The messy, uncertain planning process for reopening schools was on full display at the Bolinas-Stinson Union School District this week. As teachers prepare for a soft open to distance learning next Tuesday, the board continues to hash out a number of key questions for when students return to campus: How should classes be configured? Where should the preschool go? Can the school declare an emergency to allow for the quick building of temporary classrooms?
Differences of opinion between trustees, administrators and the reopening task force were stark at two long board meetings this week. Ultimately, the board passed a motion to keep teachers in their assigned classrooms for distance learning, leaving the question of where to house the free preschool unanswered. By kicking the can down the road, the board gave the superintendent, principal and preschool director more time to reach their goal of instructing every student, from 3-years-old to eighth grade, five days a week.
At the heart of the discussion is the size of the Stinson Beach campus, which does not have enough room to support two groups of preschoolers. In normal times, all 21 students could be served by teacher Victoria Maier and aide Omar Rifkin. But regulations limit cohorts to 15 students, so the group has to be split up. Exacerbating the problem, the board voted in May to expand the free preschool to include 3-year-olds, so now the school is on the hook to serve a larger group.
The preschool reopening task force has been polarized on solutions. On one side, many parents insist that the 3- and 4-year-olds should be offered a full week of schooling upon reopening, just like the rest of the students. To accomplish this, the first graders would have to clear out their classroom and relocate to the Bolinas campus. The move would create a domino effect in Bolinas, with second graders moving to the third-grade classroom, third graders moving to the learning center, and the learning center students moving to the library, which could no longer be used as a secondary space.
Both teachers and parents spoke out against the move in letters to the board. Fifteen parents of first graders urged the school board to keep the first-grade class on the Stinson campus, because shifting campuses would be costly, time-consuming and add to anxiety. Teachers agreed, including the one who would be moving, Lauren Pollak.
“I would much prefer to move later,” she said. “Right now, my head is completely trying to figure out how to get my upcoming class running smoothly, getting devices out to them, training them how to use them, getting to know them.”
The teachers say that moving the first graders would isolate the kindergarten program and disrupt the Bolinas campus. First graders should stay where they are familiar, on a campus designed for early primary students, they wrote.
“Our chief responsibility is to educate our school-age students to the best of our ability. While it is admirable that our school attempts to address the needs of our community’s 3-year-olds, it should not be at the detriment of what we offer to the rest of our students,” teachers wrote.
By keeping first graders at Stinson, offering preschool every weekday would be difficult, if not impossible. A survey of preschool parents found that the majority of parents wanted to send their kids to preschool five days a week, with a minority open to part-time care.
The preschool reopening task force could not come up with a recommendation, so Superintendent John Carroll side-stepped the committee and made his own: schedule the two groups to attend for two or three full days each week.
Trustees weren’t convinced that his recommendation was equitable to offer school-age children five days while offering preschoolers half time, and they set a goal of finding a way to offer all students the same access to instruction. They were also frustrated that creative solutions, such as outdoor classrooms, were being shot down.
This summer, a group explored building seven outdoor classrooms, but their momentum was slowed after consulting with an architect who said the project would cost over $1 million. On top of that, the project would have to be approved by the Division of State Architects and the California Coastal Commission, so it could take months to break ground.
To circumvent regulatory approval, the board is considering an emergency declaration, an idea proposed by an architect when he visited campus. The architect explained that a declaration would allow the district to ask forgiveness instead of permission for building structures.
The board was initially excited about a declaration, but Mr. Carroll threw cold water on the idea after consulting an attorney, who thought the district could be liable if something were to happen in the classroom. The attorney is crafting an opinion on an emergency declaration to report to the board later this week.
“The door just keeps getting slammed in our face,” trustee Bob Demmerle said.
Bo-Stin has taken the unique approach of having a teacher-led school reopening task force, made up of several subcommittees and involving a mix of parents, teachers, board members and administrators. No school district in West Marin has put in as many hours toward planning as it has. But the collaborative effort has suffered from too many voices, with meetings running for hours around circular debates. Adding to the challenge, rules and regulations are constantly changing, so a consensus has been hard to reach.
The task force chair, teacher Ilie Watterson, stepped down on Wednesday, and no one is filling her role. She recommended that the board review the task force’s purpose now that many of its members are returning to their full-time positions, and she suggested simplifying the force to streamline decision-making.
This week, teachers returned to their classrooms to prepare for teaching virtually, and next week, they’ll check in with students to assess internet connectivity and go over expectations. On Sept. 1, regular distance learning is scheduled to begin.