us in their planning
I failed to require the district provide us a plan in a timely fashion
I failed to advocate for requiring parent voices to be included in the planning
I have fully owned my mistakes. From what I have observed, I am the only one involved that has done so.
You are right that I have stood by DF and have defended his work. I have gotten to know him quite well, or so I thought, through our years partnering. The SC evaluation was based on a very specific set up metrics and based on that info, I stand by my assessment.
Since then, I have a different perspective. I have been honest about my failures and since then have been committed to holding DF accountable.
-M
Matthew-
What’s past is past. Let focus on the future. It is not too late to change the directionless and misguided attempt by NPS. The future starts now at today’s School Committee meeting. Your voice and the voice of your colleagues who agree need to be heard louder than ever.
If I may add some clarification to the staffing issues:
NPS sent employees a survey on the same day that parents received their survey about 10 days ago. The survey asked if an employee was ABLE to return to school in person in September or UNABLE. No part of the survey asked employees to express a preference for remote or in-person work.
In order to qualify as UNABLE, an employee needed to provide documentation from a doctor that s/he, or a family member residing in his/her household, was in a COVID high-risk category according to CDC guidelines.
No other survey requested this information. Another survey was completed in June asking whether staff felt “safe” returning to the buildings. No documentation from a doctor was required for responses to this survey.
A very high percentage of the employees who are in the UNABLE category have been in that category for a long time or will be for the foreseeable future. No one asks my opinion on much, but if I were in charge of the world, I would’ve sent the survey to NPS employees asking who was ABLE and who was UNABLE to return to the buildings due to health concerns to people in their household before the planning process began.
The caps on ABLE and UNABLE were from the teacher survey and clearly identified the two categories.
This is an excellent thread with wonderful questions and comments. A consistent theme is “we knew all this before, why weren’t we prepared?”
If this were a work exercise for me, and I’ve worked as an officer in our military and in industry, I’d start with a goal – given Covid, how can we provide the best school experience to our High Schoolers and what do we need to do to get them back physically in school?
I’d get a leadership group together and list out the many barriers to the goal. Teacher concerns, space issues given social distancing, etc.
Then I’d form breakout groups to focus on each issue, to brainstorm, to list solutions that might work…from reasonable to completely nutty.
I’d get my steering committee with all the constituents together (read: school committee, nta, facilities, medical, city executive) with a facilitator to see if a plan could be agreed upon to achieve the goal…by “any” date. And if a plan could be found I’d assign my best Program Management to execute it. I’d find the money. I’d make it happen. Achieving this would be a community goal.
What disturbs me about our current conundrum is that this may have happened in the background, but I see no evidence that it did. There’s still time despite all that seems to have been squandered. We need our very talented Mayor and all other parties to just get it done…and I bet with the talent in our community ways could be found that might be creative, but ultimately effective.
What disturbs me know is the lack of hope. The lack of consensus metrics targets that allow a return. There doesn’t appear to be any plan. Our kids see this and despair. So do I.
Craig – The words on the teacher survey were ABLE and UNABLE (doctor’s documentation required).
You can say it a hundred times, but it doesn’t change the facts. No one requested information from teachers about whether they were “willing” to return to in-person teaching.
NPS not only botched the plan for return to school, but they have now managed to create an adversarial relationship between teachers and parents.
@Matthew Miller,
You do understand that your job as a member of the school committee is to make policy. NPS is responsible for figuring out how to implement that policy. You continuously miss the forest for the trees because you spend an excess of time on social media being “transparent” (including improperly promoting teachers for hire) and not enough time working on the big picture goal which should have been how in the bigger picture to get schools open. FOCUS! Stop wasting time on how many paper towel dispensers are in the classroom and needlessly sharing intimate details about YOUR OWN children.
You all own this. Teachers who refused to respond to the survey own this. Mike Zilles and his gauntlet throwing hissy fit letter owns this. The NPS failing to survey earlier owns this. But enough with throwing your SC colleagues under the bus. You weren’t prescient in your vote last week. Stop whining and work with your colleagues and solve this crisis.
Paul,
Forgive me if I don’t put much stock in what a free-market think tank thinks about how I should assess my students. And I could write a separate 5,000 word post on why the MCAS is a deeply flawed “assessment” – maybe I’ll do so another time – but to keep the focus on more local issues right now, I’d propose a different question for folks to consider:
What does it say about our values and priorities that there was a disproportionate focus on numerical grades and GPA last night, and that SC members kept pulling these particular questions from the 400+ being asked? There was seemingly more concern about grades than on student safety and well-being…in a pandemic (this is to say nothing of concern for staff, which got zero attention). What about a focus on helping our students cultivate important life skills like critical thinking and media literacy? Or on fostering intellectual curiosity and compassion? Teaching kids to be decent human beings?
As Principal Turner said, we were already starting to shift away from problematic (and still subjective) metrics to more holistic assessments of student growth, achievement, and skill development. What people remember as “school” does not necessarily correlate with what’s happening today.
Is it possible that we might be just a bit too focused on the wrong things here and lack some perspective? Especially during, again…a pandemic?
I am appalled at the attacks on teachers here. How many of these parents criticizing and blaming teachers have been working remotely and will be able to continue working from home? These teachers are dedicated, underpaid, and are allowed to protect their health and their families’ health just as all of you are trying to do.
If you follow the news, you can predict that covid outbreaks will start to occur in schools if socially distant measures are not strictly observed. If there are too many students who want the hybrid model, and not enough teachers and staff, and physical space, it won’t work.
We need to accept that this is going to be a difficult year for all, it’s not normal, and we just have to deal with it as best we can. One day this will be a painful history we will look back on, but teaching our kids to deal with less than ideal conditions in a public health crisis is the way forward. Teach your kids to be resilient and compassionate and eventually their education will return to normal.
Matthew Miller potentially lost my support when he pushed for remote learning for all because of inequity but then advertised hiring his friend for people forming pods. You want to talk about inequity? Let’s talk about these educational pods and how they create segregation and huge socioeconomic inequity. Someone from the school committee should not be promoting pods and especially not when they have been talking about inequity. Talk about being disingenuous. I’ve been a longtime supporter of Matthew Miller and appreciate much of the work he’s done, but this makes me question his intentions and credibility in a big way.
Michael, your comments are on target. But the leadership was lacking.
What makes it worse is that we all know after last spring’s debacle how important it is to reopen the schools. Time they had- problem-solving not so much.
The wheel did not need to be re-invented. The American Academy of Pediatrics and MA DESE provided roadmaps for in-person school. Mayor Fuller was on the DESE group, but I have never heard her mention it. From the get-go, Dr. Fleishman eliminated the possibility of full-time, in-person school by having a 6-foot spacing standard invented for Newton. Whereas, the pediatricians, DESE, World Health Organization and several other countries that reopened schools use a 3-ft (1 meter) minimum as the students and staff will be masked. It looks like he was married to the hybrid plan no matter what the experts recommended and no matter how low the COVID metrics went.
By the time the state released the color-coding of communities which made it clear that Newton should go full-time in person, the hybrid plan was a “done deal”, but as you say the teaching/staffing was not worked out.
As far as I know, both Mayor Fuller and Dr. Fleishman have not tried “out of the box” ideas offered by so many here- starting some activities outside, using additional city properties to increase spacing, video-streaming remote teachers into a class, plexiglass shields for teacher desks to make them safer, etc. Not they or one member of the school cte has ever emailed me to get a thought or opinion on occupational health/safety even though I have offered.
Yes, they did get some great experts on their own. They also recommend in-person school…but what do experts know.
End-result is just another Epic fail. Now the parents and students are just supposed to go along with the flow and take-it.
It seems to me that the question should not be, as put above, what should we do to get kids back (physically) in school, but what should we do to make sure everyone is safe until we get a pandemic “all clear” (whatever that means).
I have no problem with the teachers putting that concern front and center, and share the concern that this is being decided late in the game.
The question I would want to tackle as a parent (my child graduated a few years ago, so I am out of that part of the game), is how will the remote experience be better than in the spring, when admittedly everyone had to figure this out on the fly? Are we ready to make this better? Because it will be remote- and the hybrid model for the lower grades may have to go by the wayside as well depending on how things turn with coronavirus. What’s plan? Have we heard that and I have missed it in the many posts, comments and missives (possible, I admit)?
@David Bedar,
Surely you know that even in the midst of this pandemic, high school students- juniors and seniors in particular- are trying to maintain or raise their GPA’s because college decisions are directly tied to academic performance. So of course they are going to be distressed to learn that grades reflect broad categories of excellent, good or average/passing.
The only diminution here is the value of student grades for no benefit I can see.
With two high-schoolers in NPS I’m as gutted as anyone about the ridiculous outcome that most of our secondary school students will be out of the classroom for most/all the school year when Newton is virtually a COVID-free community by any public-health metric. Plenty of blame on all sides it seems to me, but what is clear is NPS is a failed organization all the way around when it comes to this now nearly 6-month crisis. If NPS was a for-profit business their executives would be shown the door, competitors would be licking their chops and the stock price would be down 75%. If it was an NPO there would be a scandal, journalistic exposes and a permanently ruined reputation. Doesn’t mean the teachers don’t also bear some responsibility here (20% not responding to the survey – come on!) but the fish rots from the head and there must be accountability by the decision-makers.
But looking at the situation objectively one must conclude this was inevitable. The flimsy hybrid model was destined to be reversed at some point this fall given almost certain uptick in case levels and resulting media messaging, and community, staff and administrator fears in response. In fact the language in the long return-to-learn document frequently referenced pivoting back to an all-remote model. Perhaps we are fortunate in a way that this is happening now for whatever reasons (and many seem to be at fault). Because what is paramount at this point is that NPS needs to be focusing far more on delivering a distance learning experience to all students of the highest quality possible. After a whole summer of planning it’s unacceptable that NPS and its teachers deliver curriculum and a teaching program/format that is anything but top-notch (and nothing like the low-standards, low-effort product that was delivered last spring.) Realistically the only development that will sustainably get kids and teachers back into the classroom this school year is unanticipated delivery of a vaccine that is widely available sooner than expected. Even then there will be major complexities. It shouldn’t be that way, our schools, their administrators and essential classroom workers should be more resilient, but that’s reality. Short of that magical outcome, the demand of all NPS parents and our whole community of stakeholders should be that this failed organization right itself in a hurry and convince us they can deliver a Newton-quality education through the only realistic means possible.
David,
Some excellent points, as always. Thank you.
There has always been and likewise always will be attention paid to grades in a community like this, with a strong bent towards college education and concern about the college admissions process. That may or may not be a good thing. But I think what parents were reflecting last night was a concern about academic standards in general, saying there is no reason to expect a reduction in those standards under this new teaching model.
To assert that that concern was a disproportionately raised given the pandemic environment is a legitimate view, for sure. But let’s not blame parents for that, as it is one reason people choose to live here. And remember, they were responding in the moment to an unexpected set of changed circumstances. Instead, let’s get back to the underlying problem that people have expressed here in different forms–a lack of framing of the overall context, principles, and purpose of the school reopening plan.
Some day, after all this is past, we can discuss what “holistic assessments of student growth, achievement, and skill development” are and whether those assessments will be less subjective than grading systems, even with all the problems of grading systems. And we’ll need to discuss, too, whether the colleges that families want for their children will accept those assessments in a way that will be just a favorable as the traditional grading systems. Won’t it be nice to have the luxury to reflect on all of those questions!
Finally, let’s not denigrate ideas by saying they are from a “free-market think tank.” Last I looked, we do have a free-market economy to a greater or lesser extent. But beyond that, think tanks from all parts of the political spectrum can have useful ideas. Let’s stick to a debate on the ideas themselves (which is what the rest of your comment did.)
@David-I believe last night was intended to be questions from parents about the plan. I also believe I heard, but I may be wrong, that the administration was having separate zoom meeting with staff. So I think it was totally appropriate for parents to ask the questions they did. I was one of those thoughtless parents who asked about grades and GPA. I heard the NPS administration opinions that we are already starting to shift away from SATs and grades/GPA. That may have been the case months ago before all this hit, but next year when my junior starts applying to colleges I don’t believe that colleges will not be looking at SAT scores and GPAs. I actually fear, and I may be wrong, that colleges will revert back to demanding SAT scores because standardized testing will be the only way to assess what kids in different districts have actually learned.
I agree that this pandemic is a terrible situation for everyone. From your comments, we probably aren’t on the same page on priorities. With the limited teaching time, I would prefer teacher’s focus on teaching the subject matter and leave teaching my kid to “be a decent human being” to me. This pandemic could go on for a long time, so there needs to be a plan to get HS kids back into the classroom. The health metrics are really good in Newton and Mass right now, so I would love to hear your plan for metrics to allow in-person classes.
@ Stefanos N Kales MD
My daughter and her husband, “recovered” from Covid right before giving birth to their child, our grandchild, and are participating in 4 different studies at Mount Sinai hospital as I write this. One for breast milk antibodies( which she has), and three other different studies on their own blood antibodies.
Do babies get immunity from the breast milk? THEY DONT KNOW.
Can my daughter get COVID again, and will her antibodies and T cells protect her? MAYBE, THEY DONT KNOW.
If my daughter can get it, can she spread it? PROBABLY, THEY DONT KNOW.
You see, that’s why there are studies going on. The global statistics are fine, like saying the average temperature today in MA is 72 degrees. But there are too many specific case unknowns – and we can see evidence from other attempts to open indoor schools end with rapid closing, so that is at least anecdotal.
The data is not fully in, and yes, I would say wait until there is a vaccine or other widely available and proven treatment. We must be patient, or the numbers are going to go up rapidly. It sucks. I agree. So is losing your own parent to COVID, I’m certain. And on a personal,note, I don’t of course want my daughter to be the guinea pig. She’s already contributing to the science enough.
@ Rick Frank I wish Godspeed to your daughter and her family. Of course, certain persons even in hospitals need to take medical leaves for themselves or a family member. But we don’t close the hospital, the grocery store, etc. Even with COVID vaccines, there will always be risks associated with in-person school attendance: flu, meningitis, norovirus, bus accidents, school shootings, etc. But we don’t close the school. For most people who are willing to take the small risk, school is the better option. And don’t pretend that closing the schools and all remote learning are not detrimental to 100% of the kids for sure. You do not need to believe it from me, you can read all of the peer-reviewed pediatric papers.
I am greatly relieved about the fully remote learning for the high schools because of my concerns about health issues (which I won’t repeat here).
But I agree that Fleishman has been derelict in his duties as superintendent in adequately communicating with and in engaging all stakeholders in NPS (including both parents and teachers). I do not think that Fleishman is competent (https://village14.com/2020/07/19/do-not-renew-superintendent-fleischmans-contract/).
The poor planning and lack of engagement with teachers led to two major flaws in the hybrid model that Fleishman had proposed. The rejection of any consideration of Zooming into classes by students in the DLA and in quarantine meant that the hybrid model was unsustainable (because it would fall apart as more students and teachers were in required quarantines) and it also meant that it was inequitable for students who were in the DLA.
My reading is that it’s the inequitable part that has killed the hybrid plan and will not allow it to be revived, no matter how many parents object, because legally schools must provide FAPE (free and accessible public education) to ALL students. Setting up the DLA with farmed-out instruction by online commercial vendors was setting up a segregated and unequal system. Once the survey revealed that disproportionate numbers of Asian, Black, and Latinx parents chose the DLA, it meant that NPS absolutely could not provide substandard DLA schooling, as NPS is already on DESE’s radar as a district with an achievement gap. Such an inequitable arrangement for the DLA would make the achievement gap worse, and it would be legally actionable.
I understand that Fleishman and Fuller do not want to stoke racist backlash, and for that reason may have chosen to downplay the role played by equity issues in the shift to fully remote. But both Fleishman’s and Fuller’s insinuations that teachers or the NTA are the primary reason for the change is also divisive and already stoking anti-teacher, anti-union backlash (just look at this thread). Moreover, I don’t think it’s true. I think NPS was fully prepared to steamroller the NTA into going back in person; but they could not defend the inequity in the DLA from the legal action.
So my suggestion to parents who want to get NPS to move from “fully remote indefinitely” to a viable plan for transitioning to a hybrid system is to pressure NPS (1) to work with tech experts and teachers to resolve the ability to Zoom into class for students opting for DLA and for teachers and students out due to quarantine and (2) to work with teachers and organizations to fund and implement regular testing for everyone in an NPS building. If those factors are resolved, there is a much better chance of moving from remote “for the foreseeable future” to a transition that parents and teachers with health concerns can support AND that is equitable for students in the DLA so the district won’t have the legal barriers that their July plan had.
“Once the survey revealed that disproportionate numbers of Asian, Black, and Latinx parents chose the DLA”: This information was presented by David Fleishman during the 8/25 SC meeting.
NPS said from the get-go that equity was one of the guiding principles of its plans. Where is the equity in providing all but high school students will some sort of in-person education?
@Melissa Brown,
Can we please stick with the facts? The high schools do not have the capacity to accommodate 85 percent of the high school students even if only 42.5 percent attend on Monday/Tuesday and 42.5 percent attend on Thursday/Friday AND maintain the 6 foot physical distancing required to keep everyone safe. In addition, it became apparent that there is a lack of staffing – particularly since nearly 20 percent of the high school teachers refused to even respond to the survey.
And yes, all students are entitled to a “free and appropriate public education” (FAPE) but given your remarks, I conclude that you have never actually litigated what the district is and isn’t required to provide to satisfy the standard. As for legal barriers that you refer to, I understand that a lot of students did not receive all of their IEP services but that the current model was designed to ensure that there would not be a repeat of that. If students are being denied services under their IEP’s, those families will have legal recourse.
PS – Melissa – the phrase is “free and appropriate public education” – not “free and accessible”. Hopefully that clears up some of your confusion.
Dr. Kales,
Could you please address the multiple concerns I raised in a previous post as to what I see as repeated mischaracterizations and misleading statements you’ve made on the school reopening issue? https://village14.com/2020/08/22/new-school-committee-meeting-to-consider-the-fall-return-to-school-plan/
I ask because you continue to present your views as representative of a consensus that does not in fact exist. As I’m sure you must know, several of your fellow physicians and infectious disease experts of yours who disagree with you, including at your own institution, and several have written on this blog.
Newton South teacher here. I’d like to respond to Dr. Kales’ comment that – “Twenty one percent of HS staff- without documentation required- said they are unable to return in person.”
Dr. Kales, stop lying. Teachers who said they were unable to teach in person had to submit documentation. Many of my co-workers had to scramble to get medical documentation, as they were given one week to submit this to HR.
It is very clear what you think about the current situation, but stop putting so much blame on teachers for the situation that NPS is now in.
On a side note, I’ve been a Newton teacher for 14 years and have seen again and again that facilities upkeep is pushed aside. While new buildings (North, Cabot, Zervas, etc.) have been constructed, ventilation at older schools, and even the 2005 addition to Newton South, is atrocious. Can you blame teachers for being worried about teaching in building that aren’t safe?
I would love to be able to teach my students in-person and know that remote learning is not ideal. In the remote model however, students have much more actual learning time than in any hybrid model.
If NPS had taken steps earlier this year to plan for improved ventilation and rapid testing, which could help to make in-person learning safer, perhaps that would be been possible.
@Lisap: What an ad hominen response to a thoughtful post! I was very clear where I was presenting facts (disproportionate numbers chosing DLA) and where I was presenting my reading of the facts. You’re certainly entitled to disagree with me, and I appreciate the correction of my misstatement of FAPE, but your personal disparagement is both rude and unproductive. And it makes me take all your posts less seriously, because it makes me question your reliability as a source.
@Melissa Brown,
The lady doth protest too much. I asked you to stick to actual facts. If you think that’s ad hominem perhaps you should re-read your own posts. You certainly don’t write like a shrinking violet when criticizing others. And by all means ignore away. I’ve been around for years and I’m not going anywhere.
And you’re welcome. Always happy to correct the legal misunderstandings of others here.
Dr. Kales – Can you let us know where you received the misinformation that teachers who are unable to return to in-person teaching due to health conditions or living with a person living with a health condition that the CDC identified as putting a person at high risk?
Someone is sending out misinformation and it would be helpful to know who the source is so we can correct it. If it’s you making assumptions, teachers would respectfully request that you stop doing so.
“Teachers who said they were unable to teach in person had to submit documentation. Many of my co-workers had to scramble to get medical documentation, as they were given one week to submit this to HR.” How is this different from any other job?
Lisap – 3 feet is one recommended distance, 6 is another. There are many opinions and few facts around COVID. The only facts I know about COVID is it is most deadly to those over 70 with a pre-existing condition (99% of victims according to https://ourworldindata.org/covid-deaths.
Schools across the country and world are reopening. Some never shut. Life involves risk. We allow people to sky dive, let us allow those who choose the ability to continue their education in person.
Lucia, the point of my comment was to refute Dr. Kales misinformation that teachers did not have to submit evidence of their medical reasons for not working in person.
Had NPS done a thorough survey of teachers earlier than the end of August, it is quite possible that staffing issues could have been addressed to have more in-person instruction.
@Lucia-
You are correct of course. I was referring to the distancing requirement established by the Newton Health Dept. which is what is being used by the administration. Given that distancing, the schools buildings don’t have the capacity to accommodate all of the high school students who want to return in person. Of course, one answer could be to find more space. Another would be to adopt the 3 foot or 1 meter distancing. A third would be to divide the students into 5 cohorts of 20% each over 5 days so at least students would get one full day (not half day) in school with their peers.
Last year we talked a lot about the social and emotional health of students, particularly high school students. Suicide rates in the US among the high school and college cohort have increased at alarming rates. I worry greatly about how these kids will handle the continued isolation. You, Lucia, have argued very persuasively on the subject of in person education. And I’ve come to believe that there has to be some point when we accept that the risk of re-opening in person education is far less than the risk of keeping kids at home. There will never be a point of no risk. But it’s about balancing risk for those who are healthy enough to take that risk on, and ensuring that those who cannot because of pre-existing conditions they or relatives have, will be accommodated to work remotely.
Dr. Fleishman and Mayor Fuller continued to dangle “community” events in person for high school families. But not one thing is documented. I have zero trust in Dr. Fleishman. If it isn’t written down, it doesn’t exist, and if it is written down (high school hybrid) it doesn’t exist.
As a parent of an incoming 9th grader I am scared for the well being of my child. The well being of five days a week of being on a screen in one room of our house. Being an only child with no interaction with other children. Teenagers are not wired to be in prison at home with a laptop. How do you build a community online? That is much different than building a community in a physical classroom. It is an art and science.
She is scared that she will start remote and not have the opportunity to meet her teachers or classmates face to face. The only thing she knows right now is her advisory classroom, and she knows no other familiar face in that cohort. No teacher is listed. Just a number. SHe feels like a number. She is scared. This is a fact. I can’t change her mind about how different it will be from the spring.
While I voted hybrid, that doesn’t mean I want my kid in school five days a week. Frankly, I would be happy for four days of zoom and one day every other week of freshman and sophomores coming into the school for advisory and doing community building six feet away for two hours in the morning. Having the other every other week session for juniors and sophomores. And for those who opt for remote advisory, we can do that also. Two hours, six feet away with masks for high school students. Use larger classrooms and divide the school into units for that one morning. Be creative Dr. Fleishman!
Use the afternoon for teacher planning that day.
What scares me is that Newton is color coded green on the governors map, and we can’t get any face to face educational time/social emotional connections. If it isn’t on the calendar it doesn’t exist.
We know that green will change to yellow. GET some in person connections now, before we change to a yellow district.
BUT, don’t worry everyone, there is a plan for sports. We can potentially have basketball in the winter and we can have cross country in the fall. In person sports! Not all kids are athletes, and now we have an equity issue again. Sports can be played in person, but no other in person interaction can happen.
I have heard nothing about in person clubs, theater, choral, strings, band, robotics. .. .. only sports can happen. Another inequity. If teachers can’t come into the building for academics, will they come in for non academics?
I agree with the teachers that the buildings are old and windows don’t open. I agree that spending the whole day every day in badly ventilated buildings should not happen. Bathrooms are just as bad.
Apparently the filters haven’t been ordered, which they should have been.
We haven’t had each classroom looked at by an outside vendor and documented of what is a safe classroom and what can be done to make others safer. We were told a few weeks ago that there are broken windows, that won’t be fixed before the start of school.
We don’t have testing (why, I don’t know).
But I have a scared incoming 9th grader, who is not alone of being scared. We don’t know when school starts in the morning or when it ends. There is no information being shared by Dr. Fleishman, who is the head of the schools. Has he shared this information with teachers?
While I don’t want remote, I do want a two hour window every other week that my “typical” non SPED kid can interact with ONE cohort of kids plus a teacher.
BUT, I fear that the depression our kids are going to encounter because they are spending 170 school days on a laptop (that some kids won’t have until January, 2021). There is nothing on the calendar that represents community events.
David Fleishman should be shown the door for his lack of creativity.
Former NSHS teacher here. I am in my second week teaching remotely from Illinois. Thank goodness our superintendent decided that, for the safety of the students and teachers, we should teach and learn from home. Like my former NPS colleagues, I spent the summer prepping and reworking my curriculum to deliver it in an alternative manner. Like my former NPS colleagues, I will have to spend 2x as much time prepping for each remote class as I do for an in school class. Why do we do it? Because we care. You have no idea how lucky you have it to have these teachers. Remotely, they are better than most teachers in this country are in the actual classroom. You have the most creative, dedicated, and passionate teachers. I realize that Newton families want the best for their children but we are in a PANDEMIC. Things are different. Things have to be different. What will you say when a member of the Newton community dies because of the spread that happened while kids were in school? Is it worth it? COVID is messing up everyone’s lives. No one is celebrating it. Rather than yelling at teachers, who want to live long enough to teach your children this year, why not support them so that they can do this well? It is time to figure out how to deal with this in a safe way because hopefully you care as much about the safety and well being of those around you as you do about yourself.
To me, like many things in education, this boils down to a fundamental lack of trust and respect.
Amanda has it exactly right: “The blame should be on NPS administration. Parents and teachers (whether you like the union or not) are pushing for what is best for the people who will be int he buildings. Whether you or I agree on what is the safest, the NPS largely ignored both sides and made their plans before taking into account the realistic concerns of everyone. We aren’t here because of teachers who can’t work in person- we’re here because NPS didn’t even bother to ask until it was too late. Inexcusable. Let’s keep the focus on the right people.”
1) Unnecessary Antagonism:
Administrative incompetence, lack of transparency, and chaotic management of this situation have resulted in an unfortunate, and wholly unnecessary, division between parents and educators. Vilifying comments like the ones on this thread (e.g. Matt Lai: “We were asked what we wanted, given the hybrid option, only to have it yanked away by (89) teachers refusing to show up for work”) are both offensive and unproductive.
I’m choosing to share here, with my full name, how incredibly discouraging and disheartening it is to be an NPS teacher reading all of this. It is so disappointing to go from meetings like last night, where the leadership’s irresponsibility and incompetence were on full display, to a public forum like this and see otherwise good, intelligent people insinuate that we educators aren’t willing to work and direct such misplaced vitriol our way. Read what educators (e.g. Ashley above) have said about the HR survey that was sent out…
I know colleagues in Newton who have started preparing their resumes, obtaining letters of recommendation, and eyeing other districts that seem to respect their educators and families, involve them in making decisions, and generally appear to have their &*$% more together. A friend who teaches elementary in Lexington told me he’s already had several coworkers resign due to a similar mess there. Sadly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a brain drain in Newton. NPS’s motto is “Equity and Excellence.” The Equity is already under siege; we’ll see what happens to the Excellence.
2) The NTA:
I’ll again offer a friendly reminder that 1) “the union” is comprised of individuals, like myself, who love kids, see teaching as a calling, and have therefore chosen to dedicate our lives to this profession despite it not being exactly the most lucrative of career paths and despite being constantly disrespected, and that 2) the NTA proposal has been out there since July. It’s worth reading, and it’s not what was presented last night. If you’re interested in learning more or in asking questions, and not casting aspersions and making gross (in both senses of the word) generalizations as some have on this page, I’d encourage people to attend the NTA community meeting today at 4pm.
3) The Failures of Leadership:
I (and I’m sure every single one of my colleagues) truly empathize with the terrible situation students, families, and teachers have been put in. It’s awful. Our advocacy for a remote start with a phased return does not diminish your suffering, nor would we want to. Please remember that many educators are parents as well, including in Newton (those few these days who can afford to do so; I rent an apartment in Newtonville). And as you express your anger at a decision you don’t like, please keep in mind who actually makes decisions – trust me, it’s NOT us.
Not only did we have nothing to do with the decision, we weren’t informed of this plan until 13 min prior to yesterday’s SC mtg. We had no idea there was an opportunity for staff to ask questions (…AFTER the SC vote tonight??) and we still haven’t received any more information on this. Our input has been continually ignored. The administration completely mischaracterized the relationship between educators and admin this summer – we’ve been left out of any decisions re: scheduling and safety protocols, and have had most of our questions gone answered (like many parents).
I have many of my own complaints about both this decision and the colossal mess that has been this entire process. While we might disagree on the wisdom of certain aspects of different plans, I’d say most educators and parents are on entirely the same page as far as frustration with the city and district leadership. Yes, the administration was dealt a crappy situation, but they’ve made it worse.
The school year starts for teachers on Monday, but because of the way this was handled, none us have any clue what we’ll be teaching and although, yes, we’ve done a lot of our own PD this summer, we haven’t been able to prepare the way we’d like – this is bad for teachers and bad for kids.
It can’t be repeated enough: we ALL wish we could go back to normal, but that’s just not going to happen any time soon. The potent combination of a pandemic with many unknowns and a complete failure of leadership (from the U.S. President to the MA Governor to the Newton Mayor and NPS Superintendent) have led to a really, really tough situation.
NO ONE thinks remote education is ideal. The classroom is my life, and the thought of again not being there with a bustling class of 25 teens, learning and laughing, is heartbreaking. But this just isn’t a normal year. Please watch my Bigelow MS colleague’s excellent explanation of what he, I, and I think pretty much all of us are feeling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFmfO5df_vE&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR3P_BM7sYCRb0RrCfopOf1p4HlVLWTEfGRt1_wQCjCogWvTgpaiC3z_kZ4
Both my wife (a teacher at Brookline HS) and I have been so upset, and have spent the last month working on this issue non-stop rather than actually preparing for the school year. I’ve been trying to stay away from the noise, but I admit my weakness: it’s been very difficult to read some of this stuff – on V14, on social media, in the news, etc. – and not want to correct misinformation and want to stand up for my colleagues who are being unfairly denigrated. But my wife thinks I’m getting close to a heart attack at 37, and that, for the sake of my own physical and mental health and hers, I need to step back. While I love the civic engagement this forum encourages, she’s completely right (as usual).
So, this is the last thing I’ll say: I sincerely hope that all of us – students, parents, educators, everyone – stay healthy and can make the best of an awful situation. This exhausting experience has made me question why I stay in this profession. My answer is that I have a lot more faith in our students than I do in most adults. I can’t wait to meet this year’s crew, regardless of circumstances. None of us know what this school year will look like, but in my 14th year at NNHS, I promise to work hard to give my them the best educational experience I possibly can. I’m quite sure every single one of my colleagues will do the same.
Thanks for reading and hope to see some of you at 4pm.
NewtonMom: you don’t need to worry — they have no intention of letting sports happen either.
But your post brings up an important point that really extends across this entire discussion: life isn’t fair. Student life wasn’t equal before covid and it is not going to be equal after it. There is always somebody with more money, better looks, superior intellect, or greater athletic prowess.
We have to work together to open things up based not just on the level of importance we place on a particular activity but also on their feasibility. It may be the more girls can play sports this fall than boys, and that’s ok.
If a sport can be played safely, we should play it. Even if another sport cannot be. The same is truth for clubs, drama, and all of the other 500 electives that were mentioned last night.
Instead of focusing on what we can’t do, and who is left out, let’s focus on what we CAN DO.
Craig, while I agree with you – lets focus on what we CAN DO. I can continue to advocate for Newton High School students to have some in person community building. But, again, David Fleishman hasn’t released information. Do I want sports – yes, but not at the expense that David will focus on that, and not other aspects of school. Sports is important. It brings kids together. That is one aspect, and again, the leadership of the school has been silent on that too.
I am not sure wrestling can be played safely but cross country and tennis can be. But what about robotics? David has committed to anything, and that is what I fear. His lack of verbal communication to teachers, parents, students, etc.
He has been working hard this summer. But he hasn’t communicated well.
This is truly a sad time.
I have been so deeply, repeatedly disappointed by my experiences with Newton Public Schools. Some individual teachers have been amazing, and I’ve even been impressed by a few individual administrators. But overall, there seems to be an institutional lack of understanding basic planning that’s just so profoundly disappointing.
I guess I attribute this to a self-selection bias of the people who go into public school administration. Perhaps you love kids and teaching and want the greater impact of being an administrator. But you are likely skilled at executing last year’s plan, with some tweaks. Perhaps you are good at managing situations (sometimes created by my kids’ behavior!). Perhaps you excel at implementing new state or curriculum guidelines. But you aren’t typically charged with creative problem solving and understanding dependencies. Or maybe it’s an unintended consequence of being an administrator in Newton, where every parent deems him/herself an expert on so many things, including the public schools.
This isn’t the first time things like this have happened – even recently. We went through this with the high school start time debate – we debated and planned and debated and planned and reached a decision….that turned out to be unworkable.
In my mind, there are two decisions we need to make about how to move forward. First, in the longer term – what kind of people do we need on the school committee, or running the schools, in order to minimize these problems in the future? Where do we need to invest to be better prepared next time, and what do we have to cut to afford it? I have no suggested path forward. I’ve got no interest in blaming folks. We’ve got a broken system and need to fix it.
More urgently, what can be done about the fall? I was happy leaving this to others, secure in the false knowledge that Newton had planned, taken into account constraints, and had learned from the disastrous spring. I am now sure I was wrong – the fact that the schools couldn’t accommodate the number of older students whose parents selected the hybrid model, and that this constraint hadn’t been called out in the plans is simply shocking. And also water under the bridge.
The reality is that any plan would be subject to huge impact from outside forces. Community spread could shut down any hybrid plan and the trade-off between opening up economically and maximizing the chance of youth sports and extra-curricular activities and education is one that’s outside Newton’s control.
I can’t imagine that the all-remote plan (for high schools, and initially for middle schools) is going to go smoothly. But I do think that worrying about grading schemes is something that’s a second-tier problem. Worrying about engaging students and faculty, actually teaching kids and giving the sense of academic and social challenge, success and connection seems to be the greater immediate problem. Designing daytime class schedules? A good use of time. Figuring out how to engage kids? A good use of time. Understanding the budget impacts (positive and negative)? A good use of time. Learning from companies and organizations that have spent the last five months exploring methods of remote engagement? A good use of time (uh, I’d pass on the Zoom happy hours that seem so successful for our team at work).
So what next? I have no idea.
But for the first time I’m saddened enough to say it publicly, instead of just in small groups of friends.
I’m an incoming ninth grader and getting told by my mother that i would only being taught over online made me so angry and disappointed .
i was so excited to go to north this year and now that i won’t even be able to go i’m dreading the start of school. online school was so hard for me and many of my friends. teenagers should not be depended on doing all this work without seeing people in person and being able to talk to friends. i even got used to the idea of doing hybrid, still hoping we would be full time soon.
now that it’s not in person i don’t even want to go to school i’d rather just sit in my bed all day. i actually liked school because of the different environment and people i met, but sadly, i cannot do any of these things this year.
I am currently on the webinar with the Newton Teachers Association. It is worth the watch, especially if you think the teachers are the issue here.
Zoom information:
https://zoom.us/j/93595719338?pwd=TlFuVGlRTTZmY0Q4OEluTlByd0Ridz09
Passcode: 322751
Just for perspective – it took 30 YEARS to develop a vaccine for measels. We still do not have one for HIV.
Waiting until there is a vaccine to develop a viable plan for in-person learning is a false metric, and one that has the potential to keep our children out of school until they are adults.
The goal of the spring shift to distance was to flatten the curve – which, while a challenge to adjust to academically MA did fantastically.
The goal of the summer was to stay responsible and keep a low transmission rate, and come up with realistic options to move our communities, and in particular our students to a new normal.
By every metric presented and in line with recommendations from the American Board of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the state guidelines, Newton has achieved a low enough infection rate to allow safe learning with masks and social distancing.
While we hear much of the negative press with a megaphone, this is working around the globe, across the country, and even throughout our state.
NPS actually PROVES that point is true by by coming up with a plan that phases in in-person learning for younger students.
Where we have completely dropped the ball is in not evaluating what subject matter we have the ability to cover ACROSS NEWTON at middle school and high school level, and basing our assessment to return in a hybrid model only on a perceived loss of sufficient numbers.
There is nothing prohibiting teachers from teaming up to have the teacher with remote needs teach the remote session, while the teacher than can be in person teaches the in class components. Newton secondary education has thus far completely failed to be willing to restructure how they set up classes to respond to this unanticipated circumstance- but it isn’t too late to think outside the box and save our school year.
No one wants our children or teachers to feel or be unsafe in their environment but there is no evidence this will be the case, and there is an active response plan outlined to deal with an event if it does happen.
Tonight, we are simply asking the School Committee to reject the proposed Plan, as it is actually a lack of a plan for high school students with no timeline, no metrics, and no alternatives designed on the fly in response to a first pass look at teacher availability that should have happened months ago.
Neither the students, nor the teachers should have to suffer for failures of leadership.
NPS needs to own that this isn’t the appropriate response and do better for our families!
David:
I’d like to give you one parent’s perspective, and I’m fairly certain that the lens from which I speak is similar to other parents as well.
I’m a parent of 2 NNHS students, one a 9th grader and another entering his Senior year. We moved to Newton in 2001, hearing about the strength and excellence of the Newton School system and without doing our due diligence.
Imagine our first day when we walked into Franklin and Day, and to see the conditions that the kids would learn in. At that point, my wife and I thought about whether we made the wrong choice, but we stuck with it. And by in large, both boys went through the elementary and middle school system, each having rewarding experiences despite the horrible conditions. The reason is because of teachers like you. We stood shoulder and shoulder with teachers in their many contract negotiations with the City because we knew that the ONLY reason both boys had a positive experience was because of the teachers.
Now fast forward to March, and Covid hit. The spring remote teaching was a farce. I was upset, but yes, some at teachers, some at administration, but mostly at Covid (not China.) With all that I gave teachers the benefit of the doubt. Why? Because I know that teachers as a whole really care about the kids and care about educating them. This was a hopeless situation in March. No one could be expected to be prepared. With that said, we saw the educational opportunities provided by private schools and how remote tended to “generally work” there, and still we gave NPS and teachers the benefit of the doubt. At the same time, we heard about some “backroom” deal between the School Committee and the teachers, not exactly sure what that was, but we generally knew it wasn’t great for our kid’s education. I still gave teachers the benefit of the doubt. It was a tough time.
Since then, each community participant in Newton worked to “flatten the curve” knowing consciously or subconsciously that we needed to do our best to make the environment as good as possible for a fall return. Not only did we “flatten the curve”, we nailed it. The positivity rates in MA, and more particularly Newton is really the best you can expect in light of the transmission rate of COVID. This took the sacrifices of physicians, nurses, businesses (many have failed), people who couldn’t “work at home”, parents, kids, grandparents who couldn’t hug their grandkids, uncles who couldn’t see their new nieces, … basically every community member. That was the social contract, and I’m so very proud of everyone. Each of us did it.
In August, we received validation from seeing the public health data. We heard from our pediatricians that what we knew as parents were correct, that we were doing more harm keeping our boys at home than sending them to school. The risk of COVID – on a typical child basis (non-immunocompromised or living with someone immunocompromised) was worse than the lack of educational and social opportunities that schools provided. We then saw Governor Baker further validate by recognizing that under his administration’s perspective, that we could go full in-person. DESE provided guidelines that required a minimum of 3ft with masks, but with a goal of 6 ft for social distancing. The parameters of back to school was coming along.
Parents expected that the Mayor, Dr. Fleishman and the School Committee, whose role is to manage all this for Newton’s residents, would be taking care of the logistics. They would be looking at the options, testing and challenging the feasibility of those options and being in a position to explain to parents why certain things would work and certain things wouldn’t work.
Fast forward to 2 weeks ago, and we’re told that we’ll start in a Hybrid way. I saw that as a compromise. Recall, the recommendation was full in person from Governor Baker. Not ideal, not supported by the public health data, not supported by Dr. Fauci, not supported by DESE, I can go on. Yet, we understood. Our teachers were not comfortable. They took a survey of the parents. An overwhelming majority selected hybrid. Full in person was not an option.
Now, last night, under the cover of night, parents of HSers are told that we would start all remote and stay all remote for the forseeable future – which means – all year based on their rationale, and Dr. Fleishman specifically said, it was because of staffing – not public health. This is why there is frustration and complete confusion by parents. It appears that our teachers have let us down. Fleishman told us this, and then showed us the survey results to emphasize the point. All that sacrifice by everyone all summer, and now we’re told that the school administration couldn’t get more than half of the teachers to show up.
Ultimatetly, as I said I agree with you David. This is a colossal failure of the superintendent, the school committee and Mayor Fuller. Mayor Fuller and her NHHS needed to assure that a testing and survelliance program was in place for schools. That didn’t happen. She needed to get her hands dirty and get involved. She seems ambivalent in the Zoom meetings, instead. David Fleishman needed to do surveys earlier, and that didn’t happen. They needed to get MERV13 filters in the classes, that didn’t happen. He needed to consult with teachers; that didn’t appear to happen. The School committee needed to have some actual intellectual or personal curiousity in the development of the plan all summer; that didn’t happen. The School committee could have asked a few questions or pressure tested the plan in development prior to unanimously renewing Flesihgman’s contact; that didn’t’ happen. I know I’m scratching the surface of things that didn’t happen.
Any parent who is making statements disparaging teachers today, I’m sure do not really mean it, or at least are transferring their frustrations on our closest contacts. For that I apologize for those parents and even for myself who I admit felt that anger. But, my ask for your colleagues is to understand our position, our perspective, and why examples such as teachers unanimous refusing to go the classroom to even teach remote, doesn’t help at all.
It does no one good to have teachers and parents fight each other, other than perhaps the superintendent and the SC. We need to be in problem solving mode. We need to hear from teachers, like just now at the NTA meeting, about why this time it will be different. And then perhaps, the trust you want, may build back up. There frankly isn’t enough trust to go around right now.
Trista, you say, “Tonight, we are simply asking the School Committee to reject the proposed Plan.” Please explain who “we” are.
I’m not apart of any official “we” but my letters to the committee and the mayor asked that they reject the proposal. Nobody that cares about the kids should support any plan that doesn’t include a date certain return to the classroom.
Any “certain” date would be nothing better than a guess, until we know we are absolutely out of this.
(FTR: I care about the kids)
Thank you, Alicia Bowman, for tuning into the NTA Community Meeting, It was taped and will be available for viewing shortly.
Just wanted to say, for the incoming NNHS freshman . . . I hear you. My student was upset to have hybrid taken away, and why bother. She can tik tok on the sofa.
I’m curious as to why Mayor Fuller’s email appeared so far removed as if she had no say. She laid it out much like Mom saying “Dinner is served, if you don’t like it, don’t eat..” I feel like the whole “plan” and parent survey was a guise to bait us all then to make teachers the scapegoat. Why do we get daily emails on COVID metrics if we don’t use them to make integral decisions such as this? I feel so foolish having any faith in leadership. Much like the so-called leaders of our country & Commonwealth, a display of ineptitude. Now our kids suffer. What a mess.
Why to survey if, at the end of the day, the 85% result to go hybrid from parents of high school students is disregarded? Disappointment is an understatement. Planning? The survey should have been sent in May/June. And actions taken based on it.
Technology to support remote teaching will arrive with delay. January 2021? What is the plan B?
Keep the classes as they should have been. Have half of the students attend physically while the other half stays at home attending the same classes at the same time remotely and that for 2 weeks. Rotate at the end of the 2 weeks. It will limit the contamination and ensure the 2 weeks quarantine for each group.
However allow the other 15% (voted fully remote) the choice to attend remotely.
Implement testing of all students and teachers prior to starting day. Colleges and Universities have already implemented it. Actually some countries (South Korea) to ensure identification and containment.
The reputation of the Newton School System is impacted but the damage could still be limited.
How many have moved to Newton for the reputation of its School System?
The Real Estate Market has always remained stable. I can’t stop wondering after this.
The solution of the private school system is unfortunately not one as it is not able to receive all the disappointed and wealthy families of the public school system. Simply not enough space.
It is not just teachers and cities that make a school system strong. It is also the students and the parents behind. It is an essential interactivity based among others on communication and common goals. It ripples on the surrounding economy.
This is all part of a larger global agenda. Newton was a stronghold community with high property values and a large committed public school teacher and parent community which made it a target for destruction in our new world. We should stop blaming each other/various groups and start doing some real reading and research beyond the mainstream narrative. What was the school and city doing in May/June? They were focused on racial justice meetings and defunding the police efforts. I wondered back then, why aren’t we taking about school, mourning our (what we hoped was temporary) loss of freedom and children’s access to education and social access to each other. If you don’t see how all this is connected, if you don’t value what you have right now, the rights your have and fight for them, we will no longer have those rights and it can happen quickly. No, things aren’t going back to normal any time soon unless we stand up. Talk to anyone who came to the US from a poor oppressed country and they will tell you a hard truth. Arguing and focusing on the “symptom” which is the various disappointing plans of the school system isn’t going to solve these larger issues.
Apparently keeping the breadth and depth of the classes was more important than social emotional well being. It is more important to David Fleishman that we have excellent academic remote classes.
I learned that both of our high schools have too many kids in the buildings. 2000 kids per building and there isn’t enough space without a pandemic. Now, due to the mistakes of prior administrations for not having larger buildings, more classrooms and more teachers, a generation of high schoolers, miss out on being in high school.
While I hope for a vaccine, I believe we need to learn to live with COVID19. High schoolers should not be left out of the plan. And I am hoping that this year’s sophomores will one day re-enter our high schools before they graduate from Newton Remote Academy in 2023. My personal belief is that class size will shrink at the high school level with more peers racing to private school (the have’s) and a few peers taking their own lives.
Newton parent of 2 boys – If I may address some of your statements.
You claim that “at the same time, we heard about some “backroom” deal between the School Committee and the teachers, not exactly sure what that was…”. At no time was there a backroom deal with the teachers because, despite what you may have heard, teachers have not been an integral part of the planning process. Meetings with NTA? Loads of those. Participation on summer committees? Many hours spent on those, but the end result did not in any way reflect their input.
You then state, “But, my ask for your colleagues is to understand our position, our perspective, and why examples such as teachers unanimous refusing to go the classroom to even teach remote, doesn’t help at all.” Where did that come from?! The day that the parents received a survey, the teachers received one as well. In this survey, they stated whether they were ABLE or UNABLE to return to school. If a teacher stated that s/he was unable to return to school, it had to be due to a having a medical condition that placed that person in a high-risk category according to CDC standards or lived with a person who was in a high risk category. If an employee indicated s/he was unable, a doctor’s documentation was required.
On a final note you say, “We need to hear from teachers, like just now at the NTA meeting, about why this time it will be different.” Just yesterday, NTA held a Community Meeting to explain just that. Either you attended that meeting and now see how it will be different from the perspective of the teachers who have worked diligently over the summer to develop skills to make the experience better. That meeting was taped and can be viewed at https://www.newteach.org/. I urge you to watch it.
No one is happy right now. No one. But turning on one another, assuming bad intentions, and making false accusations doesn’t get us anywhere. Or at least nowhere good. The teachers want to work with you, but the misinformation about them spread amongst parents undermines our and your best efforts.
One start is to state your name, reach out to teachers for accurate information, express your frustration, we’ll express ours, then let’s roll us our sleeves and get working – together.
Unfortunate end to the School Committee vote, with a 9-0 plan that still included no specifics for the High School students.
Appreciation to the mayor and many members to tried repeatedly to get a time line and/or some metric to allow a return to hybrid learning, or any sort of clarification on what the “in person” experiences and connections will be.
Sports, clubs and community meetings may make for a pleasant school environment, but they are not the same as in-person education, and there was no concrete plan for what will be offered, who can access it, when it would begin, and how students would get there (transportation).
It remains unclear why the school administration at the high school level chose to focus on preserving the full range of electives over finding a method to get students in to the building on a rotating schedule for Core classes.
While the final proposal that they voted did include a commitment to moving to the hybrid model for K-12, direct questions from the committee pointed out clearly that the school leadership has not come up with a way to do this, and thinks it will be very difficult to shift at any point mid-year.
5-6 hours of zoom meetings a day is not healthy and sustainable for most adults, and to expect that it will work seamlessly for our high school students, and that we will be able to recognize remotely when they are struggling academically or emotionally is simply naive and destined for failure.
Both students and teachers have a right to have legitimate health concerns and the need to feel safe in their environment that can keep them out of schools, however with the vast majority of families indicating that they felt the hybrid model would best support their needs – educationally, socially and emotionally – Newton Public Schools needs to live up to their reputation, show some innovation and leadership and do better for our teens.
Just a shout out to Tamika O. We selected hybrid because virtual learning really doesn’t work out for my family, but we’re not totally at ease in terms of safety due to the lack of transparency fro NPS. But Tamika is fiercely advocating for safety procedures and it makes me feel a lot less scared.
Jane-I agree this is a difficult situation for everyone. I have watched all of the SC and NTA presentations. Personally, after the experience last spring, I will be monitoring what the distance teaching will be in the fall. It cannot be anything close to what is was in the spring. I will be honest, I don’t have a lot of confidence that it will be better, but maybe I will be proven wrong. As a parent of a Junior this year, we and many others are worried about college admissions. Many parents are still unsure of how grades will be determined. The administration stated in one of the SC meeting that “they couldn’t assign plus or minuses because there would not be numeric grades”. They did not expand on it. My reading between the lines, and it’s only my take, is this means there will not be tests or exams. Why else would you not have a numeric grade? Do you have any insight into what is going into the proposed A/B/Pass/No grade system? I (and others) also asked a question at the SC meeting about how a “P” would be factored into a student GPA and the answer was “we don’t have an answer for that”. That’s not a good answer.
@Trisha North “There is nothing prohibiting teachers from teaming up to have the teacher with remote needs teach the remote session, while the teacher that can be in person teaches the in class components. Newton secondary education has thus far completely failed to be willing to restructure how they set up classes to respond to this unanticipated circumstance- but it isn’t too late to think outside the box and save our school year.”
As a high school teacher, I can tell you that no one at the high school level has “failed to be willing to restructure”. This idea above has been floated SO many times, but we do. not. have. any. input. into the decisions the NPS and school committee are making. If we did, Mike Zilles wouldn’t have released such a scathing indictment of a DLA/hybrid plan- a plan that ultimately ended up being impossible to implement (DLA for equity reasons and hybrid for building/space reasons). While they blamed staffing as one reason, I’d think that everyone can see, based on Toby Romer’s presentation, that teachers were a very small reason. If anything, teachers have been told and have assumed that people who couldn’t return in person would be taking over the remote parts for in-person teachers. This is what we expected.
I am reading all of the parent frustrations and I can only say that most teachers are feeling this frustration as well, so having that parent frustration directed at us is very disheartening. We want to be with the kids, we want to get back in schools, we want to find ways to let kids who want to be in school or who need to be remote to have equity.
The reality is that the NTA proposed a plan that phases in all of these things, even if it does start as everyone being remote. The reality is that the NTA has been asking for a testing and safety plan and for protocols to be clearly written since July. The reality is that the teachers have been offering solutions but the plans presented by NPS lacked all of the answers to these important questions yet were presented as if they were well thought out. The reality is that, had answers been provided or had testing been presented as a viable option, those of us returning to classrooms would feel safe. The reality is that NPS and SC did the opposite and STILL haven’t come up with protocols to go along with their policies, as evidenced in the SC meeting this past week.
Teachers aren’t asking to never return to school- we’re asking to return safely- 1) have a testing plan 2) have protocols in place if someone tests positive and have protocols for moving throughout the buildings 3) have good ventilation. Even grocery stores have shields, they have arrows on the floor, they have people monitoring entrance and exit. They have a plan. We don’t. They’ve focused on coming up with a schedule (that makes no sense) instead of focusing on the safety of our kids and teachers. I don’t know who has been saying that NTA is being unreasonable and refusing to go back to work, but those are NOT unreasonable requests. And we didn’t ask for them yesterday- we asked for them in June.
Lastly, I offer to you some anecdotal stories about this almost 20% of teachers who didn’t respond to the survey. I know at least 5 people who emailed or called HR to ask about the frankly inadequate educator survey and either received form letters in return telling them to “do their best to answer” or had to leave voicemails and never got a response. Questions were never answered and therefore many people missed the deadline to submit the form or didn’t fill it out because they didn’t trust NPS to do right by them. It was not teachers abandoning students (dramatic), it was community members being let down by their own representatives.
Just know that teachers feel the same frustration that parents do about the decisions SC and NPS are making. While I personally think at this point, starting remote is the only way to begin (because we’ve officially run out of time to do anything in person the safe/right way), I’m hoping we can return hybrid with a better plan and testing (the cohort that is continually being offered to SC and NPS) soon- which, by the way, is essentially what the original NTA plan provided.
I have on specific question after watching the NTA video. The HS Teacher, Dan Fabrizio made a comment that the majority of teachers were on schoology. More towards the beginning of the process NPS (probably Toby Romer) stated that all teachers would be using Schoology and information regarding weekly communications from Teachers would be in a uniform, consistent way. Will all Teachers be required to be on Schoology? One of my biggest pest peeves has been the inconsistent use of Schoology. Students should be able to find what they are expected to do in an easy and consistent fashion. The goal should be to know whether a student doesn’t understand what they are learning or if they are struggling rather then they just didn’t know where the work was or how they were supposed to submit the work. Inconsistent uses of tools just makes the waters muddier
I just read this press release from Prime Minister Trudeau’s office in Canada. It’s incredibly interesting to read this and see the difference in tone and levels of support. This is probably far beyond Newton’s capabilities as a City, but still!
https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2020/08/26/prime-minister-announces-support-safe-return-school
Prime Minister announces support for a safe return to school
August 26, 2020
Toronto, Ontario
School is critical for kids’ development and future success. The COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for families, with schools closed and students separated from their classmates and friends. As we gradually and safely restart our economy, parents should be able to return to work and trust that their children are learning in a healthy environment. That is why the Government of Canada is working to support provinces and territories in their efforts to ensure a safe return to school and protect the health of students and staff.
The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced up to $2 billion in support for provinces and territories through the Safe Return to Class Fund. This will provide the complementary funding they need, as they work alongside local school boards to ensure the safety of students and staff members throughout the school year. For example, the Fund will help provinces and territories by supporting adapted learning spaces, improved air ventilation, increased hand sanitation and hygiene, and purchases of personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies.
The Prime Minister also announced an additional $112 million in funding for First Nations to support community measures to ensure a safe return to school on reserves. The government will continue to work with First Nation partners to help protect the health and safety of students and staff this school year.
As we reopen our schools and restart our economy, we will continue to take leadership and work together with provincial and territorial partners to protect the health and safety of all Canadians.
Quotes
“As a former teacher and a parent, I know first-hand the importance of school for kids’ social development and mental well-being, not to mention their ability to learn. The return to school is also an important step to restart our economy and get parents back to work while not worrying about the health of their children. The Government of Canada will remain a close partner to provinces, territories, and First Nations as we work together to keep children, families, and all Canadians safe and healthy during this difficult time.”
The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
“Canada’s children have shown immense strength throughout this global pandemic. With a new school year about to begin, our government is committed to helping ensure that Canada’s students and teachers can safely return to their classrooms.”
The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
“The past few months have been especially hard on students who have been physically separated from their friends and classmates, and on parents who have had to juggle work and childcare. Provinces and territories have all been working hard to get students, teachers, and staff safely back to school, and the federal government wants to support them in that work. This funding will help provinces and territories in their tireless efforts in creating healthy and safe learning environments for our children and educators as we start a school year unlike any other.”
The Hon. Dominic LeBlanc, President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
“We know that schools, students, and parents have been significantly impacted across the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment will enable First Nations to take action on First Nation-led plans and preparations for the safe reopening of their schools in a way that both follows public health guidance and continues to support students.”
The Hon. Marc Miller, Minister of Indigenous Services
“We know families are worried about sending their children back to school. The COVID‑19 pandemic has put pressure on our schools and on families. That is why today’s announcement is so important. It will help schools across Canada have the support and equipment they need to keep kids, teachers, and families safe.”
The Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Quick Facts
Funding will be provided to provinces and territories in two instalments, with a first disbursement in Fall 2020 and additional funding available for early 2021, to ensure that provinces and territories have support for the whole school year.
The funding by province and territory will be allocated based on the number of children aged between 4 and 18 years old, with a $2 million base amount provided to each jurisdiction.
Maximum total allocation by province and territory:
Alberta: $262.84 million
British Columbia: $242.36 million
Manitoba: $85.41 million
New Brunswick: $39.79 million
Newfoundland and Labrador: $26.18 million
Northwest Territories: $4.85 million
Nova Scotia: $47.88 million
Nunavut: $5.75 million
Ontario: $763.34 million
Prince Edward Island: $10.39 million
Quebec: $432.15 million
Saskatchewan: $74.90 million
Yukon: $4.16 million
The Safe Return to Class Fund is in addition to the more than $19 billion previously announced for the Safe Restart Agreement to help provinces and territories safely restart their economies. This agreement included funding to increase testing and contact tracing of the virus, support vulnerable Canadians, ensure the availability of safe child care, and provide income support for people who do not have paid sick leave so all Canadians can stay healthy.
I watched the final couple of hours of the school committee meeting last night and one point that surprised me was the language in the adopted motion relative to providing child care for staff. This struck me as something that belongs within contract negotiations, not as a precursor to getting Newton students, and particularly high school students, back in the classroom. I’m not sure why the City would undertake this for one class of employees particularly in the context of a plan being submitted to DESE. While I understood the other parts of the motion and their relationship to opening schools safely and equitably, this just seemed like a huge reach and potentially a major stumbling block.
I had the same reaction, Lisap.
Although I can understand the sentiment behind wanting to resolve the childcare needs faced by teachers, I, too, was surprised by this provision and don’t understand how it will be implemented. Will the school district hire staff to watch over/work with teachers’ children? Will teachers be provided with some sort of stipend to hire nannies or other care providers? What about other essential city employees such as school nurses? Do we do this for police and firefighters? How will this be funded? Would it not be a better use of any such funds to figure out how to pay for testing?
The details matter.
Apologies if this has already come up—I scrolled through the comments and didn’t see it. It’s a very basic question: are any of the schools using outdoor space? If space is an issue, why can’t there be tents and outdoor heaters? Students wearing coats? This is what they had to do during the Spanish flu pandemic, when zoom wasn’t an option: they taught school outside, even up north in winter. At the very least, outdoor spaces could be used for safe, distanced socializing, meetings, etc. It seems like people are completely ignoring this basic, low-tech solution…? I hope I’m wrong.
My students have graduated from NPS, but my heart breaks for all these kids. It’s a disaster nationwide. (Colleges are the same, by the way.)
Is there some glimmer of hope? We appear to have gone from ‘distance learning for the foreseeable future’ to “High school distance learning is in place at least until the Newton Public Schools make a recommendation by Nov. 15 for a plan for in-person learning” (from the Mayor’s email tonight).
Anyone know anything more? I hope that the teachers will actually be included in this convo and that NPS will come up with a better than the half-baked plan they came up with before.
@Holly LeGraw,
The short answer is yes. The administration has expended around $200k for tents which will be installed next week. High schools will have 2 each and elementary 1 each. As I understand the guidance, they will be available for mask breaks as well as outdoor teaching- subject to approval on use by each schools’s principal. (If there is updated guidance, hopefully someone will chime in).
I join you – my heart aches for our students. I am also reminded of an earlier time. My Mom grew up in Newton before the advent of the polio vaccine. When infections rose, my Mom’s school shut down and they traveled by car to places where infections were low (visiting family in Kansas and Missouri). Health care has certainly come a long way, but part of me feels a connection to an earlier time when this country faced the ravages of polio – a horrific disease. We can and shall endure.
No, Mom of Newton High Schooler. That sentence was misleading. It’s a shiny interpretation of what happened at the School Committee meeting.
If you get a chance, listen to that part of the meeting. Everyone seemed to recognize that the request for a report by that date was not at all synonymous with any assurance of in-person learning for high school students.
While the initial resolution proposed to the School Committee stated that “A target date to phase in High School in-person learning will be recommended to the School Committee by the end of November,” there was a frank discussion about setting community expectations.
“We don’t even know if it’s possible to have a target date,” noted one committee member.
So it was changed to “The feasibility of phasing in High School in-person learning will be recommended to the School Committee by the end of November.”
Then it was changed again at the Mayor’s request to “Recommendation for phasing in High School in-person learning will be presented to the school committee by the end of November.”
But even then, there was a recognition that it might not be feasible, and that, if feasible, implementation would be many weeks later.
Earlier in the meeting, the superintendent talked about the difficulty of engaging in any planning for in-place during the first six weeks of school, while the focus of the high school principals will be on getting remote learning kicked off. Also, he wanted to ensure full consultation with parents and others during those early weeks, in addition to conducting a very ambitious hiring plan.
So, to say in the email that “High school distance learning is in place at least until the Newton Public Schools make a recommendation by Nov. 15” is misleading. Based on what I heard during the meeting, the earliest it could occur is after New Year’s, if at all.
The meeting is on line here: https://newtv.org/recent-video/24-newton-school-committee-meeting/6383-school-committee-meeting-august-26-2020. The discussion on this portion of the resolution language starts at about hour 3:55. Make your own judgment.
Regarding more space, I (and probably others) emailed both the SC and the mayor about using city space. AsToby Romer admitted in the last SC meeting, the administration never looked into it.
Paul Levy’s summary of the facts is 100% accurate to my eyes.
@Holly, et al.
An addendum… my Mom did not attend NPS. She attended the Sacred Heart parochial school – first in her class, first woman in the archdiocese to turn down a full 4 year scholarship to Regis College. A true daughter of Newton!
@Paul Levy-
Agreed.
Can we maybe, just maybe, hope that once they’ve got the elementary and middle schools up and running, that they will put their heads together, work together and come up with creative ways to solve the HS issue? There have been so many great ideas that have been brought up here. So many creative solutions have been suggested. Why not use the massive brainpower that is in Newton to solve this? Why not ask the PTO to raise funds for PPE, testing, anything else that is needed?
And why, why are we doing this on Aug 27th?
I share your hope, Newton Mom of High Schooler. And I think there are a wealth of creative ideas that could be explored (outdoor classrooms, group-based outside projects – infrastructure, lake conservation, trail-building, whatever – facilitated by teachers or community volunteers, garnering help through the chamber for technology or space donations of underutilized parking spaces, working with congregational or neighborhood volunteers – really, we should be able to figure this one out).
But for the mayor to be misleading in this manner does nothing to rebuild the trust of the community in the school’s governing structure. As I listened to the meeting last night, it was clear that she was pushing for something in the language that would allow her to write her newsletter as she did.
I know teachers were not asked for their thinking but I’ll share one of my ideas on how to open. Open the elementary schools in hybrid. Open the middle schools in remote. Open the high schools in hybrid. How can we open the high schools in hybrid? Use the middle schools as satellite buildings for the two high schools. What about the number of staff? The middle school hybrid plan has remote teachers Zooming in to teach classes. This same idea can be used for the high school hybrid plan. In the end you have K-5 and 9-12 in hybrid. Only three grades would be remote. It’s not a perfect plan but it gets the district much closer to what the families asked for in the surveys.
In other news the Newton South High school webpage has a notice that senior parking lot opens on September 7. Anyone want a spot for $350?
Sound familiar?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/nyregion/nj-coronavirus-schools-reopening.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
“Why not ask the PTO to raise funds for PPE, testing, anything else that is needed?”
Oh hell naw. The PTOs are volunteer organizations and stretched thin as is – asking these parents (most of them working parents, currently trying to juggle telecommuting, virtual learning, and hybrid schedules) to fundraise for TESTING seems like an inappropriately large ask.
MMQC I think that there could be some success for fundraising for testing. There had been talk of pooling PTO funds in the past. I was against this idea in the past however I think this situation is where it might make sense. Let’s not put the burden on the individual PTOs since they have different structures and abilities to fundraiser but let’s pull all the fundraising talent that is out there together. This would be an effort where we are truly all in it together. If we could get sufficient testing set up then we would all benefit in that it could allow all of our kids to go back to school. It also makes sense because ideally this is not an ongoing funding sources but it gets us through the next year or two until a vaccine is in use. There are many parents in the biotech and medical field maybe they can even use their connections to find some corporate partnerships/donations.
Is it appropriate or even legal for PTOs to forge partnerships with biotechs?
Agreed that pooling PTO funds would make the idea more palatable. We would run into major equity issues otherwise with say Angier doing tons of testing and schools like Franklin, LE, Burr having none.
Ptos get corporate donations sometimes in the form of Corp matches (where an parent makes a donation and their employer makes a donation of a% or an equal amt of that donation if the org meets a certain criteria ie supports education, etc) or a direct monetary donation for some good will. For example a company may want to contribute to a community organization for some good PR. I mention biotechs more from the potential appeal for them to providing funds to support something (testing) that is compatible to their general mission of improving health outcomes not them providing the actually testing or benefiting directly,
Newton residents may rightfully find it distasteful to pay for school ppe out their own pockets, but wouldn’t it feel worse to take contributions from corporations when that $/eqpt could be donated to communities that truly can’t afford it?