February 23, 2021 – ChaddsFordLive.com

U-CF eyes full in-person classes

More Unionville-Chadds Ford School District students are returning to real physical classrooms this week, and more should start a return to brick-and-mortar classrooms next week.

U-CF School Board directors voted Monday night on a plan to get some middle and high school students back in real classrooms as of today, Feb. 23. Those students include all high school seniors and those identified as needing support or intervention. They will be back in their buildings for a full five-day school week. Middle school students identified as needing support or intervention will be in class for four days per week.

Those students will be “invited” back into the classroom, according to the plan. The invitation to return to in-person instruction is also extended to all second-grade students, effective March 15. Pre-first and first-grade students are invited back to the classroom beginning next Monday, March 1.

Before the vote, Superintendent of Schools John Sanville said the recommendation for the changes evolved from a series of six community conversations, adding that the new schedule “maximizes student in-person attendance while keeping six feet of social distancing.”

Sanville also said the district is now looking at models in which social distancing can be reduced to less than six feet, should the Chester County Health Department give the OK.

He said that school districts in both Chester and Delaware counties received letters from the Health Department, which said there would be a revision of schools’ social distancing requirements based on transmission rates in their respective counties.

The plan the board voted on follows the current Chester County guidance calling for the six-foot social distance requirement when a community is in a “very high transmission level,” he said.

“We believe this is a good plan to safely bring additional students back to in-person schools…At some point in the near future, it is reasonable to expect that our transmission rates are going to drop from the very high that we’re at right now, to the high level of transmission,” Sanville said. “Once that happens for three consecutive weeks — which could be as soon as March 15 — we could transition to an instructional model that includes social distancing of less than six feet for students.”

He recommended to the board that directors consider voting on another plan with that in mind on March 8 that could be implemented on March 15 “should the numbers in Chester County dictate.”

In addition to approving the schedule change for in-person instruction, board members also approved the plan for spring sports that was discussed during the Feb. 8 work session.

That plan includes a league-only schedule for teams and the same safety protocols the district has been using since August, with athletes and coaches wearing masks during games and practices. Masks may be removed if players can maintain social distancing during outdoor events.

Other business

Directors voted to approve spending almost $40,000 to sand, paint, and refinish the gymnasium floor at Unionville High School, and to spend $1 million to replace the ventilation system at CF Patton Middle School.

Board members will also be voting next month on a contract extension for Sanville. That extension would run from January 2022 to January 2027. No specific dollar amounts were discussed during Monday’s meeting, but there would be no increase in compensation during the first year of the new contract. Increases after that first year would be based on performance. That vote is scheduled for March 18.

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Art Live: Bold portraits at the Square Pear

Arts & Entertainment

I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King by Al Moretti

Al Moretti is in the spotlight at Square Pear Gallery in Kennett Square this month. While Moretti’s musical and artistic accomplishments stretch back to the 1970s, these days he is creating exciting new works in acrylic, painting musical icons who have influenced his life and career. You’ll see many of his bold portraits in gallery owner Corien Spiepelinga’s main gallery space on East State Street, including a striking portrait of Civil Rights activist Dr. Martin L. King. There’s a connection here. King declared once that jazz was the ability to take the “hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.”

Brownie by All Moretti at Square Pear Gallery

Fans of Moretti’s work won’t be disappointed. Portraits of major performing artists are on view, including a striking one of the larger than life jazz great, Miles Davis and of a local great Clifford “Brownie” Brown, considered by many musicians and scholars to be the most brilliant trumpet player of his generation and a true legend of modern jazz. For Moretti performing and visual art is forever intertwined, “When I play music I think of color, and when I paint I think of sound. Sound is light heard, and light is sound seen.” Works will be on view through the end of the month. The rest of the gallery’s space is filled with plenty of winter themed works by local artists including Jack Giangiulio, Michael McNelly, Barbara Grant, Kim Hoechst, Karen Weber and more. A generous collection of pottery made by local artists Bridget Hughes, Suzanne Kent, Victoria Kavalerov, Jacqueline Henisee, and Hope Mead is also on view. Visit here for more details.

Tapestry Room by Jane Irish at Locks Gallery

In Philadelphia, Jane Irish’s contradictorily beautiful new “Tapestry Paintings” are on view beginning today at Locks Gallery. Central to this new exhibition, the works are made of oil and distemper on hand-stitched linen and muslin. Irish has long been interested in anti-war protest, in fact, since she was 16 and a student at the Barnes Foundation, stating at one time in an article, “All artists have this one thing that they are trying to make more relevant to our present history – mine is to show the continued relevance of resistance and peace movements from the Vietnam War era.”

The press release states, “With paint and fabric, Irish creates narratives that borrow images of pain and suffering from masterpieces like Caravaggio’s The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist while using a mainly soft, pastel palette. A prolific and self-described “history painter” Irish said this about her work, “I think of myself as a sort of international regionalist, finding the history of Philadelphia, and then letting that history lead me around the world.”

Also on view are new ceramic pieces: architectural “finial” ceramic sculptures and a group of ceramic vessels which are loaded with narratives and motifs. As in her paintings, Irish says, “My work constitutes a reflection on paradoxes of decoration and political order. One can be oblivious to what is contained in the wallpaper or on a vase, but one does so in unrealistic detachment from the world. It is all right there is front of us, but not easy to see.” Her intent in critiquing the patriarchy while also trying to correct the paternalism she sees in decorative arts always results in fascinating work. The exhibition will be on view through March 27^th by appointment only. Email info@locksgallery.com for more information and to schedule a visit. For more details on the show, visit here.

Other events worth checking out: Ceramic enthusiasts may want to tune in for this week’s Lunch & Learn at The Clay Studio. The guests are local ceramic artist Lauren Mabry and Leslie Ferrin, Director of Ferrin Contemporary (situated on the campus of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art). Visit here to join in this Thursday, February 25^th at 12 noon.

Be sure to save the dates: The 72nd Annual Chadds Ford Art Show & Auction is coming up. This year the show will be a virtual online auction held from March 18^th to March 21^st. Artists, as usual, will showcase a variety of works that satisfy every taste and budget. More on this in a few weeks.

Whatever you do this week, support the arts!!

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Robert A. Massey of West Grove

Obituaries

Robert A. Massey, 86, of West Grove, died Monday, Feb. 22, at Twin Pines Health Care Center. He was the husband of Louise Greer Massey, with whom he shared 65 years of marriage.

Born in Embreeville, he was the son of the late John C. Massey Sr. and the late Helen Smith Massey.

Bob was a truck driver last working at Chester County Beverage in Kennett Square.

He attended the Kennett Square Missionary Baptist Church.

Bob was the West Grove Lions Club citizen of the years in 2005.

Bob was a life member and longtime fire police officer of the Avondale Fire Co. He started his fire service in 1952 as a member of the West Grove Fire Co. and later joined the Avondale in 1977. Through the years Bob and his wife Louise have received many awards including the Fire Police of the Year from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Fire Police of the Year from Chester County, the Top 10 Responder award, and many others. Bob was a familiar sight to see at every fire call, regardless of the time of day. He will be missed by his many friends in the fire service and by his family.

He was a member of the Pennsylvania Fire Police Association and a member and past Commissioner of the Chester County Fire Police Association.

In addition to his wife Louise, he is survived by one daughter Diane M. Cole and her husband Steve, Sr. of Toughkenamon; one Grandson, Steve Cole Jr. and his wife Nichole of Toughkenamon, and two great-grandchildren, Brandon Cole and Brittnee Cole.

He was predeceased by one brother, John C. Massey Jr., and two sisters, Kathryn Matson and Beatrice Messimer.

Bob’s family would like to thank the entire staff at Twin Pines Health Care Center and Willow Tree Hospice for the excellent care given to Bob.

You are invited to visit with Bob’s family from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, March 1, at the Foulk Funeral Home, 200 Rose Hill Road, West Grove. His funeral service will follow at 11. Burial will be in Oxford Cemetery, Route 10, Oxford.

Face masks are to be worn and please practice social distancing.

In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made to the Avondale Fire Co., 23 Firehouse Way, Avondale, PA 19311

To view his online tribute and to share a memory with his family, please visit www.kuzoandfoulkfh.com

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Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway now national

Along the Ford

The Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway in Chester and Delaware Counties is now designated as a National Scenic Byway. That announcement came from the Federal Highway Administration and PennDOT last week, according to a press release.

“The Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway Commission, the managing entity for the byway, would like to thank all those who supported our effort to achieve this recognition. The member townships, the cultural and scenic attractions along the byway, PennDOT, the convention and visitors’ bureaus, the planning commissions and especially the Delaware Brandywine Valley National Scenic Byway with whom we will share a special future,” the release said.

“The Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway will continue to be a place with a deep and varied history recognizable in the landscape and intertwined with a distinctive natural environment and pastoral scenic vistas—vibrant threads which together make a rich tapestry for the use and enjoyment of residents and visitors alike.

Chadds Ford Township supervisors congratulated Chadds Ford residents Debbie Reardon and Kathleen Goodier for their efforts in making the byway a reality.

“Congratulations,” said Supervisors’ Vice-Chair Samantha Reiner. “This is a great accomplishment. Thank you all for everything you’ve done to get us here.”

The Brandywine Scenic Byway begins at Wilmington’s Rodney Square and heads to the border with Pennsylvania. At that point it splits, with one section coming up Route 52 and another coming up Creek Road.

The byway comes up those two roads to Lenape. Then makes a figure-eight loop up to Strasburg Road at the edge of West Chester Borough. In all, it covers about 25 miles of Pennsylvania roadways.

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