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.
The district’s youngest students could return to buildings as early as Tuesday, September 29, Superintendent Lisa Palmer announced. Students in kindergarten through second grade have the most trouble learning virtually, she said, so will be invited back first when schools reopen.
According to Palmer’s proposed timeline for phased reopening, third- through fifth-graders, as well as students with complex special needs in any grade, would return to buildings on Monday, October 5. The rest would return on Monday, October 12.
Palmer stressed that COVID-19 cases and positivity rates would need to stay relatively low to make this timeline possible. The Chester County Health Department (which oversees Delaware County’s COVID-19 response) releases weekly statistics on Friday evenings. Palmer expects the September 19 data to be particularly important, because it will reflect any fallout from social gatherings over Labor Day weekend. Concern about a COVID spike after Labor Day was a significant factor in the board’s decision to start the school year online.
Palmer’s reopening proposal will be considered at a special board meeting on Monday, September 21, at 7 p.m.
Board President David Grande noted significant drops in local COVID numbers since early August. “Our case rates per 100,000 have improved a great deal,” he said. “Our weekly test positivity rates have also improved.”
Looking ahead, Grande said the board will consider a number of factors in deciding when to reopen: new case rates in Delaware County and in the school district, positivity rates in the county (which are not available for the school district), rates in surrounding counties, and whether the trends are up, down, or stable.
Palmer’s proposed schedule might need to be paused, or even reversed, depending on the course of the pandemic, he said.
Board member Jennifer Lentz asked whether, if numbers continue to fall, five-day-a-week in-school instruction might be possible. But Palmer said district schools don’t have enough space to keep students 6 feet apart. “We cannot get all our children back,” she said.
Health and Safety Plans
The district has a four-point plan to assure the health and safety of students and staff when buildings reopen, according to Director of Student Services Gina Ross.
Students and staff will need to wear masks throughout the day, with a few exceptions. Students will be allowed to wear their own masks; masks will be provided for students who don’t have one. The district is exploring safe ways to offer students breaks from masks, Ross said. Everyone will maintain 6-foot distancing, and hand sanitizer will be widely available.
A web-based portal will facilitate reporting COVID symptoms. Students’ caregivers will need to access the portal every morning to affirm their students have no symptoms. Staff will do the same. The board funded the portal by approving a contract with Qualtrics and Red Pepper Software for $12,000 per year, plus an additional $3,000 one-time implementation fee.
Ross reported that “procedures are in place” should a student test positive for COVID-19. Nurses’ suites have isolation rooms, she said. Ross also reported that the district has already seen some positive cases and received guidance from the Chester County Health Department. “We’ve been very pleased with how responsive they’ve been,” she said.
Director of Operations Ferg Abbot reported on air circulation, ventilation, additional teaching spaces, and cleaning protocols. WSSD’s buildings are in good shape, he said, and ventilation systems are functioning well.
Opening windows and increasing fresh-air intake in ventilation systems from 10% to 25% will improve circulation. Ventilation systems will be run for longer hours, and better air filters will be installed to capture more airborne particles.
Tents will be installed at the three elementary schools to provide outdoor teaching spaces. Some large rooms, like cafeterias, will be used so that people in large groups can remain 6 feet apart.
Daily cleaning by custodians and a contracted cleaning company will be supplemented twice a week with a more complete cleaning that applies disinfectant with electrostatic sprayers. These sprayers will also treat buses between runs.
Abbott also said that bottle fillers are being installed in schools to replace closed water fountains. With buildings having been closed for months now, Abbott said WSSD will be testing its water to confirm its safety.
Concerns About Screens
Board members Lentz and Chapin Cimino both expressed concern about the amount of time students are spending in front of screens. Cimino wondered if asynchronous learning — the academic work students do on their own between class meetings on Zoom — could be screen-free.
“Kids are begging us to get off the screens,” Lentz reported. “Screens weren’t good for kids prior to COVID,” she said. “And COVID didn’t make screens good for them.” She requested emphasis on tactile and experiential learning when kids get back into classrooms.
Director of Education Denise Citarelli Jones and Strath Haven Middle School Assistant Principal Joseph Buechler agreed about the importance of limiting screen time. Discussions about how to do so are underway, they said.
Concern About Sports
Strath Haven High School Girls Ultimate Frisbee held a masked practice on September 8. Photo: Kai Lincke
Board members had many questions about restarting sports. The Central League, to which WSSD belongs, has canceled sports until 2021. But a majority of schools around the state, belonging to other leagues, are playing.
Lee Ann Wentzel, superintendent of the Ridley School District, who sits on the board of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, attended the meeting and fielded questions for nearly an hour.
Wentzel explained that PIAA is divided into 12 districts (not the same as school districts), with WSSD in District 1. Districts are divided into leagues, with WSSD in the Central League.
PIAA has recommended that school districts wait until January to start sports, but they have left the final decision to school districts. Within the Central League, however, there may be consequences for school districts that defy the league’s decision and organize athletic competitions. Upcoming meetings of the boards of both the Central League and PIAA may clarify possibilities.
The board’s questions for Went-zel suggested that members would like to find a way to restart sports as soon as possible. Board member Lentz presented sports as an issue of equity, at least in part. Families with more resources can put their kids in private club leagues that cost money, she noted: an option not available to other families.
By the end of the discussion, the board seemed to lean toward starting sports practices while it waits for more guidance about competitions. At least a week of practice — two weeks for many sports — is required under PIAA rules before competition is permitted. “I don’t think you hurt anything by starting your official practice,” Wentzel said.
Approximately 200 student athletes, parents, and community members gathered at Strath Haven High School on September 3. They hoped to persuade the Central Athletic League to reverse its decision to postpone school sports until January. Photo: Kai Lincke
Relief Fund and Other Resources
Palmer announced that the Foundation for Wallingford-Swarthmore Schools has established a COVID-19 relief fund to help district families pay for childcare, food, and household necessities. People seeking help should contact a WSSD social worker.
She also announced the reboot of the district’s free meal distribution system. Anyone 18 or under can receive prepackaged breakfasts and lunches at no charge. In a change from the summer system, meals are available Mondays and Wednesdays, at two different times and three separate locations, to improve access. Food may be picked up at Strath Haven High School (Brookhaven Road entrance), Nether Providence Elementary School, or Swarthmore-Rutledge School, between 9 and 10:30 a.m. and between 4 and 6 p.m.
The district can also provide hot spots for families struggling with internet connectivity.
Greg Hilden, principal of SHHS, said that school attendance has been excellent so far, and that teachers and counselors are efficiently reaching out to families of children who do not show up online. Early internet connectivity problems have been quickly fixed, he said.
Hilden also reported the results of a student survey. Of the approximately 1,200 high schoolers who responded, 80% said they felt fine coming back to school. 418 students reported feeling “tired” coming back to school. The survey also asked students if they would like to speak with someone about the transition to school, and 64 indicated that they would. Counselors are reaching out to these students.
Damon Orsetti
Orsetti Out
Grande announced that school board member Damon Orsetti resigned from the board last week after an incident involving what Grande called “inappropriate and unacceptable language on social media.” A replacement will be appointed.
Equity Audit
Board member Michele Downie reported that the board’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee has arranged for an equity audit of the district, to be conducted by the Delaware Valley Consortium of Excellence and Equity. The audit will examine student achievement, student outcomes, placement, access to resources, student discipline, and other topics. Its findings will “help us develop a sense of what we want to focus on going forward,” Downie said.
The next WSSD school board meeting will be Monday, September 21, at 7 p.m.
To watch this or any other school board meeting, go to WSSD’s YouTube channel.
