Brecksville-Broadview Heights Schools adjust reopening plan; teachers union opposes return to classrooms - cleveland.com

BRECKSVILLE, Ohio -- The Brecksville-Broadview Heights school board has changed the district’s reopening plan -- just four days after deciding not to do so -- and will commit more strongly to a combination of in-person and remote learning to start the school year.

In doing so, the board eliminated in-person learning five days a week as a possibility in the reopening plan.

At a special Friday afternoon (Aug. 7) meeting, the board unanimously decided to have pupils attend in-person classes two days a week and learn remotely the other three days when Cuyahoga County is at the first, second and third -- or yellow, orange and red -- COVID-19 alert levels.

At the fourth (purple) level, pupils will study remotely at home five days a week.

Under the previous plan -- which the board chose not to amend at its Aug. 3 meeting but which is now obsolete -- pupils would have reported to their school buildings five days a week when the county was at the yellow and orange risk levels. The in-person/remote combination would have kicked in at the red level.

Under the amended plan, as under the previous one, the district will close its buildings immediately after the Thanksgiving break and won’t reopen until Jan. 4. Pupils will learn remotely five days a week during that time, except during winter break.

The Brecksville-Broadview Heights Education Association, which represents district teachers, is urging parents to contact board members and oppose the reopening plan. The union wants parents to support all-remote learning to start the school year, as recommended by the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.

“The (union) strongly believes that all children have a right to a safe learning environment,” teachers said in an open letter to parents and shared with cleveland.com Friday. “Unfortunately, with our current levels of community spread (of COVID-19), and with the current state of the board’s reopening plan, it is our opinion that it is not safe for your child to return to our classrooms.

“We have raised these concerns with the board,” the teachers union said. “Unfortunately, your school board is not listening.”

In a prepared, written response credited to the school board sent to parents Monday (Aug. 10), the board said the district has taken “several deliberate steps to ensure the safest environment to reopen schools for both students and staff.”

“The district has used the guidance provided by our governor (Mike DeWine) and the Ohio Department of Health to reopen schools and have followed the recommendations of the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) when modifying our school buildings to align with those safety precautions,” the board said.

“The final decision to reopen our buildings was not made lightly, but in a deliberate, thoughtful and strategic manner,” the board said. “That stated, there are still preparations to be made before Sept. 8 (the first day of school).”

No bouncing

At the Friday (Aug. 7) meeting, board member Mark Dosen said it would be too difficult for teachers to prepare for three possible learning models -- in-person only, remote only and a hybrid of the two.

Further, Dosen said, the district, under the original reopening plan, could potentially “bounce” back and forth among the three models, depending on whether the COVID-19 alert level changes in Cuyahoga County.

The county has been at the third or red level since DeWine unveiled the color-coded alert system in late June.

Dosen suggested that the district commit to the hybrid model for the first 10 weeks of the school year before switching to all-remote after Thanksgiving break as originally planned. He said it would provide consistency for parents and staff and allow for better planning.

The other four board members agreed and the meeting ended quickly.

At the Aug. 3 meeting, the school board discussed whether to change the reopening plan to remote learning only, due to the county health board’s recommendation to do so. In an informal vote, the school board voted 4-1 against all-remote.

Before and during the Aug. 3 meeting, more than 100 parents and pupils demonstrated against changing the district’s reopening plan to remote learning only.

Also on Aug. 3, the board considered eliminating hybrid learning from the district’s reopening plan, but decided 3-2 against that change.

‘Life-threatening event’

In its open letter to parents, the teachers union said that face-to-face education is essential and that teachers “desperately” want children back in the classroom. However, the decision on whether to return to school buildings must be based on science and medical guidelines.

Teachers said much isn’t known about how COVID-19 affects children’s health and neurological development. What is known is that, according to epidemiological evidence, community spread of the virus must drop to safer levels before pupils return to school, they said.

“So long as Cuyahoga County remains under a red alert status for COVID-19, the prevalence of the virus in our community could turn face-to-face instruction into a life-threatening event for our community,” teachers said.

The union said that neighboring districts, including North Royalton and Strongsville, understood that it’s not safe to reopen school buildings and chose to follow the health board’s recommendation to start the school year with remote lessons only.

In its letter, the teachers union said scientific studies have indicated that proper indoor ventilation is vital in stopping the spread of COVID-19. The union said ventilation systems in the district’s elementary school buildings are “dangerously inadequate.”

“Most of these rooms are neither air-conditioned nor equipped with modern air-filtration systems,” the union said. “In the summer and fall, the heat is often stifling, and the air quality is stagnant. In our opinion, these classrooms could become ground zero for a super-spreader event.”

The union said it raised this issue with the school board and was told the plan was to open the windows.

“Ask yourself, as a parent, does that sound like a plan to you?” the union said. “Is ‘open the windows’ really the best we can do for a classroom of children clustered 3 feet apart in stagnant 90-degree air?

“This is but one example of the concerns that we have regarding (the district’s) plan to reopen schools against the board of health recommendations,” the union said.

Windows & fans

In its Monday (Aug. 10) response, the board said building ventilation systems have been thoroughly inspected and it’s been determined that they are functioning properly.

“According to CDC guidance, outside air will be circulated into the buildings by keeping windows open when possible and having fans assist with the circulation,” the school board said.

The district will change air filters four times a year instead of twice a year, and is encouraging teachers to hold classes outside when possible, the board said.

The board listed other measures the district has taken to prepare for a safe return to school buildings. The district has:

· Pushed back the first day of school from Aug. 24 to Sept. 8. This will create time for staff to prepare for hybrid instruction.

· Modified the school calendar so that all pupils will study remotely every Wednesday. On that day, maintenance crews will deep-clean school buildings.

· Required all pupils and staff to wear face coverings.

· Purchased face masks and face shields for staff. The district also bought medical gowns for staffers who want to wear them.

· Equipped each classroom with gloves, masks, hand sanitizers and other disinfectants.

· Installed transparent plastic barriers in areas where it’s impossible to practice social distancing.

· Initiated an “open-campus” policy so that high school pupils can leave school when they don’t have classes. Also, high school and middle school pupils can arrive late and stay only for their classes.

· Moved lunch to classrooms in the elementary schools to minimize movement throughout the buildings.

· Prohibited visitors.

· Altered maintenance protocols so that doorknobs and bathrooms are disinfected during the school day, not just at night.

· Arranged for daily temperature checks of all pupils before they exit their school buses or cars in the morning.

· Established two clinics in each building, one for children needing “routine medication,” another for children “not feeling well.”

“The district plans to follow all guidance from our health officials should we receive knowledge of a positive case within our schools,” the board said. “As a reminder, the decisions to shut down or quarantine are made by the health department, not the school district.”

Read more from the Sun Star Courier.

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