Pattye Benson

Community Matters

TESD Reopening Plan Now Available – District Opens August 31 w/Remote Learning Only, In-Person Instruction after Sept. 21

With notification that the District would release the school reopening plan the “week of July 20”, parents waited anxiously all week. On Friday night, after work hours, the public finally learned about the plan on the TESD website. (Click here for the District’s reopening plan page).

Below please read the reopening post on the District website with links highlighted. There are individual links to the slide presentation, feedback form, FAQ, Phased School Reopening Health and Safety Plan and Continuity of Education Plan. Please make sure to click on all the links to review the specifics.

The timeline is very short for your review and response – you only have until Monday, July 27 at noon to make comments and you must use the highlighted feedback form link.

In my first quick review, a few points – the District will open on August 31 but with full virtual instruction for at least the first three weeks of school. There will be a combination of synchronous and asynchronous instruction. Parents will be given the option to transition to in-person instruction after Sept. 21 or continue with all virtual instruction.

Classrooms to be arranged to allow social distancing of 6 ft. in all instructional settings although the District states that 6 ft. social distancing cannot be managed in hallways or on buses. Facemasks required for all students and staff.

One question that I have – In an in-person school scenario, what is the process if a student or teacher tests positive to Covid-19. What happens to the class? Or to the entire school? Are the other families notified? What is the process to re-close schools if there is a positive Covid-19 outbreak?

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Reopening Schools: 2020-2021

On Monday, July 27, 2020, the T/E School District Administration will present its proposed plans for reopening T/E schools this fall. The presentation slides on the reopening plans are available here.

The District Meeting to Present the Reopening Plans will be held at 7:00 PM on July 27. In accordance with state guidelines, the meeting will be held virtually. The link to the live meeting will be available on the TESD website by 6:00 PM the day of the meeting. The meeting will be live streamed and also recorded. Barring any technical issues, a video of the meeting will be posted on the District website later on Tuesday, July 28.

Community members may submit comments or questions about the reopening plan by using the Reopening Plan Feedback Form.

    • The feedback form will close at noon on Monday, July 27.
    • Comments received by noon will be forwarded to all School Board members for their information.
    • The administration will attempt to incorporate the answers to as many questions as possible in Monday’s meeting presentation.
    • During the meeting, at the conclusion of the reopening plan presentation, the feedback form will be available again for community members to submit additional comments and questions. There will be a short break in order for the public to submit additional comments and questions. The administration will answer as many of the new questions as possible during the remainder of the meeting.

On Wednesday, July 29, 2020 the School Board will hold a special meeting at 7:30 PM to take action on the proposed reopening plans. In accordance with state guidelines, the meeting will be held virtually. The link to the live meeting will be available on the TESD website by 6:00 PM the day of the meeting. Community members will also have the opportunity to submit public comment about the reopening plans at the Special School Board Meeting. Public comment submitted for the July 29 Special School Board Meeting will be read at the meeting, time permitting. The agenda materials for the July 29 Special School Board meeting and information on how to submit public comment will be available on the TESD website on Tuesday, July 28.

Additional documents on reopening schools include Frequently Asked Questions, Phased School Reopening Health and Safety Plan and the Continuity of Education Plan.

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  1. Pattye, I’ve learned from a friend in the district that Rich Guisick told the teachers, if there are Covid cases, the school will only notify the CDC. The CDC will then be responsible for contact tracing and making the decision on if a class needs to quarantine or the school needs to close!

  2. Doug, But what about communication to the community? Doesn’t the administration and the Board think we have a need to know?

    1. I think that the administration and school board have made it quite clear for many years now they don’t want nor need real public input into their decision making process and will only tell us their real plans as late as possible until after the point has passed where substantive changes can be made.

  3. Unionville has listed a number of options for opening school in the fall along with pros and cons. The district was leaning toward a full in-person opening earlier this month but that option was cancelled due to the Governor’s recent 6 foot mandate. The pros and cons apply to any district.
    https://www.ucfsd.org/news/news-post/~board/ucf/post/health-and-safety-plan-faqs-2-1594673760448

    What I don’t understand is TEs desire to waste a month before transitioning to the hybrid model. What’s the delay? I don’t see a one month delay planned into other plans.

    1. They will never tell us why so we can only guess. They really want to go all on line and they know parents will revolt so they say they’ll go in person in September but by then parents will be used to it and they will have a list of reasons why we should go on line for fall.

      Downingtown School District announced they will be all on line all fall. 16,000 students.

  4. I don’t trust TE at all. I anticipate September 21 will arrive and they will stay virtual. At that point it will be too later for parents to make other choices or argue.

  5. Tied: Seems a possibility. A good question to them would be what criteria if any do they have to make such a decision, ie community infection rate, percentage who signed up for all online instruction vs part time face to face, etc?

  6. Several of the questions raised in this post are covered in the 7-page FAQ on the TESD site, including: (1) Explaining that the 3-week ramp up to in-building learning is intended to (a) allow students/faculty time to adjust to the new virtual platform before dealing with the in-building challenges; and (b) keep students recently returning from summer travel at home for 3 weeks before being in contact with other students.
    (2) Explaining how the Chester County Health Department will handle the risk assessment if there is a positive case, including contacting close contacts of their possible exposure and provide instructions. CCHD has the most expertise in this area, and is in a better position to provide assistance and try to contain any flare-ups, especially those that extend outside a TESD school.
    Overall, this seems like a very thoughtful and creative plan. While it may not satisfy those families looking for more in-person instruction, the governor’s 6-foot distancing requirement makes it impossible to have all students in the building 5 days per week.

  7. • If a teacher tests positive for COVID-19 are they required to quarantine for 2-3 weeks? Is their sick leave covered, paid?

    • If that teacher has 5 classes a day with 30 students each, do all 150 of those students need to then stay home and quarantine for 14 days?

    • Do all 150 of those students now have to get tested? Who pays for those tests? Are they happening at school? How are the parents being notified? Does everyone in each of those kids’ families need to get tested? Who pays for that?

    • What if someone who lives in the same house as a teacher tests positive? Does that teacher now need to take 14 days off of work to quarantine? Is that time off covered? Paid?

    • Where is the district going to find a substitute teacher who will work in a classroom full of exposed, possibly infected students for substitute pay?

    • Substitutes teach in multiple schools. What if they are diagnosed with COVID-19? Do all the kids in each school now have to quarantine and get tested? Who is going to pay for that?

    • What if a student in your kid’s class tests positive? What if your kid tests positive? Does every other student and teacher they have been around quarantine? Do we all get notified who is infected and when? Or because of HIPAA regulations are parents and teachers just going to get mysterious “may have been in contact” emails all year long?

    • What is this stress going to do to our teachers? How does it affect their health and well-being? How does it affect their ability to teach? How does it affect the quality of education they are able to provide? What is it going to do to our kids? What are the long-term effects of consistently being stressed out?

    • How will it affect students and faculty when the first teacher in their school dies from this? The first parent of a student who brought it home? The first kid?

    • How many more people are going to die, that otherwise would not have if we had stayed home longer?

    30% of the teachers in the US are over 50. About 16% of the total deaths in the US are people between the ages of 45-65.

    1. Pooh Bear’s litany of questions seems aimed at foreclosing the in-person option for TE students forcing everyone to the cyber option. Let’s leave two options open (cyber and in-person) for parents and teachers.

      Teachers whose temperament or family situation make them uncomfortable teaching face-to-face (the blended model) in the current Covid environment should take a cyber teaching job or an unpaid leave of absence. Likewise, parents who feel the health risks outweigh the learning benefits of face-to-face learning should opt for the full cyber learning option.

      1. This is a reasonable approach. I will add that the 3 week delay to in person classes is also very reasonable approach. It allows the parents and students to get comfortable with the online method and then shift to the hybrid model. If someone is not comfortable with the in-person approach, they don’t have to participate.

        The issues of who gets notified, who gets tested, who has to isolate, who schedules the subs is the job of the Department of Health and the Administration to manage. The department of heath has been handling testing and contact tracing for months now. They know what they are doing. If you are not comfortable with their ability to handle it, then opt for online only.

      2. The hybrid option just doesn’t work for parents working outside the home and even working remote in their home.

        A co-worker has elementary age kids in the North Penn school district. They had 2 options that they had to decide on by today, all in person or all virtual. No hybrid. She took the all in person. If she had to do all virtual or a hybrid she would have to take a leave of absence w/o pay. My manager this morning on a call said that HR in my company is getting several leave of absence requests as they can not manage working from home and “teaching” their younger kids. Even if the kids are on line in class from home, the parents have to hover to make sure they are on task to make it work.

        I really feel bad for any parents that have to make that decision. Education or financial stability for my family.

        I agree with Keith, to the teachers that can’t teach face to face this year, take a leave of absence like these working parents have to do. I bet there are recent college grads with education degrees that would like a job and some experience….

    2. I can appreciate your concerns —and they’re valid. And when you have a Secretary Of Health, Dr Levine, who took her Mom out of her nursing home back in March, without telling the public about the risks associated with nursing homes, so we could ALL take care of our Mom’s and Dad’s,—You’re right, it doesnt give you confidence in the information Governor Wolf is relying on to make his decisions.

      Dr Levine should have been fired for what she did—Now, how can we rely on her—-is she going to favor relatives in schools and have them removed if there is a spike in Covid? Leaving the public to fend for themselves, like the nursing home students, I mean, residents. And who says politics doesn’t have anything to do with this….

  8. District and teachers should have used summer to gear, practice up and work out kinks. Families should be staying home this summer so kids can be back in school day one. Families that can’t afford child care or vacations need kids back day one. Not catering to those who chose to leave home this summer

  9. What a ridiculous comment “gear up”. You folks want babysitters not professional educators. When someone can reasonably answer Pooh bears questions then we will have a plan. As for the comments about Wolf , Levine, and nursing homes sometimes you have to do some research and protect your loved ones.

    1. I’m all about doing research to protect me and my family—In other words, I take personal responsibility for our actions.

      Just to clarify your comment—-“Wolf, the elected Governor Of PA, Dr Levine—Who is the Secretary Of Health, a public official, responsible for the health policies to protect Pennsylvania citizens. That is, keep Pennsylvania citizens informed during a global pandemic—not just his mom. From your comment, you are inferring that public officials have no responsibility in protecting/informing the public—but ok, for them to just protect their family members—that is not what they are elected/appointed to do….just to clarify.

      1. *Her* mom. You misgendered Dr. Levine.
        Every person had/has the choice to remove their family member from nursing homes. Everyone has known since the beginning of Covid 19 that old people were most at risk. The officials should not/cannot tell you whether or not to remove your family member from a nursing home, it’s your own choice. I think the Governor’s office has done a great job keeping all the citizens informed during this crisis. I think the problem lies in that some people only hear what they want to hear.

        1. As reported:

          Pennsylvania’s secretary of Health revealed that her 95-year-old mother was transferred from a nursing home facilities into a hotel – as the state government was ordering those facilities to accept patients who had tested positive with the coronavirus.

          That state policy, issued on March 18, stipulated that elderly care facilities “must continue to accept new admissions and receive readmissions for current residents who have been discharged from the hospital who are stable,” including residents who had contracted COVID-19. The policy was meant to “alleviate the increasing burden in the acute care settings.”

          That rule may have contributed to the significant death toll the pandemic has wrought in the state’s care facilities: The overwhelming majority of deaths in the state have occurred in nursing homes, more than 2,400 of the state’s nearly 4,000 deaths.

          Yet even as coronavirus-positive patients were being funneled into state nursing homes, the state’s Secretary of Health, Rachel Levine, removed her mother from one of those facilities, lodging her instead in a hotel.

          Levine made that admission while speaking to Pennsylvania media, stating that “she and her sister complied with their mother’s request to move from a personal care home to another location,” the Allentown Morning Call reported.

          The admission raises concerns that state health officials may have been aware of the potentially devastating threat that COVID-19 posed to nursing homes even as they ordered those facilities to accept COVID-19 patients.

  10. Here you go:

    • If a teacher tests positive for COVID-19 are they required to quarantine for 2-3 weeks? Is their sick leave covered, paid?
    No, current protocol is 24 hours no fever with no medication; other symptoms have improved; and 10 days since symptoms began or positive test. https://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/54542/when-have-i-recovered_
    Check the employee manual for the sick leave policy.

    • If that teacher has 5 classes a day with 30 students each, do all 150 of those students need to then stay home and quarantine for 14 days?
    Determined by Chester County Health by doing contact tracing.

    • Do all 150 of those students now have to get tested? Who pays for those tests? Are they happening at school? How are the parents being notified? Does everyone in each of those kids’ families need to get tested? Who pays for that?
    No. They isolate. Contact tracing will advise how to isolate and who should be tested. The county currently offers free testing.

    • What if someone who lives in the same house as a teacher tests positive? Does that teacher now need to take 14 days off of work to quarantine? Is that time off covered? Paid?
    Same answer. Contact tracing will advise if 10-14 day isolation is needed.

    • Where is the district going to find a substitute teacher who will work in a classroom full of exposed, possibly infected students for substitute pay?
    Same way they find substitutes now. These resources may be scarce, like many other resources. It will have to be worked around.

    • Substitutes teach in multiple schools. What if they are diagnosed with COVID-19? Do all the kids in each school now have to quarantine and get tested? Who is going to pay for that?
    Same answer regarding tracing and testing.

    • What if a student in your kid’s class tests positive? What if your kid tests positive? Does every other student and teacher they have been around quarantine? Do we all get notified who is infected and when? Or because of HIPAA regulations are parents and teachers just going to get mysterious “may have been in contact” emails all year long?
    Same answer about tracing.

    • What is this stress going to do to our teachers? How does it affect their health and well-being? How does it affect their ability to teach? How does it affect the quality of education they are able to provide? What is it going to do to our kids? What are the long-term effects of consistently being stressed out?
    Who knows? Some will handle it and some may have to take some time. Seems the district has a pretty good healthcare plan. Hopefully mental health is covered. As Keith mentioned, they can opt for cyber teaching or unpaid leave.

    • How will it affect students and faculty when the first teacher in their school dies from this? The first parent of a student who brought it home? The first kid?
    If someone dies, we will have to deal with it. Just as we deal with it when one of them dies for other reasons.

    • How many more people are going to die, that otherwise would not have if we had stayed home longer?
    Maybe none. Maybe 20. There is no way to know. How many will die or suffer other issues if we do not stay home longer?

    No one seems to be forcing anyone to do something they are not comfortable doing. If you are not comfortable teaching live or sending your child to school, don’t. If you are worried that you or your child needs the social interaction that comes with classroom attendance, do so. If you need you children in school so you can work to support your family, do so.

    I am not a member of the school board, the administration, or the staff. I have no more inside knowledge than anyone else on the board. But I can do some research and determine what is best for me and my family, as I trust everyone else can do for their family.

  11. I am an educator and when I say gear up I mean get trained on the new technology and methodology. That certainly could have been worked on all summer. And the first month of school will be different then when they go hybrid with kids in class AND at home. Come 9/21 will be a different set of skills then the first month of school

  12. I’m not disagreeing with any of that report. Dr. Levine also stated that it was her mother’s request to be moved. What I’m saying is that everyone/anyone could have made the choice to move their loved one out of harm’s way. I digress. This is not what Patty’s thread was about. Let’s get back on topic.

    1. The state government was ordering nursing home facilities to accept covid patients. Families had no reason to believe there was a problem. Dr. Levine moved her Mother to a hotel at the same time.

      It raises concerns that state health officials may have been aware of the potentially devastating threat that COVID-19 posed to nursing homes even as they ordered those facilities to accept COVID-19 patients.

  13. First, no one purposely “misgendered”….telling,, that was your initial response.

    Second, you keep repeating yourself and defend the SECRETARY OF HEALTH…for All PA citizens not just family members.
    She, took her mother out, back in March, at that time, NO-ONE knew nursing homes were Covid death traps.

    The concern is, NOW that Schools are Opening Up, will the Secretary disseminate health information to the public Before she moves
    any school aged relatives out of schools…it’s a valid concern.

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