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08/11/2020 04:28 PMSuperintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Freeman and the Board of Education (BOE) offered on Aug. 10 another update on the school’s phased reopening plan, simultaneously sending out a survey to determine how many families plan to have their children attend classes in person.
Almost exactly five months since students last set foot in a Guilford school building and one month before they are set to return, Freeman said school officials are now honing in on some of the more granular work of the plan including class assignments and building layout, and offered more information about a planned child-care collaboration with the town, among other things.
“We have never been this unfinished one month away from the opening of schools,” Freeman said. ”I say that to recognize that we have much work yet ahead of us—this is an unprecedented summer—but I say it [also] to acknowledge that we will have the work done, we will be ready on day one to open schools for the Guilford students.”
The schools are still focused on a slow move toward a full reopening that was announced last week, beginning with hybrid learning that would run from Wednesday, Sept. 16 to Monday, Oct. 19, according to Freeman, with orientation days for students and professional development for teachers between Monday, Aug. 31 and Tuesday, Sept. 15.
If the pandemic remains under control, the schools would go to a fully in-person model on Oct. 19.
Any parent can opt out of in-person learning at any time, Freeman said, although after Oct. 19, parents will have to choose either fully in-person or fully remote; there will be no hybrid option, unless school and health officials decide to keep everything in hybrid mode.
Lunches will be available for students in distance learning whenever that happens, according to Freeman.
The hybrid model will split all school populations into two cohorts, with each of those groups attending in-person two days a week, either Monday and Tuesday, or Thursday and Friday.
Wednesday would be a distance-learning day for all students, according to the plan, with a focus on group work and planning time for teachers.
In this model, no school will ever host more than 50 percent of the student body on any given day, and the Wednesday distance learning time will also be used to clean the schools while students are absent, according to Freeman, though teachers will have access to the building if they want.
In response to a question from BOE Chair Katie Ballestraci, Freeman clarified that live-steaming or “synchronous” lessons for students at home would not last for entire days or entire class periods during hybrid learning, and would involve students “dropping in” to live sessions and transitioning to peer-focused or independent work throughout the day.
The survey that went out Aug. 10, which asks parents how and when they will have their students attend school in person, had received more than 600 responses in under two hours. That information will help staff build cohorts and classrooms, according to Freeman.
While the basis of cohorts and class assignments will be alphabetical by last name, Freeman said the schools would work with families on any individual issue or concern.
Freeman was very clear that parents could not be held to their promises—if a family opted out of in-person learning but changed its mind two weeks into the school year, its children would be welcomed back and accommodated.
But families staying consistent one way or another is extremely helpful and important for the schools to balance cohorts and keep classes small, according to Freeman, and said he hoped parents could commit for the length of “one marking period.”
Because of all the new scheduling and cohorting principals and administrators have to account for, class assignments will not be sent out until the first week of September, Freeman said.
“I know how unusual that is; I know that families are used to having that information now, and again, I simply need to ask for your patience as we continue to work through that process,” Freeman said.
Freeman also spoke about a planned child-care service that would be a collaboration between the schools, the town, and the Guilford Center for Children’s before- and after-school program.
That program would run at least for the first month of planned hybrid learning, according to Freeman, though it could be available after the Oct. 19 reopening date.
Having three days a week of distance learning is can be “an enormous burden” for some families, Freeman admitted, and said the child care program will be designed to allow students to engage with classes, whether that is live-steamed lessons or simply completing homework during the day, meaning parents won’t have to play catch-up in the evening.
More details on that program are still being worked out, Freeman said.
“I very much appreciate the collaboration from the town, and [First Selectman Matt] Hoey specifically,” Freeman said.
One thing that Freeman and the BOE did not address was the potential for teacher opt-outs. Early in the summer, a large number of Guilford teachers expressed safety concerns about returning to schools, though that was before the school released any of the reopening plan, Freeman pointed out at an earlier meeting.
The reopening plan can be viewed in full on the school’s website at www.guilfordschools.org, along with other information and resources regarding school in the fall.