Update: The Pullman School Board voted Aug. 12 to start the school year with remote learning for all grade levels, citing concerns from local health officials and the district’s insurance provider.
The union representing Pullman teachers and staff has asked to start the school year via online instruction only, citing “intense reservations” about the district’s proposed plans for partial in-person classes amid rising local COVID-19 cases. The school board is expected to make a final decision Wednesday evening.
Luke Conley, president of the Pullman Education Association union, wrote a letter to school officials last week outlining widespread concerns about the district’s ability to plan for all of the potential risks of in-person instruction.
“The reopening recommendations that were developed are admirable given the circumstances,” he added via email. “But, the moving target is still moving too fast to hit, especially for our unique college town. I and many I represent do not think our plans are developed enough to be reliable and keep our community safe.”
District Superintendent Bob Maxwell presented the draft reopening plan to the school board last week. The plan reflects health and education recommendations from the district’s Reopening Task Force, which spent “countless hours” going over the broad challenges of reopening classrooms.
Watch the full Aug. 5 work session on the reopening plan here and the school board’s discussion here. Read the minutes from the work session here.
“Things literally change day by day,” Maxwell told the board. “We’re doing our best to keep up with changes. … I’m proud of the work our group has put together.”
The Pullman School Board is scheduled to make a final decision during its 6:30 p.m. Wednesday meeting. Read the full agenda and packet here. The district will livestream video of the meeting here.
In recent days, the Governor’s office has released new guidance recommending “high-risk” districts begin the year with online learning only. A sudden rise in local COVID-19 cases caused Whitman County Public Health officials to issue a statement last week warning against in-person classes if infections continue to increase.
Update, Aug. 11: A new Whitman County Public Health statement this afternoon recommends districts start with distance learning at all local middle and high schools in the county as well as elementary schools in Pullman, Colfax and Palouse.
The state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has required districts to present reopening plans that include protocols for both online and in-person instruction. Pullman’s proposed plan outlines schedules for online learning across grade levels as well as potential part-time in-person learning schedules.
Conley detailed union concerns about both in-person classes and remote learning options, but argued online teaching presented fewer immediate health risks while buying time to further develop plans for hybrid in-person instruction. Conley read the letter during the Aug. 5 session. Read it in full here.
“The majority of Pullman teachers, along with many families, have voiced that they do not feel safe returning to school in the proposed hybrid model,” he wrote. “If safety is indeed our first priority, shouldn’t our decision reflect that?”
Update, Aug. 11: Shortly after publication, Conley sent Whitman County Watch some clarified comments on the union’s concerns about returning to the classroom and acknowledging some members remain comfortable with the risks of in-person instruction. Read those comments here.
“Some in our community feel that we teachers are shirking our duties to them by being reluctant to put ourselves in danger,” Conley added. “I feel compelled as a representative leader to do my part to push back against this pressure. … [But] I do not want school to be online any longer than is necessary.”
A survey of Pullman School District staff reflects a wide variety of concerns about both in-person and online instruction models. While most staff expressed a desire to return to the classroom, they felt the health risks would create impossible complications. (A few staff comments noted “zero concerns” with returning to in-person schooling.) See those survey results here.
A July survey of nearly 800 local families also detailed widespread uncertainty and frustration with the options for continuing education amid the pandemic. Read those results here.
“I know that many families will be upset if we begin the year remotely,” Conley wrote in his letter. “Many in our community, including many teachers, will be faced with difficult decisions about finding and paying for alternative childcare.”
He asked the school board to avoid delaying a final decision any longer in order to allow families and teachers as much time as possible to prepare for the upcoming school schedule.
News reports indicate approximately 97,000 school-age children have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks as districts across the nation look to reopen for fall.
The proposed reopening plan does not include any regular testing of staff or students. Maxwell explained local health officials had shared concerns about the local capacity for keeping up with that scale of testing, which could reduce the overall local availability of tests or slow the turnaround time on test results.
The school board last week asked school staff and the community for continued input as they approach a decision.
“The more input we get, the better informed our decision will be,” board member Susan Weed said, adding “My heart just goes out to the kiddos. … It’s tough times.”
Both Maxwell and Conley agreed Pullman’s reopening plan included far more detail than many other school district plans they had seen, but both also acknowledged the plan would have to adapt moving forward.
“All of us would like to get back to in-person learning, … but we also need to make sure we do that in a safe manner,” Maxwell said. “We have a host of emotions and preferences in the community and those are all valid. We are doing the best we can to navigate this really unprecedented time in education.”