Schools to reopen with various models

Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Worcester, David Perda, talks to Communications Director/Chancellor Raymond L. Delisle about plans for the opening of Catholic schools.
Click here to see chart with various school opening models and dates.
 
1.     Are Catholic schools planning to go back to on-site learning?
 
Our schools developed multiple alternatives for the fall, from full, in-person learning to a hybrid model with alternating schedules and finally a remote plan much like we experienced in the spring. Consistent with Commissioner Jeffrey Riley of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), we feel strongly that an in-person situation would be best for a child’s development, particularly in the elementary grades. That also is consistent with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Of course, in-person education would only be done if we have enough confidence that students, teachers and staff will be safe.
 
2.     Do all the schools follow the same game plan?

No. Everyone has learned that context matters, meaning that no two schools are alike. The layout of the classrooms, size of rooms, common areas and hallways, etc. vary from school to school. Individual plans were developed by each school’s leadership, utilizing appropriate input and feedback at the school level. All those plans have been made public on the schools’ websites and have been shared with families.
 
3.     What about families who have at-risk members at home?

Options will vary from school to school. The majority of our schools will prepare to respond to requests for remote learning, if needed, even while the school is using an in-person model. Not all schools may be able to accommodate every request, given variations in capacity. Parents need to communicate with their individual school’s principal.
 
4.     What steps are being taken to assure that students will be safe at school?

A lot of things are being done to assure safety for everyone in the schools. We are following guidance from DESE. There will be social distancing, separating students as much as possible. Procedures will be in place so that teachers rather than students will move to different rooms by subject, when possible. Schools will provide training programs during the opening days of school so that students and families will understand the expectations the school has of them. Obviously, this will include mandatory use of masks for students in grade 2 and above, frequent hand washing and hand sanitizer, as well as not sending a child to school if they exhibit any symptoms associated with COVID-19. We know that wearing masks for lengths of time can be tiring so mask breaks will be coordinated with proper distancing to assist with that. The schools will be providing frequent cleaning of shared surfaces to help with protection, along with following any other recommendations from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and DESE.   
 
5.     Are Catholic schools subject to the same scrutiny of their plans as public schools? Do they have to follow the same guidelines from the state (DESE) and the CDC?

Catholic schools, like all private schools, are not required to follow the directives from DESE, however, we have chosen to do so, given the depth of expertise at the state’s disposal. We used the school planning template that was developed for the public schools for building our own individual plans. Over the summer as those plans were developed, they were first subject to peer reviews by other school administrators, then all plans were submitted to the Catholic Schools Office for review and comments. Finally, DESE has offered to review and comment on those plans which are to be submitted by August 14.
 
6.     How are teachers being protected while in the classroom?

Teachers realize the critical role that they play in educating children.  Like first responders, we are grateful for their dedication and stepping up when they are needed. Teachers, administrators, and staff people will follow similar protocols as students such as wearing masks, maintaining social distance and frequent handwashing. Schools are also securing a supply of PPEs to be available should a teacher or administrator need to deal with a student who takes ill during the school day.
 
7.     What is the likelihood that some hybrid model involving part-time in-person and part-time at-home will be implemented?

We don’t know when a hybrid will be required in elementary schools, but we are preparing for it. High school and junior high students are more capable of adapting to hybrid learning from the outset of the school year. All schools will be ready to adapt should there be spikes in the number of cases, especially by geographic area. We will always seek to follow the guidance and/or directive from state authorities. The point is that we plan for it, but hope that in most cases we will offer in-person learning at least part of the week. Preparations will make it possible to shift from one model to another more smoothly. That’s why we view plans as being fluid, or organic, ready to change with the circumstances. We will also look at feedback as a plan is implemented to see if it can be improved.
 
8.     How is my child’s Catholic school able to open for in-person education when the public schools in my city/town are providing only remote learning or limited in-person education?

The decision to provide an in-person education is based on the school’s assessment of its ability to meet the recommendations for safely operating in the current environment.  If COVID numbers should change and the guidance from health experts requires that Catholic schools in the diocese change their learning model prior to or during the school year either by town or across the diocese, all the schools are prepared to do so.
 
9.     If students are back in class, what happens if a student shows symptoms and tests positive?

We are following the protocols issued by DESE which are quite thorough, covering 19 pages, in fact. There are various scenarios based on what is known, including keeping students home if showing any symptoms. One important recommendation which we will follow is to have students stay within small groups, called cohorts, for any activities. If someone took sick at school, there are procedures to notify parents of all students in that child’s cohort. By limiting interaction to within a cohort, it reduces possible exposure of the virus and facilitates notifications. At the same time, we want to respect mandated privacy rules regarding people who are ill, as well as minors.
 
10.       Given recent news of students and teachers getting sick in schools which have already opened in other parts of the country, does that raise concerns about the current plans to be offering in-person education?

Everyone’s safety is important. I think the key factor here is that these other states have not been mandating and monitoring the safety precautions which we have implemented so well in Massachusetts. When you see videos of students in crowded hallways without masks, it is clear that they are not following the level of detail we are committed to in our individual school plans. That is why starting the year with good orientation and agreeing to expectations on everyone’s part is key to our overall mission to educate these students to the best of our ability.

11.  If a town’s bus service is not available at the start of school or during the year, how will Catholic school families get their children to school?

Many families with children enrolled in Catholic schools in the diocese take advantage of the transportation services through the public school system in their city/town. Guidance on safely transporting students has been provided to the public schools by DESE. Since public school districts are still finalizing reopening plans, the availability of school buses is not known at this time.  Catholic school principals will be providing details to families once they are available.

See chart of various school opening models and dates.

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