Superintendent of Schools Philip Conrad told the School Committee Monday that dozens of students with learning needs described as moderate should be back in classrooms four days a week at the beginning of January.
By the end of the month, he continued, all kindergarten students will return to four days a week in school. And research on capacity is underway that could even result in additional returns before the end of the school year.
The progress includes prospective teacher hires from within the system, thanks to emergency certification provisions that could elevate teaching assistants.
School Committee members contrasted these steps with struggles reported in some other school districts. Chair Dan Brosgol labeled it “a prudent, measured approach to bring kids back.” He added that he “wouldn’t rule out” more steps this school year, and expressed “deepest appreciation to everyone involved.”
The special-needs students, known as Cohort C, are now on a hybrid schedule. Conrad said families are receiving invitations to return to four-day in-person attendance; he acknowledged that some are choosing to remain hybrid. “There are lots of reasons for people to feel comfortable with what they’ve got.” School personnel plan to reach out to families that do not respond or who require individual attention.
“Once we know who is coming, we will be able to make plans” on physical alterations, transportation arrangements, and, if necessary, adjusting some current classroom populations,” the superintendent explained.
Conrad said the cohort, which totals almost 150 students, should be returning to the high school and middle school on Jan. 3, 2021, with Davis School not far behind. Lane School will be a little later because current classroom configurations require adding new sections.
Regarding new staff, Conrad said, “As seems to be the way in Bedford we are having very good luck. We have a number of teaching assistants and educational assistants with us who are certification eligible. We are looking at emergency certifications for them and that is going extremely well.”
The hiring process also has begun for the new kindergarten sections that will be needed to accommodate four-day in-person attendance. Again, there are assistants who are eligible for certification, Conrad said, “people that the kids already know. That would be wonderful.” He added that necessary classroom furniture has been ordered.
“Once the hires are solidified, we will have a good sense of when we can do this,” he said. The current likely timetable is late January.
Communication involving teachers, parents, and students is robust, he said. Administrators and teachers are “talking about transportation assignments, making sure they understand what happens to students who have to wait for their older siblings.”
“The entire Davis School, especially the kindergarten teachers, are working so hard,” Conrad said, as the transition plan comes together. Principal Beth Benoit and Assistant Principal Jessica Colby “are really trying to make sure they do this in a way that is beneficial for all, and, as they transition into new classrooms, that they create opportunities for kids to stay connected to kids and teachers from the first half of the year.”
The space capacity study requested by the School Committee has begun, Conrad reported, with the Facilities Department working with building administrators checking blueprints for accuracy. He said they are using software that allows for variables. Principals, he noted, will ensure that the space reported is actually usable, such as in specialized rooms.
The superintendent said he also asked the facilities director “to look at spaces in other town-owned buildings so we understand what space exists. We will do it respectfully and we would have to ask to use those spaces.”
He added that although there is no current effort to look into available commercial space, “that would be a next step.” He already has one possible destination in mind – the EDCO Collaborative facilities on Middlesex Turnpike. “They already have classroom spaces.”
One resident particularly encouraged is parent activist Erica Callahan, whose remarks at the start of Tuesday’s meeting were prefaced by “a huge thank-you to everybody. Take this moment and keep running with it,” she urged. “Get kids back in schools.” She called for investigating possible available space in other schoolhouses as well as commercial office space.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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