Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board directors are considering a health and safety plan for the possible reopening of schools next month. The board heard a presentation of the proposed plan during its July 13 meeting.
The plan is not final. As Director Victoria Baratta said during the six-hour-long meeting, the plan will be “fine-tuned” over the next few weeks. Board members will vote on the plan during a special Aug. 3 meeting. Before that vote, however, there will be at least six Zoom meetings on the matter, she said, including one on July 29.
Before the board heard the proposed plan, members were briefed on the results of a Continuity of Education Survey conducted this spring. It reviewed opinions of the distance learning established when schools were shut down because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
According to the results of the survey, presented by John Nolen, the assistant superintendent of schools, and Tim Hoffman, the director of curriculum and instruction, parents want their students back in brick and mortar schools this fall as long as there are adequate mitigation procedures in place. Some parents also suggested alternative scheduling if that would allow schools to reopen. Others want a distance learning option available.
According to Tim Hoffman, the director of curriculum and instruction, parents also expressed concern for things other than just formal education.
“A significant number of parents were worried about their children’s mental health… Limited social interaction during the school closing, we know how important that is for kids,” he said.
Leah Reider, the director of pupil services, reviewed some of the recommendations developed from the survey results. One of the recommendations is to find a balance between synchronous and asynchronous education. Both involve distance or online instruction. Synchronous instruction, while online, is done in real-time as if the students are in a class in front of a teacher. Asynchronous instruction involves students doing their course work on their own time. Another recommendation would be to have students check in daily and maintain a daily schedule with live Zoom lessons.
Reider said they also want to “increase the emphasis on social and emotional needs of the students…This is something we’ve been monitoring and working towards for a while and will continue to do that.”
More than 2,500 people — parents, students, and staff —responded to the survey. Findings may be found here.
John Nolen, the assistant superintendent of schools, said that should schools be closed this fall, “which is a possibility, we want to make sure we have a really strong plan, and that we’re prepared for that.”
He added that the survey helped the administration understand the perspective of parents, students, and staff.
“In May, our parents spoke very strongly that they wanted us to do everything we could do to get the students back into brick and mortar schools, safely, of course…That was a high priority. Along with that, they wanted a distance learning option.”
The proposed Health and Safety Plan — found here in its entirety — factors in the red, yellow, and green phases the governor used for his reopening procedures, and establishes what may and may not be done based on the phase.
If in the red phase, there will be remote learning and possible modifications to the Continuity of Education Plan. If in the yellow or green phase, schools would be open all day for all students, but with extensive mitigation practices in place. Nolen said there’s very little difference between the yellow and green.
There would also be a remote learning option. Also under consideration is a hybrid approach of both brick and mortar and remote learning.
The presentation repeated findings from the survey that indicated 70 percent of the respondents want a return to brick and mortar schools, while 13 percent indicated a preference for continuing distance learning using the Unionville-Chadds Ford Virtual Academy.
Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds James Whitesel addressed the issue of building safety. He said all HVAC equipment would be examined to ensure everything is working properly to allow the proper percentages of outside fresh air to get into each of the buildings.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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