The Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board approves the 2021-22 calendar and passes a preliminary budget.
All in WSSD School Board
Board Weighs Full Reopening of Elementary Schools at Marathon Meeting
At a 5½-hour board meeting, the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board heard the details of a proposed transition plan that would bring many elementary school students back into schools nearly full time. Two CHOP PolicyLab experts and over 60 community members weighed in.
Divided Community Seeks to Influence School Board on Reopening
Multiple competing petitions and social media posts reflect the deep divisions in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District about when and how schools should reopen for more in-person instruction. We talk to hard-hit parents and worried teachers about their hopes and fears.
Board Tables Calendar Discussion, Eyes Elementary Reopening
At the January 25 meeting of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board, members discussed when school should open next fall, and whether to add an asynchronous day to the calendar. They took a first look at the 2021-22 budget, and reversed their policy of keeping athletes out of in-person school. A special February 1 meeting will be held to consider bringing elementary school students back into buildings full time.
More In-Person Time at the High School; Next School Year May Begin Before Labor Day
The Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board voted unanimously to revise the hybrid schedule at Strath Haven High School to include four half-days of in-person school each week during the third marking period. High school principal Greg Hilden said that the change would be, in part, a stepping stone to returning all students to school buildings, something he hopes will happen before the end of the year. Board members also discussed options for the 2021-22 calendar.
Community Survey on School District Superintendent Search
The Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board has begun a search process for the school district’s next superintendent. If you are a district resident, and you do not currently have a child enrolled in public school in the district, you are invited to complete a community survey.
Superintendent to Retire, Board Hears Options for More In-Person Learning at High School
Wallingford-Swarthmore School District Superintendent Lisa Palmer will retire in June. Many local residents are calling on the district to hire a replacement with experience in equity and anti-racism education. Strath Haven High School Principal Greg Hilden outlines several possible plans to increase the time students spend attending in-person school.
2020 in Review: Before and (Mostly) After
Rereading articles from this past January and February is like peering through the wrong end of a telescope into a lost world. Here’s a review of what we were doing and thinking about in 2020, as it showed up in the pages (and website) of this newspaper — both BC (Before COVID) and AD (After Distancing).
Equity Audit on Hold, Diversity Training Ongoing
An equity audit of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District is on hold for now, pending an investigation into who might best perform it, board member Kelly Wachtman reported at the board’s meeting on Monday. Also, Superintendent Lisa Palmer reported that the school board has begun equity training with Heather Bennett, Director of Equity Services for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Palmer anticipates that the board will produce an equity statement and an equity policy by the end of the school year.
A November 23 order by Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine imposes new limits on the number of people who can gather indoors, due to what the order called a “serious increase” of COVID-19 cases in Delaware County. The order is in effect through January 2. Among the new restrictions is a limit on the number of diners who can share a table (four) as well on people attending indoor “gatherings,” which include parties, funerals, and sporting events (ten). Religious services and school instruction are not affected. Strath Haven High School Athletic Director Pat Clancy sent an email to the school community announcing that winter sports are now “postponed until further notice.”
Board Approves Winter Sports
School buildings will stay open, and winter sports practices will begin on November 30. At a nearly four-hour meeting on Monday night, members of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District school board voted unanimously to maintain the hybrid model of instruction. Superintendent Lisa Palmer reported that the district has not seen linked transmission of COVID-19 in the schools, that contact tracing continues, and that the district can still adequately staff its buildings.
Teachers Find New Ways to Connect With Kids, Each Other
COVID-19 has upended strategies teachers rely on to connect with kids and teach their subjects. In the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District, teachers have had to switch gears several times, going all-virtual last spring, then preparing over the summer for in-person school, only to learn that school would stay virtual after all. Then, in October, most teachers went back to school buildings, teaching cohorts of students in a hybrid of in-person and virtual instruction.
Working to Overcome Challenges, Schools Stay Open (for Now)
Schools in the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District will stay open for in-person instruction — at least for now — and district teachers are working extremely hard. These were the two main take-aways from Monday’s school board meeting.
Calls for More Opening Amid COVID Uptick
COVID-19 cases are rising in Delaware County. That uncomfortable fact hung over every part of the October 26 Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board meeting. Five cases of COVID-19 were recorded in district schools and buses during the week of October 19. One case was in Strath Haven High School, one was in Strath Haven Middle School, and three were on school buses.
Hybrid Model a Work in Progress
“It’s a challenge, but they’re doing it.” This was Swarthmore-Rutledge School Principal Angela Tuck’s description of teachers addressing lessons to children at home and children in the classroom at the same time. As reports from other district principals at the October 12 school board meeting made clear, her words apply to many aspects of rolling out the hybrid instructional model in which some students are returning to in-person learning two days a week.
Former NP Commissioner to Fill Board Vacancy
The Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board selected Matthew Sullivan to fill the vacant board position in Region 2 at its September 29 meeting. Four candidates, including a physician and a recent graduate of Strath Haven High School, put themselves forward for the post. Sullivan replaces Damon Orsetti who resigned last month.
Board member Jerry Ballas reported on the activities of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. Ballas noted several disturbing incidents at Strath Haven High School on the first day of school. “It’s important that we not only talk about but fundamentally demonstrate that behavior of that type is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated in the school system,” he said. The public comments portion of the meeting included reading out the following letter, written by leaders of the group Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools Big IDEA.
Board Votes to Launch Hybrid Model, Sports
School buildings will open in October. And athletic competition will soon resume. Those were the main results of the three-and-a-half hour meeting of the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District board on Monday night. Votes on both questions were 7-1, with board member Marylin Huff voting against.
Schools May Reopen Soon
Will school buildings reopen later this month? Maybe. The Wallingford-Swarthmore School Board discussed the possibility — and what a reopening could look like — at a three-plus-hour meeting on Monday night. Also: concerns about screen time, sports, and more.
Community Responds to Publishers’ Note
The Swarthmorean’s publishers’ note on the virtual reopening of Wallingford-Swarthmore School District Schools (August 21 issue) provoked much discussion on our website (plus a few letters to the editor). We’re always pleased to host thoughtful discussions of important local issues. Here are the (lightly edited) comments we have received as of August 31.