Timing Is Everything in Talks About Re-Opening School

Published 1:30 am Thursday, January 28, 2021

To go or not to go? That is the question as parents, school staff and administrators continue to weigh a phase-in of hybrid education for elementary students that could begin as soon as the next few weeks.

The pending decision comes amidst both progress and setbacks in the battle against the coronavirus and a drumbeat of breaking news.

A vaccination push in Washington state has now opened eligibility to all those 65 and older and those ages 50 and older who live in multigenerational households, but has yet to phase in shots for all teachers and school staff.

And late last week, news broke that the UK strain of the virus — which is almost twice as transmissible as the strain now common in the US — was identified in patients in Snohomish County.

There have also been reports about labor disputes surrounding school re-openings across the nation and nearby.

The Seattle Times reported last week that the Bellevue School District took its teacher’s union to court, charging that teachers were violating their bargaining agreement prohibiting a work stoppage or slowdown. The move came after some teachers did not show up to work at Bellevue’s elementary school when it opened to hybrid education last week. The issue was resolved this Monday.

Here on Vashon, VISD has announced its plan to move to hybrid education, beginning with elementary school students, but without a firm start date. The plan will provide four half-days of education in-person for these ages, with additional education continuing online. Parents who wish to keep their children home for full-time distance learning may do so, with the understanding that their children’s teachers and classmates will most likely change in that case.

One week ago, VISD held a Zoom Q and A session for parents, with administrators and principals fielding questions about bus transportation, ventilation and other matters related to the re-opening of schools. The next night, at a special board meeting convened by the district, Chautauqua Elementary School principal Rebecca Goertzel described in detail the preparations that had been made at the school.

In recent weeks, Goertzel said, 65% of Chautauqua parents have opted in for the school’s new hybrid education plan, while 35% have said they will continue to keep their children at home.

Conversations about the re-opening have also spilled onto social media in recent days, with a handful of teachers weighing in one thread of a Vashon parents’ Facebook page that stretched to almost 200 comments.

“Teachers cannot wait to get back in the classroom with your kids,” one teacher wrote on the thread. “The majority of them are just not willing to put themselves and their families and the community at further risk when the vaccine is so close.”

Another teacher referred to a recent survey conducted by Vashon Education Association (VEA) that found that the vast majority of its members did not feel it was safe to return to work. She suggested that parents take that concern into consideration.

“Any family who now learns that the majority of teachers feel unsafe returning to school until fully vaccinated could reconsider their decision to send their children back and email the school to inform them of [the] decision,” the teacher wrote.

In an email to The Beachcomber, VEA Co-President Jenny Granum confirmed that the recent survey of VEA members found many feeling unsafe in returning to school.

But Granum also called re-opening plans for Chautauqua “a moving target” and stressed that no firm date has been set for anyone to return to the classroom.

“The district is working closely with our leadership team — we meet about once a week to discuss new details concerning the coronavirus, variants and vaccinations,” Granum said. “It is our belief that we don’t rush any decision concerning school reopening as the stakes are too high. We want a thoughtful process with the most recent and accurate information.”

Granum said that all VEA members wish they could work face-to-face with students, and she expressed empathy for parents, teachers and the community in the midst of the uncertainty of the ongoing pandemic. But the union leaders’ goal, she said, was to make sure that when teachers do return, it is safe to do so.

The leadership of Vashon Educational Support Personnel (VESP), whose members include paraeducators, specialists and office staff at the school, also said members of that union were looking forward to the day that they could see all of Vashon’s students back in school.

“Our leadership team has been meeting weekly with the district and we are invested in making sure that the health and safety of staff, students and our larger Vashon community is at the forefront of all of our conversations,” said Elizabeth Parrish, co-president of VESP.

But Parrish also added that many of VESP’s members are older or fall into high-risk categories, putting them at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. A recent survey of VESP membership, she said, found 82% of its members do not feel comfortable returning to in-person education before they have been vaccinated.

Parrish said she was hopeful many members could be vaccinated soon, as some are eligible now or will be soon in upcoming phases.

She also noted that since last March, VESP members have supported some of the district’s most vulnerable students with both remote and limited in-person support. Right now, she said, 63% of VESP’s members are already putting themselves at risk by working in-person, and that 80% of these members have indicated they would no longer feel comfortable working onsite if more people came back into the building prior to a vaccine.

In the lead-up to hybrid learning, Superintendent Slade McSheehy had previously announced a Feb. 1 meeting with public health officials, principals, labor leaders and Vashon’s Medical Reserve Corps which he said would result in a “go or no-go” decision regarding the re-opening timeline.

But in an email to parents last Friday, McSheehy walked back that expectation.

“This meeting has been titled our “Go/No Go” meeting, however, there are several steps after this meeting before decisions are made,” he wrote. “Following Feb. 1st, we intend to get our leadership teams back together to further finalize our plans. The return to in-person learning will be most successful and have the best chance at being sustainable if we are all prepared and working together.”

In conversation with The Beachcomber, McSheehy also signaled disappointment that some district teachers had taken to Facebook to discuss their feelings about returning to school.

“Facebook is not the medium to work through hard decisions and difficult conversations, and I’ve always been a proponent of “talking with” rather than “talking about,” he said. “That’s a culture I’ve always promoted, which is that when we have concerns and difficult decisions, we talk to the people who are involved in those decisions.”

He also said he was committed to keeping lines of communication open with the leaders of VEA and VESP.

“They have heard that I am not interested in making moves that aren’t supported by our labor leaders,” he said.

McSheehy also detailed how he had been in touch with VashonBePrepared and had offered his assistance in communicating and assisting in vaccine rollout to the public and school employees.