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Dear Fellow Trustees,
Probably like you, throughout this week my friends and neighbors have been reaching out to me with their questions about the plan for reopening this August. This afternoon, Dr. Flores’ posted his a presentation about this plan on BoardDocs in advance or our meeting Monday. Some of the questions sent to me were answered in the presentation. However, many were not. I will send Dr. Flores the list below, but I thought I would post it here as well, as it may bring to your mind additional questions.
1. Will certain teachers be teaching online and others in person? How will the teachers for online instruction be chosen?
2. What happens if there aren’t enough teachers who want to teach in person? Will teachers be forced to teach in person even if they don’t feel comfortable?
3. Will there be training for students and parents on virtual learning before school starts?
4. When will the details of the virtual instruction model be available? How will it look similar or different to the Spring’s online learning?
5. How will fine arts and sports/physical education classes be taken virtually?
6. If I chose online learning, will I get a teacher from my school and be placed with students from my school?
7. Can a student be on the virtual track and still be part of the band or a sports team (and the like)?
8. Will in person and virtual instruction be synchronized to enable switching tracks? Will students only be able to switch tracks at the grading period?
9. Will students be screened before boarding buses? Entering schools? How will that work?
10. What is the protocol if a person (student or staff) tests positive? What is the protocol if a person has been exposed to a person outside the school that has tested positive?
11. If a student must quarantine (in person model), how will that student keep on track while missing 2+ weeks of school?
12. Will students be required to quarantine while awaiting test results, even if they are asymptomatic?
13. Is there a threshold number of positive cases that will need to be reached before the school is closed?
14. Will there be sufficient substitutes when teachers test positive? What happens if there are not sufficient substitutes? Same questions for bus drivers & other critical staff.
15. How will the district ensure that precautions are followed? What happens if a student or staff member refuses to follow the precautions (like wearing a mask)?
16. What rules will be in place to ensure social distancing of students/staff in bathrooms, locker rooms, etc.?
17. What liability does the district face if staff or students come down with Covid? Will staff and parents/guardians be required to sign a waiver?
18. Will students and staff be required to quarantine 2 weeks before school opens in August?
19. How many students per class will be allowed?
20. What happens if there aren’t sufficient teachers to keep classes small enough to have social distancing?
21. Given the two models of learning, how will standardization of grades (especially in high school) be accomplished?
22. How will the learning gaps from last Spring be addressed?
23. Given our district is a destination district and prides itself on providing the highest quality education, why did the four guiding principles for planning not mention providing a high-quality education? Why was that determined to be a lesser goal so as not to be included?
24. Another stated goal was centralized communication. Why was centralized communication prioritized over other values in communication, like transparency, clarity and engagement?
25. Do we know how many RRISD employees are currently sick with Covid or have recovered?Those are very important questions and I have even more that I’ve gotten. And then there are our low SES parents that have even different worries and needs, but we haven’t heard from many of them. The Thought Exchange survey to parents that went out in May results just came to us yesterday so I am planning to review this weekend but it doesn’t look like it is part of the presentation for Monday.
Looking at slide 3 I’m wondering how we will monitor the minutes per day per child for the synchronous learning. And for Asynchronous Instruction, will that be like this past spring? My high school students were okay with it, but my middle schooler did not like it. I know it was so tough for the younger kids. I wonder if any students were surveyed about what they liked, didn’t like, what worked or didn’t work for them. We have the student advisory council, but I haven’t heard if any students were surveyed.
In the presentation for Monday (slide 4) and the video that went out to staff yesterday there is discussion about the grading policy per the TEA regulations. That’s the first I’d heard of it, so I’m wondering if the Board will have to approve any changes to that policy.
I’m still not clear looking at the presentation slide 10 for Monday what the safety measures really are; are masks required and for what ages? And sanitation wipes are listed but who is using them, teachers? students cleaning their desks? Thermometers are listed so does that mean we are taking everyone’s temperature when they enter a building?
And I’m especially interested in the discussion on the teacher survey which was sent out yesterday (slide 6). I had several questions on teacher sick pay and leave after watching the Morning Joe Team (Staff) Edition video yesterday but after officially getting a copy of the staff survey last night at almost 10pm I can see why it’s causing concern among staff.
I wish that the Board had been involved in the process and able to bring questions to the administration for consideration in the planning, not just get a presentation the night before the plan is released to the community.
Good morning fellow Trustees,
One of the biggest questions people have about in person instruction surrounds what will happen when a person in a school tests positive. I read an article out of Dallas from the ABC affiliate (WFAA) that states Governor Abbott stated, “For schools across the state, if anyone in that school tests positive, that school will close down for five days to clear out the school, sanitize it, to make it clear and clean for students return.” I don’t know if this is an off the cuff remark or an official policy. If this is the official policy, switching between in person and remote learning will be near constant if the current level of outbreak persists. I am interested to hear your thoughts on the matter and those of Dr. Flores and his staff.
Also, I continue to receive questions, especially on my Board Facebook page, where I posted Monday’s presentation. But more than the questions is a misunderstanding of the board’s role in this process of planning for the 2020/2021 school year. Many think the board must approve Dr. Flores’ plan in order for it to be implemented. To the best of my understanding, that is not the case. As this pertains to the day to day operations of the school district, Dr. Flores does not need the board to approve his plan. And as such, this is not an action item for Monday’s meeting, but rather a report to the board.
Furthermore, while people may understand that TEA issued the guideline to reopen schools for in class attendance everyday for all students that request it, they don’t understand that compliance with TEA rules is required in order to receive funding. Or, they think TEA won’t really remove our funding if we don’t comply. They think if we stand up to TEA, they will cave. Also, many feel it highly ironic that we are discussing in class instruction while the board and district staff are meeting virtually. The comments have been very insightful. Right now, the post has been shared 135 times and nearly 23,000 people have been reached. I have a strong feeling that Monday’s meeting will be watched by many.
Originally, this meeting was slated to also include a formative evaluation of the superintendent and a board self evaluation. Evidently, those evaluations had to be postponed to a later date. I would prefer that date be sooner rather than later. At this point during this year, we have only done one superintendent evaluation and one board self evaluation. We owe it to Dr. Flores, ourselves and the community to highly prioritize this duty, especially in extraordinary circumstances like we are facing now. As I stated above, the board does not have the authority over day to day operations. We evaluate the superintendent and hold him accountable to the outcomes his decisions produce. As such, it is imperative that as a body corporate we provide him with regular feedback. Consequently, I ask that we all find a way to fit this very important meeting into our calendars in the coming days.
As you may know, I attend the CTSBA meetings regularly. The president, Trish Bode, sent out an invitation which I thought I would pass along. If you decide you would like to attend, please let me know. Also, she included a copy of the letter the Leander Board and their superintendent are sending to TEA asking for more flexibility regarding school reopening. I know it is too late to add the creation of such a letter to our agenda for tomorrow, but I would like us to discuss it ASAP.
Here is the invitation:
CTSBA Friends, Thanks to Austin ISD and Region 13 for hosting a special opportunity for our Central Texas Trustees to hear from a leading public health expert. Dr. Mark Escott, Interim Medical Director and Health Authority for Austin Public Health, will provide an overview of the COVID impact on Travis County and will be available to respond to questions for all our Central Texas Trustees regarding health and safety considerations for opening school campuses.We have heard the outpouring of questions from our community, our families, our district staff about health and safety concerns so this zoom call will be quite timely.
Dr. Escott is available to speak with us on Monday, July 20 at 11am. Feel free to pass this invite on to trustees and your district personnel who may find this discussion of interest.
Please RSVP by replying to this email and we will send you the link and further details when we get closer to the date.
Dear Fellow Trustees,
As you know, yesterday afternoon, parents/guardians received the district survey asking to chose a model of learning for the fall. Shortly after, the district had its second town hall meeting. The town hall was focused on virtual learning and did not include much information about in-person instruction. It was conveyed that information regarding in-person instruction would be forthcoming: next Tuesday for elementary and next Thursday for secondary. I am writing this post to make you, my fellow trustees, aware of my concerns regarding the timing of the release of the survey and the release of information regarding what all modes of learning will look like. If you share these concerns, I encourage you to reach out to Dr. Flores, as I have already done.
First, I am grateful that many of the above questions were answered in the Reimagining Education document and the first two town halls. However, as the district continues to flesh out the details of the learning platforms identified in the last meeting, more specificity in the Reimagining Education document on how a typical day would look for in-person education is needed. The two town halls have not provided that clarification. As we ask parents/guardians and students to make important decisions, it’s important that we provide them with adequate information to make informed choices that best align with their family circumstances. It is prudent to provide this information with full transparency before encouraging them to make decisions. And though that information will be made available before the survey deadline on August 6th, the title of the email was “Action Required: Select Virtual or In-person Instruction Now.”
I also communicated to Dr. Flores that I think SPED parents should have a separate town hall to address their specific concerns. Many of the questions pertaining to SPED students have yet to be fully answered and I believe they need an opportunity to explore their options in depth before committing to a decision.
I understand that these are extremely challenging circumstances and staff are trying. I just want to make sure that parents/guardians and students can make informed choices and don’t feel pressured to make decisions before all the information is on the table.
I’ve watched the two town hall meetings online and realize there are many questions that still need to be addressed. I agree there should probably be a few more town hall meetings focused on one topic at a time like SPED and on-campus classroom arrangements.
Reading through all the emails sent in by parents and staffers is helpful because it gives me a good idea of what they need to know. I also try to scan social media sites because there are good questions and answers. As always, everyone should regularly check the RRISD website for updates.
There are many details that need to be worked out, and it’s difficult to make plans when so much new information is changing every day.
I expect a steady stream of new directives coming from TEA Commissioner Morath and Gov. Abbott within the next few weeks if there is no significant improvement in reducing the COVID cases across the state.
Regarding on campus classroom arrangements, I’d like to propose a tweak or two for consideration. Specifically, I’m interested in class assignment cohorts in middle schools and high schools.
In high schools, instead of assigning the cohorts alphabetically, or randomly, I’d prefer to see groupings of kids that match them with students and teachers that they would normally be paired with in at least one class. For example, a high school teacher that teaches multiple calculus classes may be paired with students that are registered to take calculus that semester. The same may apply to kids and teachers for band or orchestra, Varsity athletics, US history, etc.
In middle schools, it may be feasible to group kids together with similar schedules and have teachers rotate into the classrooms. rather than have kids pass in hallways between classes. Middle school student class schedules have a relatively consistent degree of homogeneity whereas the teacher rotation model may be feasible. There may also be opportunity to group student cohorts (TAG, band, orchestra, etc.).
Ultimately, I think that some forethought into student groupings, rather than alphabetical or random assignments, will help preserve existing student friendships, and enhance learning by pairing students with at least one teacher that they may have been paired with in a traditional classroom schedule.
Those are great suggestions Trustee Math. I hope that the administration is considering these types of options.
I am looking forward to the Virtual Town Halls this coming week. My husband and I have not made our choice for our middle school student. I am hoping to get more information on July 30th so my family can decide which option is best for us.
I did notice in the administrations answers to parent emails that a Special Education Town Hall is being planned. I am hopeful that the majority of parents will be able to have their questions answered before the August 6 deadline.
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