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Pawtucket School Committee approves gradual in-person return


Pawtucket School Committee approved a gradual in-person return, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. (WJAR)
Pawtucket School Committee approved a gradual in-person return, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. (WJAR)
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More Pawtucket students will return to the classroom after a contentious winter of debate.

The Pawtucket School Committee voted unanimously to gradually return grades one through 12 between March 1 and March 29.

"We want our students to have a consistent schedule. We want our teachers to have consistency in our teaching. We will do the best we can," Superintendent Cheryl McWilliams said.

The Pawtucket School Committee voted unanimously in January to continue distance learning and allow preschool, kindergarten and students in special populations to attend school in person in February.

The committee's decision drew criticism from state and city leaders who have long pushed for in-person learning.

School Committee Chair Gerard Charbonneau defended the January decision Tuesday night.

"It wasn't merely ventilation that drove our decision. We had issues about social distancing, we had concerns about the electrical capacity. We had concerns about staffing," Charbonneau said. "The community spread was 27 percent at the time in Pawtucket. It wasn't just ventilation."

Under McWilliams' latest plan, grades one through six will return fully March 1. Grades seven and eight will return March 15 and high schoolers will have a "flexible" return March 29.

The high school plan would include distance learning on Mondays and a rotating schedule the remainder of the week with asynchronous and live learning. The district hopes to keep all students with their current teachers.

"There will be teacher absences. There is shortage of substitutes across the state. We all know that. We'll do the best we can to secure a sub," McWilliams said. "We cannot have students in school without a sub or a teacher, so we would be looking at putting those students on distance learning. Once again, we will do our best to limit the disruption."

McWilliams detailed the ripple effect a return would have on topics such as bus scheduling and arrival times. Transportation company First Student follows CDC guidelines on ridership, McWilliams said, which means only 50% of students would be able to take the bus, or 20 to 30 students.

"It's going to be messy. There will be logistical problems here and there," school committee member Stephen Larbi said.

McWilliams added the school district will provide on-site coronavirus testing through the Department of Health in March.

"I don't think there's necessarily a right choice," Deputy Chairperson Erin Dube said. "Each of us is just going to have to figure out what the right choice is for us right now."

The meeting began with more than two and a half hours of comment from roughly 30 teachers, parents and community members.

Some discussed the challenges of distance learning.

"My seven and eight-year-olds are trying to learn how to navigate a computer and keyboard while also trying to learn to read and write," second grade multilingual learner teacher Ashlee Hudson said. "A lot of time is spent showing students how to complete an activity and what buttons to click, rather than spending more time on the actual content."

"This has been the hardest, hardest thing we have done in 20 years," Curvin-McCabe Elementary School fourth grade teacher Martha Gomes said. "The kids want to be in the classroom. I need them to be in the classroom."

Pawtucket Teachers Alliance President Ron Beaupre said the union supports an elementary school return.

Middle school cohorts could allow for stable groups with a slight redesign of the schedule, Beaupre said.

However, the union was not in support of a high school return.

"The very nature of a high school schedule makes this impossible. Finally, there is no question teachers and students will be required to stay out of school due to illness," Beaupre said. "With the lack of substitute teachers, there will be times when classes of students will be required to have a remote learning day or several days with little time to notify parents."

Teacher Jerry Sabatelli said consistency in education is crucial.

"Pawtucket schools haven't had to deal with opening, closing and reopening again and discussing switching back to distance learning after February and April breaks so kids can quarantine before returning like other districts are doing," Sabatelli said. "Our students and staff are not pinball machines. Our students are resilient and will rebound quickly."

Sabatelli said his students have thrived through distance learning and safety concerns outweigh the benefits.

"What teachers would like to see is detailed plan that keeps us safe. Right now, we haven't, and it makes things kind of unsettling," he said.

The union also noted 62% of its 750 members felt "more comfortable teaching in a remote learning environment until a vaccine is made available."

During a Board of Education meeting Tuesday, Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott said roughly 60% of teachers and staff are included in the approach focusing on age, underlying illness and geography.

She said once those at high risk of hospitalization or death are vaccinated, the state could "accelerate" the rollout.


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