SUPERINTENDENT UPDATE - REOPENING PLANNING 7/22/2020

Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff, 

Before I share some details of our plan, I want to thank all of our families, students, and staff for their quick and amazing pivot to distance learning last year.  The dedication, innovation, and patience exhibited by all was truly remarkable.  North Smithfield accepted the challenge and met it. 

We have another challenge before us: To reopen schools safely in the fall. 

The Governor’s Office and Rhode Island Department of Education have tasked school districts to develop reopening plans to cover a spectrum of possibilities. 

• Full In-Person
• Partial In-Person  
• Limited In-Person 

We have worked within our own committees and neighboring school districts and attempted to follow the current Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) guidance.  Thank you to all the parents who responded to our school reopening family survey. Our committees read your reopening concerns and suggestions.  Our principals and assistant principals read your individual concerns about your child or children.  

I wish I could address all your questions and worries with certainty, but as you will see, there are still so many unknowns. 

Although we submitted three DRAFT plans, they are not set in stone. Many questions, issues, and unknowns remain and as a result, details are likely to change: 

• Our Full and Partial In-Person plans are contingent on social distancing guidelines allowed in classrooms along with the maximum number of students allowed on a bus. 
• The concept of keeping students and teachers in “stable groups” or “pods” is contingent upon the state of community spread of the virus. Ultimately, the virus will determine what we can and cannot do safely.
• COVID-19 - related changes to physical spaces, transportation, additional cleaning, and personnel coverage all come with increased costs. While we do not have any indication of what reductions in State Aid to Education we may experience, we cannot shortchange the safety and security of our students and staff and are proceeding with what is available to us. 
• We do not know if, after developing and submitting plans, a statewide model will be chosen for all of us.   

Reopening Plans Guiding Principles
To support all stakeholders in reopening schools, RIDE and NSPS will follow five (5) guiding principles for the planning, decision-making, and execution of returning to school:

1. We will put safety first.  We will leverage science, data, and public health leadership to inform the choices we make.
2.  We will be transparent.  We will share what we know and what we do not know.  We will be clear about what we can control and what is outside of our control.
3. We will be equitable.  We will center decisions on what is best for all students, families, and educators, especially those most impacted by educational inequities and COVID-19.  We will remember that equitable does not mean equal, and we will strive to give students, families, educators, and communities what they need.
4. We will listen.  We will bring together diverse stakeholders and experts to understand the realities on the ground in order to develop and share creative solutions.
5. We will be decisive.  Given the size and scope of the challenge, we must move deliberately and make tough choices.  We will need to be flexible and nimble, and we will adapt quickly as variables on the ground change.

Common Elements to All Plans
Cleaning, Social Distancing, Facial Coverings

• Social distancing will be implemented as much as possible.  Under the hybrid models below, in-class social distancing will be possible.
• According to current guidance from RIDOH and RIDE, face coverings are strongly recommended as a general health and safety practice.  Masks are required when social distancing is not possible such as when riding the bus, school arrival/departure, and passing in hallways. 
• Increased classroom cleaning and school-wide disinfecting protocols will be in place.  New handwashing stations will be distributed throughout the school.   
• Classroom and public spaces will be reorganized to accommodate social distancing, ease of cleaning, and to minimize the use of shared materials. 

• PK-8 students will remain in stable groups or “pods” throughout the day, with an increased frequency of breaks and use of outdoor spaces.

Transportation

• Depending on RIDOH guidance, seating capacity on buses will be limited, to what degree we do not know. 
  • For both the Full and Partial in-person plans, ride-shares and other means of getting to and from school will become necessary. 

Distance Learning

• Monday Distance Learning Day: We understand the potential conflicts with some family schedules depending on the age of the student, but under all plans, the district will require additional time for cleaning and disinfecting as well as planning and individualizing instruction to support our students’ rapidly changing mix of in-person and distance learning needs. Additionally, the new Statewide School Calendar reserves 15 Mondays as either a holiday or professional development day. 
• Distance Learning Due to Illness: Distance learning will be utilized for individual students with underlying health issues, and for classes, groups of students, or individual students who must be home due to quarantine.
• Distance Learning as a Choice: In a survey to our families, 33% indicated they would choose a 100% distance learning option for their student if offered. As of this writing, the Department of Education and State has not indicated if this is permissible.

Plan #1: Full In-Person
RIDE Definition:

• Schools resume 100% in-person operations, with some social distancing protocols still required based on current health information
• Distance learning is integrated with in-person programs & utilized as necessary

DRAFT Summary

• Grades PK-12 
  • Monday is a distance learning day (deep-cleaning, planning, individualized instruction/academic assistance).
  • Tuesday - Friday are in-person instruction days. 
• Notes
  • Providing sufficient bus transportation if seating is limited to 25 students per bus (as of this writing) is a major obstacle.
  • RIDE guidance for classroom desk spacing to maintain social distancing is 3-6 feet. There will be minimal social distancing within classrooms. 

Plan #2: Partial In-Person
RIDE Definition

• Elementary and transition grades re-enter in-person (staggered entry preferred)
• Prioritize in-person re-entry for vulnerable subpopulations also
• Remaining groups begin with distance learning

DRAFT Summary

• Grades PK-4 (5) 
  • Monday is a distance learning day for all students (schools deep-cleaned, individualized or small group instruction/academic assistance).
  • Tuesday - Friday are in-person instruction days. 

 

• Grades (5) 6-12 
  • Students attend school on a Hybrid Schedule: 2 days in person, 3 days distance learning.
  • Monday is a distance learning day for all students (schools deep-cleaned, individualized or small group instruction/academic assistance).
  • Student Cohort 1 (A-L) - Tues/Wed in person, Thurs/Fri distance learning.
  • Student Cohort 2 (M-Z) - Tues/Wed distance learning, Thurs/Fri in-person.
  • Students with different last names within a household can be part of the same Cohort
• Notes
  • RIDE prioritizes PK-5, or elementary schools, for in-person instruction but allows for hybrid A/B Cohort schedules at higher grade levels.  
  • Hybrid A/B Cohort model allows 6 feet of in-class social distancing for secondary grade levels, but only 3 feet for elementary classrooms. RIDOH Guidance suggests student desks are to be 3-6 feet apart.
  • In this model, bus transportation to and from NSES and possibly grade 5 is limited. 

Plan #3: Limited In-Person
RIDE Definition

• Elementary and transition grades re-enter in-person (staggered entry preferred)
• Prioritize in-person re-entry for vulnerable subpopulations also
• Remaining groups begin with distance learning

DRAFT Summary

• Grades PK-12 
  • Students attend school on a Hybrid Schedule: 2 days in person, 3 days distance learning.
  • Monday is a distance learning day for all students (schools deep-cleaned, individualized or small group instruction/academic assistance).
  • Student Cohort 1 (A-L) - Tues/Wed in person, Thurs/Fri distance learning.
  • Student Cohort 2 (M-Z) - Tues/Wed distance learning, Thurs/Fri in-person.
  • Students with different last names within a household can be part of the same Cohort

 

• Notes
  • RIDE Limited In-Person guidance recommends that some grade levels will start the year and remain on 100% distance learning. NSPS believes that in-person interaction with teachers, even if limited, is preferable to 100% virtual and, unless community spread of the virus forces all schools into full distance learning, we will not put an entire grade level on distance learning by choice.  
  • Hybrid A/B Cohort model allows 6 feet of in-class social distancing at all elementary and secondary grade levels. RIDOH guidance suggests student desks are to be 3-6 feet apart.
  • All transportation issues alleviated.

As you can see, the logistics of reopening our schools, resuming a quality education, and ensuring the health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff is a daunting proposition while COVID-19 is still present within our community. 

I understand that this letter and the draft plan summary have probably created more questions than it answered so I have scheduled a virtual forum to discuss further. 

Topic: NSPS School Reopening Community Forum
Time: Thursday July 23, 2020 at 6:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
https://zoom.us/j/95621651719?pwd=MDlwS1VSRXFKK1J4VHY4alJrNXBhdz09
Dial by your location
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 956 2165 1719
Password: 458291

To help us better manage the discussion of this important topic in an online community forum, we are asking that you enter your questions or comments beforehand. We will review and combine similar questions and provide as many answers as we can at the beginning of the forum.  

https://forms.gle/ZQuHMtXdKbGXg1A78

I mention at the beginning of this letter that I wish I could tell you with great certainty the plans RIDE wants us to submit will meet all needs and satisfies all concerns.  But I can’t. 

What I can do is assure you that all of us at the North Smithfield Public Schools are committed to the health, safety, and success of all our students and will do everything we can in response to whatever situation or condition our community finds itself in August and beyond. 

Sincerely, 


Michael St. Jean
Superintendent


NSPS School Reopening Website: https://www.nsps.us/reopening.html 

7/21/2020 School Committee School Reopening Presentation Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tMBbW66jGLYIENGeuBUcWlGN9SI8jGe9/view

7/21/2020 School Committee School Reopening Presentation Video: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPYkWaUXMp4