Springfield Public Schools to start 2020-2021 school year two weeks late

School will start two weeks later than originally planned for public school students in Springfield this fall.

The Springfield School Committee voted Thursday to push back the start of the school year this fall by two weeks.

The previous school calendar had students in grades 1-12 scheduled to return August 31, kindergarten one week after that and pre-kindergarteners the following week. Following Thursday’s vote, the school year will start on Tuesday, Sept. 15 for students in grades 1 through 12, Sept. 21 for kindergarten and Sept. 28 for pre-kindergarteners.

“Given the incredible number of moving parts that are necessary to safely open schools, an extra two weeks for educators to prepare is greatly needed and will be extremely valuable,” Springfield Superintendent of Schools Daniel Warwick said earlier this week. “To try to think we could come back before that would be a mistake.”

The proposed schedule change comes after state education officials announced that school districts can delay the start of the school year by up to two weeks.

In what format Springfield Public School students will return to the classroom remains to be determined.

Massachusetts school districts must create three educational plans: a full return to in-person classroom; hybrid of in-person and remote learning; and fully remote learning.

Speaking of the three options with city education officials Thursday, Warwick said Springfield realistically has two choices: a hybrid of in-person and remote learning or fully remote learning.

Due to the number of students in district and space available, Springfield - like the majority of Massachusetts school districts - could not implement required social distancing protocols if schools reopened fully in-person.

A hybrid model developed by district officials proposes assigning the majority of students into two groups: one to attend class in person Mondays and Tuesdays, and the second group to attend class Thursdays and Fridays. Days out of the classroom, students would learn remotely.

Siblings living in the same household would be prioritized to be in the same group.

Some students - special education and Level 1 English Language Learners - would be scheduled to attend class in-person Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Wednesdays would be reserved for buildings to be deep cleaned.

The district will provide laptops to all students by the start of the school year. Springfield is entering into a sponsored service agreement with Comcast to offer internet access for families with limited to no current access. For families living outside the city, T-Mobile hot spot devices will be offered to provide internet access, if needed.

Remote learning for school-aged children this fall will look significantly different from remote learning offered by Massachusetts school districts this past spring.

Following statewide school closures this spring, districts could chose two educational models for the remainder of the school year: resources and supports, which included sending packets and assignments home to students; or instruction and services, which included structured learning time, teletherapy, and video conferencing.

For the 2020-2021 school year, schools must offer only the latter learning option, offering remote students a regular and consistent schedule of classes, interventions, services, and therapies including frequent interactions with teachers and other staff members to ensure participation.

Ultimately, families will decide whether their children will attend in-person classes or continue remote learning. All schools must offer comprehensive curriculums for remote learning, including meeting the specialized needs of children with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and English Language Learners.

Several Springfield School Committee members expressed concerns about indicating a preference Thursday between the hybrid and fully remote models, both seeking to be more involved themselves in developing the reopening plan and wanting further feedback from families about the options.

School Committee Vice Chairman Christopher Collins announced during the meeting that the school committee will host a virtual Town Hall to gather community feedback about back-to-school plans. The virtual Town Hall will be held on Tuesday, August 4 at 6 p.m.

Seeking to plan for how many students will be in the classroom this fall, Springfield conducted a survey this summer and found about 30% of parents wanted to enroll their children in the fully remote learning option. District officials plan to check in with parents again in weeks ahead of the school year starting to confirm enrollment preferences.

All Springfield families are asked to ensure their phone numbers are up to date. Updated phone numbers can be provided to school officials by calling their child’s school.

The school year will be reduced from 180 days to 170 days to allow school districts the additional 10 days to prepare for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Massachusetts districts must start no later than Sept. 16.

Students must receive a minimum of 850 and 935 hours of structured learning time for elementary and secondary students, respectively.

Structured learning time is defined in the regulations as “time during which students are engaged in regularly scheduled instruction, learning activities, or learning assessments within the curriculum for study of the ‘core subjects’ and ‘other subjects.’ In addition to classroom time where both teachers and students are present, structured learning time may include directed study, independent study, technology-assisted learning, presentations by persons other than teachers, school-to-work programs, and statewide student performance assessments.”

Massachusetts school districts pivoted to remote learning in mid-March amid a growing number of coronavirus cases, leaving educators scrambling to teach their students. Some offered remote classes over Zoom while other districts relied on take-home work packets for students.

The decision to reopen schools was based in part because of the lower infection rate of COVID-19 among children and the negative impact of keeping children out of the classroom.

“Part of our responsibility as educators, administrators, and parents is to do all that we can to help our children in this difficult time,” Riley said in June. “As we all know, there is no substitute for the attention and engagement that is only possible with in-person learning. We can mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19 for in-person school programs and prevent the significant consequences of keeping students out of school and isolated. It will take all of us working together to make this successful.”

Major facility changes will occur in most schools, including but not limited to: reconfiguration of desks in classrooms to allow for social distancing; limiting traffic in hallways; and installation of additional hand-washing hand sanitizing stations.

Warwick said Springfield has already begun purchasing masks, sanitizing stations and other personal protection equipment for schools.

All staff and students in second grade and older will be required to wear masks. Students in kindergarten and first grade will be encouraged, but not required to wear masks. Parents or guardians will be expected to supply their children with reusable masks which should be washed daily. Schools will have extra disposable face masks available if needed.

State guidance calls for students to spend as much time as possible with a single group of students, rather than shifting from room-to-room and mixing with other groups of students.

Classrooms will feature student desks facing forward with at least 3 feet “from seat edge to seat edge,” the reopening guidance states, though 6 feet is encouraged when possible. All students will have assigned seating in their classrooms.

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