LOWELL — While keeping a close eye on local COVID-19 data, Lowell Public Schools is working toward offering families a choice between in-person and remote learning for the upcoming school year.
Wednesday night the School Committee unanimously approved a hybrid reopening proposal.
Under the proposal, families would be offered the choice between in-person and remote learning with the provision that every quarter the district would offer families the opportunity to switch their choice.
Per a family survey, the district is expecting about 30% of families to select the remote learning option. In addition to the survey, the district has also conducted general forums and targeted forums with groups like the English Language Learner Advisory Committee, the Special Education Advisory Committee and families in the McKinney Vento program.
According to Superintendent Joel Boyd, the district is planning to continue its communication with families through large group conversations, small group conversations and individual outreach.
The remote learning option will look different than it did in the spring, according to Boyd. The district is in the process of evaluating learning management systems recommended by the Department of Education and Secondary Education.
Occasionally referred to as an online academy, Lowell’s teachers will use the software platform, which will offer a combination of live teaching and independent coursework, according to Boyd. The system will provide teachers with several resources, help monitor students’ progress and allow teachers to adapt instruction to meet individual student needs.
All teachers and students, including those participating in in-person learning, will have access to the remote learning platform, Boyd said. All students will also be given a Chromebook and Lowell is working on offering citywide WiFi. If the WiFi does not come through, the district will distribute mobile plugins.
Currently the district is working with the Lowell teachers union to determine which learning management system best fits Lowell’s needs, Boyd said.
The in-person learning instruction will look similar to past years, Boyd said, but the physical set up will be quite different. Students and staff will be required to wear PPE and maintain social distancing. Students will each lunch in classrooms, hands-on learning activities that require close proximity will be adjusted and students will remain in the same cohort/class. Movement throughout the building will also be limited.
A key component to offering the in-person option will be for the district to ensure the safety of the buildings. Air quality and ventilation has been a particular point of concern among committee members, the public and city officials.
The teachers union has been pushing for Lowell to have each building independently certified and inspected.
“We need assurance that it’s a healthy environment before we bring our members in and our students in,” teachers union leader Paul Georges said at a committee meeting on July 30.
According to Boyd, the city has a consultant helping evaluate the buildings and the district and city are collaborating to acquire air purifiers.
The number of seats available in each school will depend on the building conditions and social distancing requirements. Those numbers have not yet been established but examples of possible building capacities are available online in a district report on the reopening plan.
The district will be monitoring the buildings daily. Part of that monitoring process will include frequent cleaning.
If demand for in-person learning exceeds capacity, the district will utilize a weighted lottery that considers “legal rights of protected student populations and equity considerations,” as the Sun previously reported.
Those considerations would include students on IEPs, English learners, students of essential workers, students identified for McKinney Vento services, students of families experiencing economic hardship and students in entry grade of each level.
During the committee’s Aug. 5 meeting several teachers called in to comment on the plan and expressed concern regarding the safety of teaching in-person.
An eighth grade social studies teacher with Type 1 diabetes wanted to know what options were available for teachers like her who are considered a COVID-19-vulnerable population.
“Teachers lives and safety matter just as equally as the lives of our students,” the teacher said.
She later asked what would happen if demand for in-person teachers exceeds the number of teachers willing to teach in person.
“Will staff be forced to choose between risking their health and not having a stable job?” she asked.
It is a common question among district teachers, Boyd later told the Sun. He said an ideal answer would be yes, but the district cannot estimate the proportion of need for in-person teachers versus desire to teach in-person.
“I know that answer might not be specific enough right now,” Boyd said.
Boyd added the matter is currently under discussion with the union.
“The health and safety of our community is going to remain our top priority throughout every decision that we make as a school district,” Boyd said. “We also recognize that nothing can take the place of the in-person interaction that occurs between a teacher and student on a daily basis when schools are able to operate as they traditionally have. This plan is trying to ensure that we can maximize options with families within the strictness standard of health and safety.”
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