Facilities Department Presents Detailed School Space Study

December 23, 2020

A detailed study of space in Bedford’s four schoolhouses has revealed that many more students could be accommodated without compromising the six feet of physical distancing deemed required for safe learning.

What remains to be determined is whether using available space to the maximum would be educationally wise.

Taissir Alani, Director of Facilities for the town and the schools, presented details of his department’s detailed space survey to the School Committee at its meeting Tuesday.

Alani pointed out that the evaluation of space actually began last summer, with redesign continuing as needed through the fall. He said next month he will “continue the investigation to support the transition to full in-person learning in September, in conjunction with public health expert guidance and school and instructional leaders.”

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He detailed this month’s calculation of raw square footage, revealing that many current classrooms accommodating 12 students could be expanded safely to as many as 18. However, this would require removing all other furnishings, including teachers’ desks, bookcases, and other classroom accoutrements.

Alani projected spreadsheets comparing the current and potential occupancy of each room in all four schools, as well as some drawings illustrating the layout of desks. The discussion did not include a detailed breakdown of grade-by-grade numbers, but the cumulative impact could be significant.

“Now it is up to us to take the raw space study and look at it through our educational program,” said School Superintendent Philip Conrad. That means considering everything from state standards to the needs of struggling learners and young children. He added that there may be additional expense involved. “All of this is complex.”

“We would have to look at removing educational material, furniture, things that at the beginning of the school year we were very worried about removing because of the atmosphere they create for students,” he said. Some kind of centralized storage would be needed, as there isn’t sufficient storage space at each campus. Also on the shopping list would be more individual desks.

Alani said, “We explored every single space,” but did not draw conclusions concerning large spaces like gymnasiums, cafeterias, and libraries. More input will be needed from school staff so the Facilities Department can understand educational limitations, he said. For example, the high school gymnasium is big enough to subdivide into as many as 10 classrooms, but acoustical conditions may make more than two impractical.

All calculations maintain six-foot distancing, Alani said, while other safety protocols are not affected. “Adding  two to four more kids is still the same airflow and ventilation, still the same hand sanitizer and cleaning.”

School Committee member Brad Morrison was excited about the potential. “With these numbers, we could say there’s room for every first grader if we could solve the other issues,” he said. Alani confirmed that there could be up to 400 children in Davis School. He added that the calculations did not place student desks in compromised locations; he compared those to obstructed-view seats at Fenway Park.

Committee Chair Dan Brosgol was skeptical. “Just because kids can fit in a classroom doesn’t mean they can move in the building. What have you learned about the impact on flow and logistics?” he asked. Conrad said, “We really have to look at what’s feasible for student learning, and then what would have to happen for us to have that many more in the building.” Schedules may have to be changed to accommodate limits in hallway space, for example.

“There is space to do what we would like to do. How we organize children in that space is entirely up to us and it is going to be really hard,” Conrad said. Perhaps it would even involve expanding elementary school grades to other buildings. He also acknowledged that bus transportation would be a challenge.

Bedford High School senior Ryan Doucette, the student representative to the School Committee, commented, “I have been in classrooms where I have been pushed into a corner.  It’s not the same. I can only imagine how it would be for younger kids used to sitting with one another. With students spread out while the teacher has to stay in front, does it make sense to use the full room if that penalizes students’ education?”

Conrad responded, “That’s why it’s so important to me to emphasize that we have to put the raw space study into educational terms. We know we don’t want to set up an inequitable situation. We need to examine not just what is possible but what is preferable for our students.”

“The principals are working together as a team to make sure we do what is right for all of our students, and it worries me that we would make stark classrooms, particularly for younger kids.”

Asked by Morrison about a timetable for decision-making, Conrad would only commit to “as quickly as we can.” The process will involve identifying staffing needs, and “we need to be able to make sure we are talking to the teachers and the union.”

“The administrative leadership has been very responsive to our direction and our priorities,” committee member Ann Guay said, and the current priorities are the planned safe return of additional students with special learning needs (so-called Cohort C) and kindergarteners to full in-person learning, she said. “Now we know there are more spaces to fill, but we don’t want to make classrooms feel like cells.”

Committee members had other questions. In answer to Sarah Scoville’s concern, Conrad said the use of individual desks will be temporary. Eventually, elementary school children will return to collaborative tables “to participate with each other, to build communication and teamwork skills, and have experiential learning.”

Joann Santiago said a larger student population could increase the chances of close contact for teachers, at a time when substitute teacher lists are slim. Conrad noted the latest definition of close contact: less than six feet of separation for 15 minutes cumulatively within a 24-hour period. “We are all dependent on one another and that’s particularly true for our classroom teachers,” he said. Guay said she would like to hear teachers’ views on increasing classroom populations.

Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Click this link to learn more about The Bedford Citizen’s first community reporter.

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