The Mascenic School District has extended its remote learning period through Jan. 19, in a unanimous vote taken during its meeting Monday.
The new reopening date aligns with the recommendation made by the school’s administration and Superintendent Christine Martin.
“Many members of the community have emailed me and said, ‘Dr. Martin, you need to stop living in fear.’ I’m not living in fear, but I am living in reality, in facts and in science,” Martin said, while giving her recommendation to extend remote learning.
The district is currently in a full-remote model, which was originally scheduled to end on Jan. 4. However, on Monday, the board reviewed both the numbers of infection rates for Hillsborough county and the anticipated available staffing levels in the district, and made the decision to extend the remote learning period another two weeks.
Martin told the board that staffing levels at Highbridge Hill Elementary School would be especially problematic, noting that there are currently three staff who are under quarantine, and two staff anticipating to have to quarantine due to travel. Boynton Middle School would be “on the cusp” of a staffing shortage, and Mascenic High School currently has two teachers under quarantine.
Another issue, Martin said, is that in all three schools, there are classes that won’t have sufficient space to social distance, and with the current plan to return to classes with all students attending four days a week – an increase from Mascenic’s previous hybrid model, where half the student population attended in person at a time – she was concerned about the amount of contact tracing and close-contact quarantining that would have to be done if a student or staff tested positive.
The majority of parents who spoke during the virtual meeting requested that the school board continue with their plan to return to school on Jan. 4, or as soon as possible, citing struggling students.
Emily Krook of New Ipswich requested the board get kids back to school “ASAP,” or provide a plan for that to happen. “The remote learning is going OK, but it’s stressful, and we have one child that’s struggling significantly,” she told the board. “We’ve just never seen grades like this.”
Marcey Traffie of New Ipswich pointed out that if students have been able to participate in sports, they should also be able to participate in the learning environment in person.
Others, such as Tiffany Norris, supported pushing back the date. Norris noted that she preferred a definite plan over a constant back-and-forth, and said safety was the primary concern. “Safety matters more, for everybody, not just my kids,” Norris said.
Though the board ultimately agreed unanimously to move the opening date, with some convinced by the staffing difficulties, it wasn’t without much discussion, with some members leaning toward opening the schools as soon as possible.
School Board member Tom Falter pointed out that pushing off the date was “moving the goalposts,” and that there was nothing “magical” about the Jan. 19 date that would allow the students to return safely.
“We made a commitment, and here it is a few weeks later and we’re changing it,” Falter said. “Remote isn’t working for a lot of families. Any day we can get in person is more valuable than a remote day, for everyone.”
School Board member Julie Lampinen agreed that the district needed to come up with more specific plans for how to keep the schools open, noting the district might have similar staffing issues after other vacations scheduled in February and April.
“We’re small enough, we can figure this out,” Lampinen said.
The board did ultimately unanimously agree to continue remote learning through Jan. 19, with constant monitoring of the situation, and noted that they would have to review the decision as Jan. 19 approached.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.