[Amy Weir]

Here is the list of COVID priorities that were discussed at the meeting on December 10th. Some I pulled out at the bottom as they also relate to Lone Star Governance and the training that we will have on that accountability process in January. The ** mean I heard numerous trustees mention the topic.

Which of these are the most important to us as a group?

My thought is that we will discuss on this platform, allow staff to review our discussion, and then ask staff to come back to us at the January 14th COVID update meeting with recommendations for how to proceed on the priorities.

Keeping Schools Open, Classrooms **
Teacher Retention *** (Teacher Prep and Support)
Workload challenges***
Measuring how students are doing in both environments
Encourage in-person learning, maybe bring back if failing at home ***
Focus on student mental health ***
2-way meaningful communication – staff and parents/students (include skip level teacher to district, etc.) ***
Safety – student and staff NEED TO DEFINE SAFETY
Testing
Consistent and Clear Data – measuring the same things
Proactive Planning*****
Accounting for every student from last year
Covid dashboard simple indicator for each campus
Reconfigure the school year to make it safer

LSG:
Compensatory Education, budget impact, need, teachers need to be involved
Advocate to TEA to suspend STAAR this year
Education gap/graduation rate for future
Student focused outcomes

[Danielle Weston]

Thank you Amy for getting this posted to the message board. I see a lot of common ground among the trustees on this. I am in favor of a lot of these things you have listed (all of which came up in the 10 Dec 2020 called mtg) and though it’s hard to pick just a few as most important, I will say that reversing the negative impact on the mental health of our students that virtual learning has brought is my top priority. This is probably going to mean minimizing the number of virtual learners. I have listened to parents and students in our community for a long time and the number one thing I hear from them is fear about their SEL and a sharp increase in depression and anxiety. I have also visited multiple mental health treatment facilities in our community since September 2020 and have learned that the demand for mental health services from our adolescents now far exceeds the supply of mental health resources. We can’t continue like this.

I also see other Texas ISD’s posting on-line daily indicators (by color/numerical ratings) as a communication tool for stakeholders on each campus to monitor the Covid threat level so that if a campus is trending toward a closure, no one will be surprised. I see value in this communication.

2-way communication as Cory has described it multiple times

I’d like to look at ways to acknowledge the heroic efforts of our teachers during this school-year. I realize there could be some financial realities (RRISD relies on state funding which has been negatively impacted by the decline in the TX economy) that could prevent us from doing some things we’d like to do. Thus, we should also consider creative or outside-the-box ideas on how to do this.

[Amy Weir]

I have had several trustees ask that we put a covid discussion on the agenda again for this week. I know that it is what is foremost on everyone’s mind, but we must also focus on the more routine business of the district. I am going to ask staff to add it at the very end of the meeting, after all the business items. In order to focus on what seems to be the most important topics and not the more general priorities discussed last week – since staff has not had time to come up with any implementation ideas or has not been given enough direction on some priorities (i.e. testing and virtual learning in the future).

I propose we ask staff to bring forward discussion items for the following only:

1. Discussion of the re-opening plan in January to include monitoring the virus and communication over the break.

AND

2. Austin Public Health Stage 5 and the recommendation for no athletics at that point.

Knowing that additional compensation for employees will be discussed in the budget portion of the meeting.

[Cory Vessa]

Dear Fellow Trustees,

Regarding the agenda for Thursday, I agree that those two points are particularly salient. If we need to limit our discussion, I think those are the most pressing. I would love to be able to give more guidance regarding the board’s Covid response priorities. I hope we can continue to make progress in that regard on this Message Board so that we are ready to go in January for adoption and staff implementation.

While I agree that students learn best in person and that the mental health aspects of the pandemic are particularly troubling, I have many reservations about making a board priority associated with reducing the number of virtual students.

If I were to pick my top priorities from Amy’s list, they would be:
Keeping Schools Open, Classrooms (which I believe promotes mental health and improved student outcomes)
Safety – (which is linked to my advocacy for free access to Covid testing) which I would define as minimizing risk, while acknowledging the need for schools to remain open.
Teacher Retention (Teacher Prep, Support, workload and compensation)
2-way meaningful communication – staff and parents/students (include skip level teacher to district, etc.)
Proactive Planning
Student outcomes, including mental health

As of this point, I am not sure how I would rank those priorities. They are all so important. And yet, I think we need to rank them because there have been and there will continue to be instances when one will be in conflict with another.

I look forward to reading your responses and thank you for using this platform to continue this discussion.

Sincerely,
Cory Vessa

[Dr. Mary Bone]

I agree that the COVID Discussion agenda topic must be added to the Thursday Dec. 17th meeting. I would not expect a formal presentation from staff, but an update posted with the agenda addressing the two items President Weir mentioned above would suffice for me. I would like the trustees to continue our conversation, the COVID priorities are a high priority for me.

[Danielle Weston]

I agree with Dr Bone on the agenda.
I’m also requesting item I-6 (GMP for CD Fulkes MS) be removed from the agenda for the 12/17/2020 meeting. I have many question and concerns about this project since my priority is always meeting the needs of students on every campus and equity. Cory and I are meeting with COO, Terry Worcester, tomorrow (12/15/2020) at 10 am so that I can begin the process of getting answers to my questions. Admin will need time to fully respond to my questions. I also think it’s important for my colleagues to understand my concerns. This item should be listed as a discussion (only) item for the 12/17/2020 meeting or moved to a future meeting.

[Tiffanie N Harrison]

Good Afternoon Fellow Trustees,

Per our conversation on Thursday, December 10th, my priorities are below. I also would like to have COVID19 added to the agenda for the Thursday, December 17th meeting.

-Teacher Retention *** (Teacher Prep and Support)
-Workload challenges*** (Figuring out use of the 5 additional virtual days. Giving families and educators adequate time to plan for this.)
-Measuring how students are doing in both environments (right now we are making many assumptions based on individual experience/perception of in-person vs. remote learning. More data is needed here. More qualitative feedback from a wide cross-section of students and families)
-Focus on student mental health ***
-2-way meaningful communication – staff and parents/students (include skip level teacher to district, etc.) ***
-Safety – student and staff NEED TO DEFINE SAFETY (I will put in writing that I did not appreciate the condescending commentary about teachers just needing more communication and education around the reality of COVID19. Teachers know their present reality. There are some classes that are able to follow all recommended COVID19 safety protocol across the district and then there are others that are operating at full capacity and/or without enough cleaning resources. Teachers also see who is out and know who they are covering for and there have been many reports of dashboard inconsistencies…we need clear and consistent data to be able to more reliably measure and define safety)
-Consistent and Clear Data – measuring the same things (Again, inconsistent reporting from district leads to a lack of trust. Transmission rate for Elementary school is 2%, where is that same metric for middle/high school, irrespective of extracurricular exposure. If the transmission is related to school in any way, it needs to be tracked)
-Proactive Planning***** (contingency plans needed. Clear and quick communication between district/families/staff)
-Accounting for every student from last year (we need clear answers on who we have not heard from all year. And clear plans and execution to reach them)
-Compensatory Education, budget impact, need, teachers need to be involved (LSG) I also look at this is student-focused outcomes. We know outcomes are rough. Rougher than usual. We need to begin focusing on our strategy for recovery as opposed to simply lamenting learning loss. Learning loss is normal in the present situation.

Items I would like to discuss further:
-Keeping Schools Open, Classrooms ** (As we are seeing higher community spread, we are seeing higher numbers of COVID+ students and staff. There has also been a lot of staff outreach about the COVID dashboard underreporting. We need clear and consistent data here. Even if we must go virtual for a time, schools are not closed. Pre-planning allows for robust online learning experiences. We need excellent contingency plans in the event that we do have to close ~buildings. We need to be communicating and planning for how possible closure impacts SPED/Dyslexia/TAG/Free and Reduced Lunch, etc.)
-Encourage in-person learning, maybe bring back if failing at home *** (I do not agree with bringing back failing students as a rule. When we look at demographics, those who are failing are also often from families at highest risk for COVID19 exposure and/or mortality. It would be good to do some work around ~why these students are failing before assuming that in-person learning is the answer. If we believe in mental health and social and emotional learning like we say we do, we need to find the root cause and see if it can be addressed before making assumptions)

Things that are important but maybe not the most pressing priority to me right now:
-Testing/Advocate to TEA to suspend STAAR this year (I would like to talk to Trustee Feller more about this. I would be willing to do some of this advocacy at the legislature when I can better articulate up and down sides)
-Covid dashboard simple indicator for each campus
-Reconfigure the school year to make it safer
-Education gap/graduation rate (this falls in line with compensatory education. We need to be planning ahead for the inevitable. We also need to be conferring with Colleges/Trades/Universities to see what their response is to incoming Freshmen knowing the impact of COVID19)

[Anonymous]

I do not agree with “encourage in-person learning” before vaccinations are readily available to the general public. We need to keep schools open as well as *safe*, for the 3rd nine week. That’s my priority now.

[Tiffanie N Harrison]

Dr. Xiao, I agree with you. Which would mean that I would be moving the consideration of reconfiguring school year as a higher priority. The correspondence we are receiving from educators and the recent increase of daily cases is alarming. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel with a vaccine. I would like to prioritize the safety of our community at this time.

[Cory Vessa]

I personally think that our community should do everything in its power to keep our schools open. I understand that there comes a point where everything must close and we all need to be on lockdown. Perhaps we are there. And if public health experts say we need to go on lockdown and therefore close schools, I would not oppose that. But I am not in favor of closing schools before we, as a community, close other entities that we know are sources of considerable spread. We know that bars and indoor restaurants are sources of considerable spread for example.

But we also know schools have very minimal spread when there is adherence to the protocols. We know this from our own data, from districts around us, from all the state data, from the national data, from the international data and from every single study on the matter (that I have been able to locate). If there are studies that show that schools who are utilizing mitigation protocols are sources of considerable spread, please make me aware of them.

It doesn’t appear that even our local health departments are advising closing schools for in-class learning at this time. Austin Public Health warned last week that we are in danger of entering Stage 5 restrictions if hospitalizations continue on the current trajectory. At Stage 5, they recommended stopping extracurricular activities. They did not recommend closing schools for in-class learning.

I have really been “chewing” on my ranking of priorities. And I think safety and keeping schools open are 1’s for me. They are equivalent in importance and I do not believe they are mutually exclusive. If we are following the safety protocols, our schools pose a very low risk of Covid transmission. Given the increase in community spread, I would argue we need to beef up our protocols by adding rapid testing and getting our staff first in line for the next round of the vaccine. I believe keeping schools open should be a level 1 priority because going to school is absolutely vital to so many children. It is vital to their ability to learn (many just can’t learn online), their mental health, their physical health (including fitness), their protection from abuse and neglect…the list goes on and on. We can keep our students and staff safe while at school and we must.

So I don’t support closing our schools and making up the time later in the year.

As for the rest of my chosen priorities (that I listed above), I don’t see any of those in conflict so I think they all can be level 2.

[Anonymous]

Pandemic fatigue is real. But that is exactly the reason why we need additional mitigation strategies and safety measures in place at the beginning of next year – people can’t wait to socialize, in and out of schools, and do away with masks. The virus does not take a winter break. It works extra hard.

Learning loss is significant. The data at secondary schools clearly shows that. At the elementary school level, even though the aggregated data paints an ok image, I have doubts on how much ‘parental help’ contributed to the grades. Kids are falling through the cracks. That’s why I am all for proactive plans in the 4th nine-weeks and summer intervention to make up the learning loss. Full throttle.

The 2-shots vaccine schedule takes 4-5 weeks. As a school board, we may need to lobby the state health department to put teachers on the priority list.

[Dr. Mary Bone]

Dear Fellow Trustees,

As tonight approaches I am reflecting on many thoughts. My main thought comes back to our Mission Statement “Each student of Round Rock ISD contributes to society, continues to learn and confidently embraces the challenges of a competitive and ever changing world.”

I think a lot about EVERY STUDENT. The multiple needs of our students and I reflect on the remainder of the mission statement that talks about embracing challenges of a competitive and ever-changing world. I understand not all schools across the country are being impacted the same through this time. Many schools are open for traditional education and have limited or eliminated virtual education because educators have determined that virtual does not met the mission of educating students for college readiness. We must acknowledge that our students, especially those in high school, will be competing with these students that are already back to traditional instruction. I am NOT suggesting for our district to fully eliminate virtual this school year, but I am asking that as the Board of Trustees we give the direction to start a path to move students back to in-person learning. This should be done now and not after the holiday break to allow administration to begin thinking about how this should be accomplished.

It is time for the board to act and be the leaders of the district. While we have these long stream of thought discussions that result in no action the future of our students are at risk. The administration has provided us much data and will show us more this evening that the district, led by us, is not meeting the needs of our students as outlined in our goals. In regard to future readiness of Seniors only 55% currently are meeting the standard with our goal at 74% what does this mean for the future of those 19%? We need to stop making excuses and we as a board corporate need to step up and make hard decisions. I will stop short of saying we are failing a significant amount of students but if we continue down this path failure, I feel, would be the appropriate word.

I listened again yesterday to Austin Public Health (APH), Dr. Escott & team, pointed out multiple times that schools ARE safe and they are NOT seeing significant transmission of the virus in schools just as our district staff demonstrated to us last week with data. To be clear APH said they are seeing transmission in extracurriculars but they are not seeing that transmission filter into the classroom. I am data driven because we can give all the feeling and anecdotal reasoning but that does not ground our decisions in fact. The data shows that schools not only in the US but across the world are safe. Especially now with the vaccine being rolled out we need to start preparing and planning.

I implore us to be the leaders that will focus on EACH student and our mission. To me this means to maintain the virtual option for students that need it but start encouraging students to come back to campus with those failing required to come back unless deemed high risk or living with a high-risk individual. I would leave the details and execution of this to our capable administration, but I believe the administration deserves the Boards direction, so they know our desire and that they have our support to move back to traditional in person education. The Board Corporate should also clarify intentions of ending virtual learning at the end of the 2020-2021 school year in May 2021.

I understand not all Trustees may agree with this and I support diversity of thought, it is excellent, and I am not trying to change minds, but I am just asking that the Board Corporate act and take a stance that we need to begin planning to get students back to traditional education. I also ask that Trustees share references to data so that the Board can drive to data-based decisions. I study and work with safety critical systems and the only way I know how to make educated safety related decisions is through information, data, and facts. I am NOT asking to stop our safety precautions and protocols but to acknowledge they are working and to continue investing in them.

I would like us to act tonight and I propose we direct the administration to begin planning and preparing for a move back to traditional in-person instruction while maintaining virtual instruction only through May 2021. This includes figuring out what the families and students in the district need to move to in person instruction. As I mentioned in the last board meeting it is my understanding that many high school students want to come back to campus but will not under the current conditions. We also need to ensure our Seniors are in this conversation and figure out how we can give those that desire traditional Senior experiences those to the extent possible.

[Danielle Weston]

Thank you Dr Bone for following up with action after last weeks discussion on the priorities of each trustee. I support what you are asking for here and look forward (as I said from the dias in the 10 Dec 2020 meeting) to providing our administration with the guidance they deserve. The reading and math college readiness data (since the onset of virtual learning) that will be presented tonight is sobering and worrisome. And as I’ve said multiple times, I want the downward trajectory of the mental health of our students reversed. What you have stated here directly addresses both of these things. It’s time for the BoT to go on the record as to where we stand as a body corporate on this. Kudos to RRISD staff for working hard to provide the BoT with data that is regularly requested and answering many, many questions for months in meeting after meeting. Your efforts reflect great credit upon you as individuals and RRISD as a whole.

[Cory Vessa]

Dear Fellow Trustees,

Trustee Bone’s comments come from the absolute best of intentions. She believes this is what is sincerely best for students and I deeply respect that.

However, I see things differently. While I agree that in person learning poses minimal risk and I agree that in person learning produces better student outcomes in general, I prioritize choice and people making their own determinations as to what is best for their students and families (even if I disagree with those choices).

Furthermore, as I go down the road of only granting exemptions in the case of high risk health conditions, I think it would be challenging to evaluate and determine whether a family has a valid exemption.

Lastly, I worry that families who believe virtual is best at this time will just leave the district if we require them to return. They have other options. Several surrounding districts are open enrollment and eager to welcome new virtual students.

As I said initially, I respect the intent of Trustee Bone’s recommendation. I just prioritize parent/guardian choice.

[Tiffanie N Harrison]

Fellow Trustees,

I believe we should stay the course with virtual and in-person learning for several reasons:

1. The vaccine is on the horizon. In conferring with trustees from AISD, they are hoping that the vaccine will be available to their educators in March or earlier. I appreciate President Weir and Dr. Presley advocating for our educators to have priority access to the vaccine. Can we not stay the course to protect students, staff and families until we have vaccine access?
2. The pandemic is impacting learning. Not in-person vs. virtual. We actually have many reports from parents and students who are appreciative of the opportunity to learn virtually. When we look at the data from our own school district, virtual students are “outperforming” in-person students.
3. I do not believe in taking away parent choice in this matter. I do feel that backing off a virtual option could cause parents to pull their unenroll their children in favor of homeschooling.
4. I do not believe that we should eliminate the possibility of virtual learning for Fall 2021. We do not yet know if children will be able to receive the COVID19 vaccine in time for the 2021 school year. It may be a better option to plan virtual and in-person learning with more foresight for 2021 and have parents and students commit to one way or another.
5. Our dataset is incomplete as to the rate of transmission for secondary schools in RRISD. We did not receive this information during the last presentation. I have requested it multiple times since the last meeting and hope to receive that information this evening.
6. As I look at the vast number of job openings for our district, I am concerned about teacher retention. Sure, we are hearing that we have 100 additional teachers due to parents pulling their students from our district. However, are these staff members in hard-to-staff areas? The job board suggests that there is a mismatch. I see a great many openings for Special Education, dual language, high school CTE and math. We have already received several emails as a board from educators

We know that closely-followed safety protocols work. If you look at the CDC’s guidance on schools, we are already engaging in medium risk behaviors by having hybrid learning and allowing students to mix and move from class-to-class. To have RRISD advocate to bring more students on campus would go against the established safety best-practices and would place us in the highest risk category. We know that there are already campuses that are unable to maintain recommended social distancing guidelines because of the number of students who have returned. We also know that the CDC asks us to consider community spread. Wilco is at the highest level possible and Travis is approaching Level 5. We should be even more cautious as we approach January and should be prepared to monitor things well into the Fall of 2021.

For your reference and per the CDC, below is what constitutes the highest risk in terms of schools:

Highest risk:
• Students and teachers engage in in-person only learning, activities, and events
• Students mix freely between classes and activities
• Students and teachers freely share objects
• Students, teachers, and staff do not/are not required to follow steps to protect themselves and others such as proper use of face masks, social distancing, hand hygiene
• Irregular cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched areas

I do not understand what your proposed action would be in advocating for more students on campus. To do so safely we would need more educators and more physical spaces to allow for suggested social distancing. To do anything less is to be willing to risk the lives of staff and family members of students.

If we really wanted to be innovative and meet the needs of all students, we would allow for the complete separation of virtual and in-person learners and educators. And we would compensate those who teach in-person with hazard pay. That would allow for a more full in-person experience. I feel that the time has passed for this for the 2020-2021 school year.

I too want to see our “failing” students be supported. And I want to remind all of us…that we are in the middle of a global pandemic. We also need to be doing what we can to pay attention to the trauma, health and survival of this community, which is just as important.

[Author]

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