School Board ends virtual Wednesdays
It has been a tough and emotional week for Manchester students and staff.
Up until this week, Manchester Community Schools has been observing asynchronous virtual Wednesdays during the 2020-2021 school year. Students did not report to school on Wednesdays in person, but instead worked on a day’s worth of assignments from home while teachers caught up on extra work created by simultaneously teaching virtual and in-person, held staff meetings, and met-one-on-one with virtual students. The buildings, empty of students, were deep cleaned.
At last Monday night’s school board meeting, the board decided to accept the recommendation of Superintendent Brad Bezeau to end virtual Wednesdays and begin a five-day school week for the remainder of the year, starting this Wednesday, March 3. The vote was 5-2 in favor, with Novess, Woods, Naylor, Horky, and Austin voting “yes,” and Harvey and Tindall voting “no.”
Many of the students and staff members in attendance at the meeting, some of whom had spoken out in favor of virtual Wednesdays during public participation earlier in the evening, appeared shocked.
In January, when the topic was discussed, the board approved continuing with virtual/asynchronous Wednesdays through February and noted that it would be revisited at the February meeting; that motion passed by a 6-1 vote, with only Harvey voting “no.” This month, in explaining her reversal of decision, Harvey said that she believed it would have made sense to make the change at the end of the semester, but that at this time, it did not seem appropriate.
Asked about the timing of the decision to eliminate virtual Wednesdays this month, Bezeau said, “There is no doubt that there have been many benefits to our students and families during the Virtual Wednesday sessions. From the beginning, it was a goal of ours to support all our families, including those hoping for a five-day per week school week that supports the needs of all of our learners, especially our youngest learners. The in-person benefits in the area of social and emotional well being, as well as the social and emotional benefits of participating with the Virtual Wednesdays, were a considerable factor in the Board of Education’s decision. This wasn’t an easy decision, and one that has positive aspects on either side of the decision. The current status of the virus in our community, and the vaccination progress that we are making with all staff were also important considerations when making our recommendation.”
Board president Ryan Novess added, “The topic of virtual Wednesdays has been on the BOE agenda as old business the entire school year, with monthly updates and recommendations from Dr. Bezeau. During these previous board meetings and presentations, there was a lot of good discussion generated, along with many points to consider.”
Planning time
But many teachers who spoke with The Mirror expressed concern about the loss of Virtual Wednesdays. Their first concern was the loss of the essential planning time Wednesdays provided.
“We’ve always had planning time,” one teacher told us. “For the past several months we have been doing double the work, and most of us spent our Wednesdays as additional planing time. We all worked on Wednesdays; we didn’t have a ‘day off.’ We have to plan for in-person and virtual learners at the same time … this takes time to do it well.”
In addition, all staff members we spoke with said that the extra Wednesday time was used for other school-related work, including parent and 504 conferences, IEPs, one-on-one time with virtual students who needed additional help, as well as staff planning exercises.
Another teacher asked, “Where will the planning time come from now? No one has an answer for me. They have doubled my work load without any compensation and now expect me to complete it in the same amount of time as last year. There weren’t any concrete answers (at the meeting) as far as planning is concerned. Or how cleaning will happen. Or schedules. Just the decision to return rather quickly without any thought or consideration into what it takes to plan for a child’s education. I feel this was a slap in the face to all the hard work we have put in this year. Once again, the Board had the chance to support its teachers and didn’t.”
Bezeau’s response to additional planning time was: “Without question, our teaching and support team have worked incredibly hard in developing and implementing an instructional plan and approach that met the needs of all of our students, both In-Person and Remote Learning, and that continues to be a challenge. Our staff was able to use the Virtual Wednesday format in developing their competencies in instructing remotely and implementing the common Google Classroom platform, and we continue our planning around additional supports and professional development to support this growth and instructional area. Our teachers are compensated with paid planning time, and that continues to be the case.”
Novess also responded, “It’s my understanding the teachers receive time daily to plan for instruction and to communicate with families as needed. Unequivocally there have been additional challenges adjusting to the blended learning plan in place since September, and our teachers have worked to great lengths to meet these challenges. Teaching virtual and in-person at the same time, all while ensuring both sets of students receive equal attention, is a tall order. That effort does not go unnoticed. And with the flexibility provided to each school on how to implement this change to structure the week in a way that best serves the needs of the educators and children at all levels, teachers will be able to continue to use time on Wednesdays for planning and one-on-one conferencing.”
The stress of school during a pandemic
Before the vote took place, Leslie Rollins, High School business teacher and Manchester Education Association president, read a prepared statement, where she referred to a formal Letter of Agreement between the school district and the teachers’ union. Her statement said, in part, “I urge you to continue the current learning plan that keeps Wednesdays asynchronous. Last month, you heard from the student council how important that day is to the majority of students and they said it better than I can.
“From a teacher perspective,” she added, “I am really concerned about the return to five days in terms of cleaning. I know most of you were not on the board when we negotiated our Letter of Agreement, but one purpose of having Wednesdays asynchronous is to deep clean all of the buildings. This is an important strategy to keep our students and staff safe and we can’t ease up on the cleaning now.
“In our Letter of Agreement, the union and administration agreed ‘that no employee will be put at risk of negatively impacting their own health and safety or the health of others as a result of working/participating in an approved Preparedness and response plan implemented by MCS.’ Without this dedicated time for cleaning, I am very concerned about the health and safety of all staff and students.”
Referring to the staff and student contingent, Rollins said in a subsequent conversation that, “Our schools play a central role in our community, and it is important we take care of them.” She added, “Everyone should consider that we’re still surviving a pandemic; at the end of the day, that is something we need to remember. We need to take some of the pressure off the kids, because right now it is really all about survival. And we have to take care of each other.”
A teacher, who spoke to the Mirror directly but wishes to remain anonymous, echoed Rollins’ sentiments: “Keeping one’s mental health in check during the pandemic has been challenging for everyone. Children, both young and old, are exhibiting the stresses they are feeling. The inclusion of social and emotional lessons for schools is mandated through the guidance of the Returning to School Advisory Council from the State of Michigan.
“Manchester school district supported both their students and staff by asynchronous learning on Wednesdays. Everybody got a mask break. For teachers, it can be exhausting to talk and lead discussions all day while wearing a mask. Students also become weary and noncompliant as the day progresses. Students had a flexible schedule on Wednesdays, allowing time to engage in rest and relaxation activities and catch up on other schoolwork.
“This decision is going to take a toll on the Manchester learning community. Both staff and students will tire more quickly. Absenteeism will increase. Learning outcomes will decrease. The mental health of the Manchester learning community is important for excellent education in a caring community.”
What will in-person Wednesdays look like?
Scheduling at the junior/senior high school will remain block days, with first through fourth hours meeting Monday and Thursdays, and fifth through seventh (plus advisory hour) on Tuesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays will add one day to this block schedule every other week — with this week classes 1-4 meeting on Wednesday, March 3, and next week, 5-7 plus advisory, meeting on March 10.
Rollins stated that one of the reasons for block scheduling was to reduce the transitions between classes for the junior/senior high students. One concern she noted is for consortium students at the high school — how will the change affect their ability to attend the career and technical education classes in Saline or Chelsea?
This question is just one of many things that have not yet been answered, the Mirror has been told by staff members who wish to remain anonymous. With just one week’s notice, everything has changed, and staff is left to figure out how it will work.
“Klager teachers are the most affected,” a teacher said. “They are dealing with our littlest learners, and their planning and instruction is so different.”
And it appears that Klager students, both in-person and virtual, will receive an additional full day of instructional learning when Wednesdays are added back to the school week. Karin Villarreal, principal at Klager Elementary, said that she was “sad that I did not fully explain the reality of our school days at Klager (at Monday’s board meeting).
“Our teachers use every minute and had amazing programming that supported their dual teaching,” she added. “We are the only school in the area that has teachers teaching 3-6 virtual students at the same time as they teach 18-22 students in the classroom. I was disappointed in myself for being naive. I thought we had shared the progress we were making and how Wednesday had such a positive effect on our at-home learners.”
Villarreal says despite being taken aback by the decision, she has needed, over the past several days, to switch gears, move forward, and work with the faculty and staff to support this change.
Vaccines
Rollins also added her concerns about lack of vaccination among staff who wish to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, in her remarks at the board meeting.
“Sending teachers and students back on Wednesdays before teachers are fully vaccinated is reckless,” she said. “Washtenaw County is one of the highest risk counties in the state. With all of the new variants reaching the population, going to a full five-day schedule will put teachers at more risk than ever. So far the only school staff that has been able to receive a vaccine has been special education staff and workers over 50. The county is just starting to open slots up to other staff members; I was able to get my first dose on Saturday. Remember, the staff is the only group that can be vaccinated — students under 16 can not and high school students are not eligible yet. So it is completely up to the staff to protect every single person, including your children.
“The Washtenaw County superintendents, including Dr. Bezeau, wrote a letter that states “if getting more students back to school is a priority, then vaccinating teachers must also be a priority. While vaccination is not the only risk mitigation strategy, it is one of our strongest and most effective.” The superintendents are trying to get all of us vaccinated; please let them do the work. Please wait one more month until you decide on moving to the five-day in person schedule, there are only four more Wednesdays, then we have spring break. Many more staff could be vaccinated by April.”
Novess responded to the question of vaccines: “(We) considered the steep decline of virus prevalence in our community and school district since December; moving from deep cleaning only on Wednesdays to now two days a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and vaccine availability — how quickly staff are beginning their vaccination schedules and factoring in those that have already received their second dose. Currently, over 75% of all staff that want the vaccine have received it or are scheduled to receive very soon.
School board vs. teachers
Novess explained the school board’s decision, “Ultimately, the decision was made to return to in person on Wednesdays because there is a significant benefit for students to be in-person versus remote for those families where the at-home learning situation is not ideal. The social and educational enrichment that occurs for the student when in person with their teacher is invaluable. This is especially true for our younger students at Klager and Riverside. This was not an easy decision by any member of the board regardless of how they individually voted. Every board member wants to do what’s right to ensure everyone has their needs addressed. This decision is an instance where no matter how the vote went, there would be those that disagreed.”
A recent staff survey showed that close to 95% wanted to stay virtual on Wednesdays. “We all want to get back,” one teacher related. We want to do our jobs. We know that’s best for student learning. But here we are — in the midst of a pandemic, trying different modes of instruction. We’d all like all of the kids in school five days per week, but given this situation and the time it takes to plan for it, we prefer virtual Wednesdays.”
One teacher commented that morale was “down the tubes” in all of the schools. “The school board has basically traded 12 extra days of learning, for the morale of the staff.”
Ultimately, it comes down to feeling burned out and under-valued. A teacher told us, “I have never worked harder in my years here as a teacher in Manchester Community Schools. And I have also never felt so unappreciated in my years here at MCS.”
You must be logged in to post a comment Login