Both sides of the Old Rochester/Union No. 55 Joint School Committee voted to eliminate April Vacation during Monday’s emergency meeting held via Zoom video conferencing.
The decision moved up the last day of school from June 24 to June 18. Parents were to receive the decision on Tuesday morning, April 14.
Whether or not students return to class on May 4, the last return-to-campus date prescribed by the state, ORR schools will still be out on Patriots Day, Monday, April 20, but will not use the following four days for vacation.
“One of the things we’ve been talking about is the fact that we’re gaining momentum in what we’re offering kids,” said Superintendent of Schools Doug White in his April 13 report to the Joint School Committee. “Each of the four unions overwhelmingly stated that they’d like to continue education through the April vacation.”
The decision was left up to local school districts and, as such, will pose ramifications on collective bargaining with the district’s four unions.
Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) testing has been suspended for 2020, but remote-access education took on a more serious tone after Massachusetts Commissioner of K-12 Public Education Jeffrey C. Riley wrote a March 30 letter recommending that school districts across the state start-up remote-learning programs.
Old Rochester intensified its already established online engagement with students to make accountable, expand and add structure in order to achieve curriculum-related goals for what might last the duration of the school year.
The state recommended that students are engaged in remote learning for approximately half the length of a regular school day and that their activities be divided evenly between educator-directed and self-directed learning. Equity of access is a mandate in this open-ended format.
While school superintendents have met weekly via remote access to discuss strategy, yielding many online platforms including a partnership that Massachusetts now has in place with WGBH Television and its affiliates, Riley stressed in his letter that remote education is not synonymous with online education.
Teachers have been encouraged to create offline learning experiences for their students away from the classroom including nature exploration, activities to support communities, hands-on projects, and artistic creations, all the while maintaining safe practices amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The focus in the remote setting is still on the reinforcement and improvement of learned skills, but with the introduction of new material as educators determine to be appropriate.
Assistant Superintendent Mike Nelson told the meeting that ORR has continued following the commissioner’s guidance in special education where it concerns remote-learning plans, including any out-of-district placements and has maintained contractor and vendor contracts. “I feel like we addressed all those areas,” he said.
White told the meeting that transportation is “most concerning” at this time, as Amaral Bus Company has laid off drivers but is billing ORR the full amount for normal services. White planned to meet on April 14 with the three town managers to discuss the matter. “We’ve stopped paying at this time until we’ve negotiated,” he said.
Budget-wise, White said that ORR continues to receive grants and circuit breakers, and all employees are being paid, putting the school district on par with other towns in Massachusetts. That includes cafeteria workers who, unlike most staff who are working remotely, report to school and provide over 850 lunches daily, a number he thinks will continue to grow “the longer we’re out.”
White said there has been discussion about putting some town employees on furlough, “but we’re not considering that at this time.”
Should the postponed town meetings not be held, ORR will receive 1/12 of the FY20 budget for FY21 until the budget is passed and moves forward.
If students do not return to the classroom this spring, a main concern among administrators has been the senior class.
ORR High School Principal Mike Devoll has been working with other Southcoast-area principals regarding graduation. One philosophy of thought is to postpone graduation until August, while other schools are toying with ideas on the traditional timeline.
“The seniors have effectively lost their athletic season and are desperately hanging onto their end-of-season things like prom,” said Devoll.
Region-side Chairperson Cary Humphrey asked if high schools are considering virtual events.
Devoll said awards night has been discussed. “To be honest, the kids are not ready to embrace those things yet,” he said, noting that ORR’s National Honor Society includes two seniors. “It’s hitting us; we’re trying to figure out ways to honor everybody appropriately… I have a lot of teachers who really care about this senior class and we want to do them right.”
“The wisdom of this crowd here will help us get through it,” said Humphrey.
The next scheduled meeting of the Joint School Committee is June 11, but Humphrey said there will be a meeting scheduled ahead of that date to discuss the contract for Nelson, who takes over as superintendent when White’s term expires on June 30.
ORR/Union No. 55 Joint School Committee
By Mick Colageo