Press Release

Good afternoon,

The second half of our school year is nearly underway and as luck would have it, it appears that Mother Nature has some snow in our future.  As a reminder, we have had one snow day so far and we can have up to three total snow days before transitioning to full distance learning for weather cancellations.  In the event of back to back snow days, the second day will be a remote learning day.

Here are some updates for parents:

Full K-8 Reopening
Our schools are ready for a full reopening of on-site learning for all students at the elementary and middle school levels beginning on Monday February 1.  Our K-2 elementary students began transitioning to full on-site instruction yesterday.  The transition has been a success and we have our teachers, support staff and building administrators to thank for that.  The intermediate grades and our middle schools will follow suit on Monday (pending weather conditions). 

PPE/Masks/Desk Shields/Donations
There have been a number of generous parents interested in donating PPE and masks to our faculty and staff.  These gestures are a testament to the good will of our community.  However, I want to make clear that although we will accept these donations to our main offices (not directly to faculty and staff) this type of generosity is unnecessary. 

The district has invested, and will continue to invest in any PPE and masks required to perform the work of serving our students.  In fact, the district has recently purchased KN95 masks in addition to previously purchased surgical masks and face shields as an option for staff use during the school day.  Every single employee has been given access to their own personal face shield if they choose since the first day of the school year. 

KN95 masks are considered highly effective loose fitting source control masks. They can be used in the school setting. Other masks, such as cloth masks or surgical masks as well as layering or doubling masks, are also appropriate for the school setting. These masks are available in the health office and additional masks will be available as needed.

It is awkward to decline such gestures, yet, I cannot emphasize enough that the district is prepared with PPE, and has been assured by town boards that it will continue to be supported in providing any supplies that are needed.  I want to correct any misconceptions and state categorically that these donations are most kind, but not necessary. 

One final note on such measures...we have employed the use of desk shields at the elementary level and will do so at the middle schools.  Our first fleet of desk shields will be deployed for Monday with every other student desk having a shield, while the remaining desks will be addressed by the end of next week.

“APO”:  Absent but Present Online
In a year of disruptions to our normal routines, perhaps nothing has done more to disrupt classroom instruction than the provision granted to families of keeping their child home on any given day, but remaining present “online” for attendance purposes, i.e. "APO" Absent but Present Online.

This provision has a very valuable purpose.  Namely, this was designed to afford parents the opportunity to keep their child home if they have the slightest suspicion that their child might be ill.  This is a critical mitigating measure in preventing potential virus spread.  However, in the purest sense of the word, this provision has been abused and must stop being misused. 

There are too many examples of students travelling, or staying home for a variety of personal reasons, completely unrelated to the intended purpose of the “APO” standard (which is keeping a suspected ill child home).  The unintended result is a material disruption to the middle and high school classrooms.  I am responsible, along with the entire administrative team, for preventing and addressing disruption to the learning environment.  Recent misuse of this provision warrants administrative action.

Teachers on a daily basis put a great deal of time into planning for on-site learners and remote learners, simultaneously.  As an educator I can share that this task alone is herculean, and it has been done admirably all year long.  Yet, when planning for 10 on-site students, and 2 show up because 8 have invoked the “APO” provision, lessons must change on the fly and this disrupts the learning of every student in the class, on-site and remote.

As a result, the district is establishing standards for “APO” at the middle and high school level that will prohibit students from accessing this provision unless it is truly being used for the purposes that were mandated from the State Department of Education.  Parents at the secondary level can anticipate more information on this in the immediate future as it relates to attendance and the earning of credits at the high school level.

Serving On-Site and Distance Learners
As stated above, perhaps the greatest instructional challenge this year has been the simultaneous dual instruction of on-site and distance learners, particularly for our secondary teachers.  I see this as an unnatural learning environment, or at least very unnatural to the familiar learning environments before the pandemic. 

The provision of distance learning is warranted this year, given the need for certain students to take additional precautions.  We have a moral obligation to educate these students and are doing so to the very best of our ability.  We cannot provide facsimile of on-site instruction, but we can certainly educate distance learners effectively while helping them advance in their education.

As we begin the second half of the year and introduce more on-site instruction, the number of learners in the classroom will greatly outnumber our distance learners.   For this reason, and to keep our commitment to providing a high quality experience for distance learners, there is a concerted effort to identify and provide additional supports to distance learners moving forward.  There will be more information about these efforts in the very near future. 

I want to point out that distance learners are defined as a group of students that have elected to engage in distance learning for an extended period of time.  This group does not include those students who are intermittently “APO”, Absent but Present Online. 

Vaccine
We wait eagerly for educators to be notified that it is time to schedule an vaccination appointment.  The time is approaching, particularly with new vaccines entering the emergency approval stage.  In the interim, I ask that you join me in advocating for advancing the timeline for educators by contacting state representatives, state senators and other related officials. 

Surveillance Testing
COVID-19 surveillance testing is employed in settings as a mitigating measure.  Professional sports along with private schools and various universities have used this approach to identify carriers of COVID-19.  The Town of Westport has engaged in a program for its employees involving surveillance testing.  The Town has also offered a partnership with the school district to participate in this program.  Monday night I will be sharing information related to this opportunity to the Board of Education. 

Staples High School
Questions have been submitted regarding further reopening of Staples High School.  We have placed focus on the K-8 level for the time being but will revisit the idea of increased access to additional on-site learning opportunities for students at Staples.  Any efforts in this regard will not take place before the February break, but perhaps sometime thereafter.  Models of modifying the cohorts to increase cohort size is a likely approach to increase access. 

How to Help
Many parents have asked how to help our schools, particularly with our full opening Monday at the K-8 level. I can request one thing that could help significantly.  The virus does not originate in our schools.  It comes in from the community, and based on the local health district and our own findings, it is coming in as a result of informal gatherings where defenses are down and transmission occurs.  If community members truly want to help keep our schools open and safe then we would all restrict activity outside of school so that community transmission rates would recede and the virus would not enter our buildings.  This would help more than any donation or other form of generosity.

Please keep your eyes on the forecast and have a restful weekend.

Thomas Scarice
Superintendent of Schools