The Wilton-Lyndeborough School Board is set to consider a proposal to move to a fully-remote model for 28 days following the holiday break during its Nov. 10 meeting, due to staff undergoing expected travel quarantines.
The board was originally set to consider the proposal, put forth by the district’s Remote Learning Committee, during its meeting Tuesday, but some board members objected on the basis that the content of the proposal hadn’t been made public early enough, potentially limiting feedback. While an outline of the proposal was eventually included in the board packet, which is available on the district’s website, it was not included until Monday, and some of the board felt that wasn’t sufficient time for parents to see it and decide to attend Tuesday’s meeting.
“I understand the importance of the board being able to see things before they go out the the public, but it’s also important that the public have ample notice for something that’s going to have a profound affect on the community,” said School Board member Jim Kofalt.
The board agreed to table the discussion, and is likely to take it up at its next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 10. School Board member Brianne Lavallee called for an additional School Board meeting solely to hear the presentation and make a decision before Nov. 10, to give parents additional notice if the district decides to enter a remote model, but no additional meeting has been set.
According to the Remote Learning Committee’s report, a survey of Wilton-Lyndeborough staff determined there were between six and eight staff who were either intending to travel outside of New England for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday or December break, or hosting families from outside New England for the holidays.
The committee is recommending that any staff either traveling outside of New England or hosting family from outside the region would have to quarantine for 14 days.
“The Superintendent does not feel that the district can provide substitutes for this many staff persons and still provide appropriate supervision or instruction,” according to the report. Thus, the committee is recommending the district enter a fully-remote instructional model from Nov. 30 – the day after Thanksgiving – through Jan. 19 – the day after Martin Luther King Day.
While a 14-day quarantine after Thanksgiving would allow students to return to school for eight days in-person before the December break, the committee recommended a solid block of online instruction to reduce the amount of transitions students and staff would have to go through.
During the proposed online instruction period, staff would be encouraged to teach from the building, but it will not be required. Staff who have traveled or hosted traveling family must quarantine and may not come into the school building.
“The Committee recognizes that these 28 school days in remote session puts a burden on families. This decision, if approved, will allow families to travel without worrying about quarantining their children over the holidays as well. By making the decision now, this will give parents time to plan and provide appropriate supervision for their children during this time period,” according to the Committee’s report.