Pattye Benson

Community Matters

COVID-19 Surge Closes Schools (again) Including T/E

As COVID-19 continues to surge across the nation and right here in southeastern Pennsylvania, school districts are returning to remote learning. Today we learned that the largest public school district in the country, New York City (1.1 million students and 1,800 schools) is returning to virtual learning effective tomorrow, November 19. It is unclear when the NYC students will be able to return to in-person learning.

Due to reports of increased COVID-19 transmission from Chester County Health Department, T/E is returning to all virtual-only instruction starting Monday, November 23 through Friday, December 4. In addition, there will be no athletic or extra-curricular activities during that same period.

In a letter today to District families and staff, Superintendent Dr. Gusick detailed the factors in the decision, including the potential community spread of the coronavirus during the Thanksgiving holidays.

Dr. Gusick also indicated that, “ … the number of teachers and students who have needed to self-isolate due to potential contact with confirmed positive cases has dramatically risen, with 143 students and staff needing to quarantine during the week of November 9.”

Looking ahead, the District’s plan is to re-open the buildings for special needs students starting Monday, December 7. The plan for elementary students is to resume the hybrid instruction on Thursday, December 10 with all students resuming hybrid instruction Dec. 14. Dr. Gusick cautions that the return to hybrid instruction dates are tentative.

This is typically the time of year when we all look forward to gathering with family and friends. But in 2020, the holidays will be like no other. If possible, please stay home for Thanksgiving.

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  1. Pattye- I thought before the district said that if we were to close, that we needed 3 consecutive weeks of low cases (40-80 per 100K based in the districts hybrid metrics) to return to hybrid? This is only preparing to close for two weeks. I appreciate the effort for the district to reopen as quickly as possible, but it seems like they’re forgetting about their own rules?

  2. Read the lawsuit:

    #180
    Tredyffrin/Easttown through its decision-makers, including Superintendent Gusick, and Principal Meisinger, failed to enforce, and violated its own policies and procedures, including, but not limited to:

    Policy 4330
    Policy and regulation 4344
    Policy number 5114, 5420, 5436,5461

    Class Attendance and the class cut policies as set forth in the CHS handbook 2016-17.

    The leaving campus policy

    The Hall Pass procedure policy

    1. And what exactly does your comment have to do with Pattye’s story about schools needing to return to 100% virtual learning due to a surge of the Coronavirus?

      1. Read the Story,

        My comment was in response to Peeved in Paoli’s comment that TE leadership doesn’t follow their own rules/Policy. Entry #180 in the law suit addresses Peeved in Paoli’s comment.

        Superintendent Gusick, and Principal Meisinger, failed to enforce, and violated its own policies and procedures, including, but not limited to:

        Policy 4330
        Policy and regulation 4344
        Policy number 5114, 5420, 5436,5461

        Class Attendance and the class cut policies as set forth in the CHS handbook 2016-17.

        The leaving campus policy

        The Hall Pass procedure policy

        The lawsuit provides a blue print for the way the School District is run.

  3. I don’t understand why TE is planning to reopen the schools before the Christmas break, it doesn’t make sense. Why not completely close down until January.

    1. Read the lawsuit

      #186

      The deliberately indifferent customs, practices, and/or policies of Tredyffrin/Essttown, as set forth above, created a climate in which…………….

  4. We choose hybrid option. Thus far that has meant 8 days of in-person education out of approximately 60 days in this school year! Eight days with very little interaction and all doing they’re part to try and get some type of education. Trying to keep students engaged in education is failing. Cheating with Virtual education is rampant at the High School level! This is a complete and total failure! Now we
    need fight for two more days before 2021 ?? The TESD goal post keeps changing- rules are thrown out the window. This is a crime! Who will fight for these students who have NO voice
    And a school district which seems to have NO backbone?

  5. What does reopening before January 2021 actually achieve? Thanksgiving is likely to result in increased rates of infection 10+ days after the holiday weekend. More time is needed to resolved this increase and then comes the holiday break that will provide even greater opportunities for increasing the surge. Let’s stop pretending. Do what is needed to keep individuals in the community safer. For a presumably premier district, it certainly acts as if it’s in ND.

  6. I am looking forward to another school district tax increase for 2021, and the ensuing risible reasons why more $$ is needed by TESD.

  7. Just watched the COVID task force / Operation Warp Speed press conference.

    CDC again emphasized that schools SHOULD NOT be closed. Even with the current spike in cases, more then the spring and summer spikes, said that we know more now then we did then. Cases are being spread within community gatherings , not school.

    Promising news with the vaccine over the next few months. Too bad the vaccine won’t prevent the continued knee jerk reactions of TESD.

  8. In the latest T/E Gaslight, (aka News)

    Superintendent Gusick acknowledges the challenges and financial strain community members are facing in this extremely difficult time. He then goes on to task community members to make donations to Administrators who will confidentially accept these solicited donations for community members in need.

    All money in this District flows to the Administration to be used as they see fit. Superintendent Gusick creates and contributes to the community hardships by giving himself and his Administration raises in the middle of this pandemic. Adding insult to injury, he then asks struggling residents to donate to other struggling residents. I would like to suggest that Superintendent Gusick and his Administration donate the amount of their yearly raises to the struggling members in this community. I ask that they confidentially give their donation to a designated community member who can then make sure the neediest receive it.

    I also ask that Superintendent Gusick stop giving himself and his Administration raises, especially in this very challenging, very difficult time.

    1. Whoa, did I miss something? Is this a new policy? Are you saying that parents are to donate directly to administrators as a “pass-through” and that they distribute the money? Could you direct me to this information, I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t parents donate directly to T&E Care, whose mission is to help our local families in need.

  9. if your family is in need of anything else at this time, or if you would like to donate to families in our community, please reach out confidentially to Dr. Oscar Torres, TorresO@tesd.net or Jeanne Braun, BraunJ@tesd.net.

    Source: T/E newsletter released every Friday

    1. Thanks for clarification. I did receive the T/E newsletter and actually read through the 300+ page agenda for the upcoming school board meeting! I saw the section in the newsletter about the free meals for students – here’s, the link to sign up: https://www.tesd.net/mealcarepackages . However, I should have kept reading because yes, as you correctly state, there was information about parents making donations to the District for distribution (by administrators) to families in need.

      There may be information that I am missing — but it seems to me that donations should go directly to T&E Care (www.tecare.org). T&E Care works with T/E families and knows the needs in our community. The mission should be to get the donation (financial or material) into the hands of those in need as quickly as possible. For example, T&E Care is in the midst of their Holiday 2020 Drive right now. I have gladly participated in the yearly drive and I know the need for 2020 is greater than ever before. Just my two cents.

      1. It seems to me, donations in any form should not go to Administrators in this school district or any school district.

        Goes to show how inappropriate and questionable if not illegal actions in this district are normalized by leadership.

        1. I wonder if this is a new policy for 2020 — wonder if the school board is aware? T&E Care works with the school district re students/families in need – so not sure why the effort is being changed/duplicated. Again — maybe there’s a reason for the change in policy.

          1. Back in summer time, CAPA-TE (Chinese American Parent Association), organized a donation to our district families indeed to provide some financial assistance. We made the donation through school, not the TE care. We were told that there are some families not covered by TE care in this district for various reasons. Some are for privacy, others may not meet certain criteria of TE care. We provided many small amount gift cards to school admin team to distribute to those families in need. But I don’t know how many families were benefited from it though.

  10. Do you not read your own blog? Administrators don’t follow their own rules or their own Policy. They do what they want to do.

  11. Education is about interaction and group learning. The virtual education is really not adequate. I don’t support the school to be closed down again. Kids are suffering, and so are parents.

  12. DWang,

    “We were told that there are some families not covered by TE care in this district for various reasons.”

    Who told you that some families are not covered by TE Care? Did the Administration suggest the group, Chinese American Parent Association-TE, collect money to be handed over to the Administration so they could give the donations to families?

    1. If the chair of the policy committee didn’t try to silence the volunteer organizations like TE Cares during his meeting two months ago, people wouldn’t be suspect of the Administration. During these trying times, I believe the Administration may have the right intentions of helping families adversely affected during the pandemic.

    2. T/E Gaslight
      Are you trying to imply that the school administrators are using the money that is being donated for themselves? Conspiracy theories aside the district is helping families in need. Some families might not want to go through TE Cares – the organization is run by parents in the community and maybe they don’t want community members knowing their business. Just a thought. ?

  13. One local private school has the same amoutn of student Covid positives in the past week as TESD did.
    That’s 600 students vs 6,000 students.
    Not sure how that works.

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