Examining Statewide District Reopening Plans
Essential Workers Concerned
Teachers across Massachusetts are grappling with the harsh realities of educating children during a pandemic. Depending on the school district, they may be using unfamiliar remote teaching methods or a hybrid of in-person and online. School districts throughout Massachusetts are having to weigh public infection rates, class sizes and personal risk factors for members of their staff when making decisions on what school should look like week-by-week and month-by-month.
The uncertainty is leading to stress. Fifty seven percent of K-12 teachers in the United States are “very concerned” about being exposed to coronavirus at work, according to a July Gallup poll. In comparison, only 21 percent of all other United States workers feel the same. In-person classes place students and teachers alike at risk for coronavirus exposure. Remote classes, while safer, require guaranteed internet access for all students -- a particular challenge in communities with fewer resources -- and adaptation to a new way of teaching and learning. A look at data from the state department of health shows a clear rise in the share of positive cases from the zero to 19 year old age group. Though remote learning has serious drawbacks, how safe can a full return to school be?
Preliminary reopening plans for many Massachusetts school districts weren’t complete until July 31. Even after that, circumstances were up in the air, as fluctuating case counts across the state require constant reevaluation of school safety. Boston Public Schools, for example, began the year remote with plans to eventually transition to a hybrid model. The city repeatedly delayed the date students were to return to school, and announced on October 21 that school will remain remote until there are two full weeks of falling infection rates.
Across the state, school districts are facing the same issue, leaving teachers constantly having to adapt to new teaching circumstances amidst a pandemic.
As of August 12, well before the beginning of the school year, there were only 623 Massachusetts residents ages zero to 19 who had active positive cases. These 623 cases took up only 15.9 percent of all positive cases in Massachusetts. A week later, on August 19, cases from this age group had jumped to 842. Massachusetts residents within the ages of zero to 19 were then taking up 17.3 percent of Massachusetts positive cases.
The share of positive cases in Massachusetts for this youngest portion of the population stayed consistent between 17 and 18 percent until new data was released on September 30. At that point, the share of positive cases from this age group jumped to 19.4 percent. A week later, the share of positive cases from the zero to 19 age group jumped again to 20.7 percent and remained consistent between 19 and 20 percent for the next month. On November 4, the percentage of positive cases from this age group had taken a fall to 18.5 percent. On November 11, it had fallen again to 17.4 percent and by November 18 was just 17 percent of all cases in Massachusetts. The peak in percentage of positive cases statewide for residents aged zero to 19 years old aligns with most districts assuming some sort of hybrid or in-person learning plan. The fall in percentage could be explained by spiking cases across all age groups, independent of our students’ return to school.
A factor commonly correlated with quality of education and school district funding is the average size of classrooms. Unsurprisingly, many of the school districts with the highest average classroom sizes are also some of the towns with the highest risk of COVID-19 in the state. The school districts included in this scatter plot have over 2,000 students in their districts--districts with less than 2,000 students were removed from the data set. Here, the highest classroom average is Chelsea, with an average class size of just under 22 children per classroom. Among other notable districts with a classroom average size of around 20 are Belmont, Abington, Attleboro, Everett, Revere, Lynn, East Bridgewater, Winthrop and Brockton. As of October 28th, only East Bridgewater and Belmont were below the state’s highest level of risk for COVID-19.
Classroom sizes are only the beginning, however. Racial and socioeconomic gaps between school districts have been exacerbated by the pandemic and are mirrored in the resources and thus quality of education offered to lower income students and students in communities predominantly of color.
According to a November 18 poll conducted by the MassINC Polling Group, despite 19% of lower-income students reporting insufficient internet access to keep up with the demands of remote learning, black, latino and low-income parents reported a higher likelihood of entirely remote schooling. In comparison, white and high-income parents are most likely to have children in a hybrid education model. This disparity is also reflected on a national level – exposing a country-wide failing of public education during the pandemic.
A Change In Plans
Despite Covid-19 cases having comparably skyrocketed in numbers since schools made the initial decisions to send students home in March, 251 of 403 of school districts decided to tackle a form of hybrid learning. Unsurprisingly, however, only 14 districts reported intent to return to fully in-person instruction, most of which, such as Brewster, Eastham, Farmington River Regional, Hancock, Middleton, Nahant, Orleans, Rowe, Savoy, Truro, Wellfleet and Worthington, serve only elementary school students.
In schools across Massachusetts, the number of recorded clusters has been on the rise for weeks. By mid-November, there were 22 new recorded clusters across Massachusetts with a total of 175 students being contact-traced. In addition, there were 21 clusters traced from October 11 that have still not been entirely cleared. These are particularly concerning as some schools attempt partially or even totally in person learning, as the risk of spread to high-risk individuals outside these clusters remains high.
Teacher Perspectives
Now many months into the school year, problems for teachers in the remote and hybrid models of education have become glaringly obvious for teachers, who identify two main concerns to be addressed in the future of educating during Covid-19 : 1. Their own safety and 2. The ability of students, particularly those with learning challenges, to receive a quality education.
Quayisha Clarke, a second grade teacher at Henry Grew Elementary in Hyde Park understands the concern of fellow teachers.
“Personally I feel safe because I do not have any pre-existing conditions,” Clarke said. “However, I do have to empathize and put myself in the shoes of different teachers and educators and staff personnel that do have those pre-existing conditions and do have young children or are taking care of their parents.”
Tina Champagne, a science specialist teacher working with third and fifth graders has seen the effect of hybrid learning on some students. “I think the high risk students, the ones not in school in particular are still having the most difficulty,” Champagne said. “As far as being online consistently engaging, small behavior issues.”
Champagne sees the effect on parents, as well. “The parents I think are pretty stressed as far as, child care…. We're constantly in contact with the parents to see how we can help. And a lot of our students, particularly some of our high risk, are going to the Boys and Girls Club, five days a week, and sitting there and doing the work which is great.”
Clarke has used technology to bridge some of the gaps. “I have twenty second grade students and I'm able to see them virtually online in a whole group and small groups,” Clarke said. “I also have had walking, socially distant walks with my students and my families and so that really helped in the beginning to build a sense of community.”
Still, the adaptation to constantly changing circumstances takes its toll. “It's exhausting,” says Champagne. “There's good days and bad days. I worry about the students. I worry about my family.”
We caught up with Champagne in December who has been facing the stress of teaching amid COVID for months now.
Teaching still is extremely stressful as far as hoping to keep the kids engaged and teaching the standards that need to be taught," Champagne said. "I still spend countless hours trying to figure out the best way to make that happen but still feel like our most vulnerable are slipping either by attendance or attention."
Even still, she is able to find positive aspects to teaching and working with children, even in these trying times.
I guess the one good thing is minus the stress of planning and implementation the kids attitudes have been pretty constant," Champagne said. "I don’t sense the anxiety from them but you do sense the anxiety from parents and colleagues... I am trying to stay hopeful that we will have some type of normalcy soon."
No Conclusion Yet
As COVID continues to spread throughout Massachusetts and the country, many school districts are being forced to face the possible reality of continuing education in a remote or hybrid format.There aren’t any fewer students who need to attend school during the pandemic, but fewer who can do so safely, and with only two school districts below the state’s highest COVID risk levels and limited federal guidance on school reopenings, many districts are on their own in terms of their planning.
The impacts of all this on teachers and other essential workers may not be fully understood until things return to normal, but for now, we can still be grateful for brave teachers like Quayisha and Tina who are helping keep kids learning, even if it is through a laptop. Additionally, many students in higher-density districts are facing heightened risk to themselves and their families.
As we near the end of the first year of COVID-19, uncertainty still dominates the future of education. As states grapple with mask mandates and with possible additional shutdowns looming, teachers like Clarke are persevering in the face of continuing uncertainty. “We're just taking it one day at a time.”
