West, Strickland spar over how long WCPS should stay in Plan C before 4-2 vote to begin school with 3 weeks of remote instruction

With 7,000 students enrolled in Wayne County Public Schools’ state-mandated Virtual Academy, the district does not have enough devices to facilitate all-remote instruction and the Plan B school reopening model at the same time — and won’t until at least October.

Teachers need six weeks of training before they can effectively navigate Plan B.

School bus routes are not yet completed.

And the district only has “about a third” of the “fog machines” needed in the event a student or staff member tests positive for, or shows symptoms of, COVID-19 — equipment Interim Superintendent Dr. James Merrill said could not be “rotated” between schools.

Those concerns, and others, expressed by Merrill and Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Tamara Berman-Ishee led the Wayne County Board of Education at its meeting Wednesday to reverse its July decision to reopen WCPS under the state’s Plan B model — temporarily.

Wednesday’s gathering was the continuation of the board’s monthly meeting, which was recessed Monday because of weather concerns.

But just how long the district will stay in Plan C once students return to school — students on the non-traditional calendar will still begin Aug. 12 and those on the traditional calendar will begin instruction Aug. 17 — was at the heart of a discussion between board members that got heated more than once.

In the end, the issue was decided by a 4-2 vote, and resulted in schools operating under Plan C for the first three weeks of their respective calendars. Board Chairman Chris West and board member Patricia Burden, who both seemed particularly interested in what the “experts” in the room had to say, wanted to delay the implementation of Plan B by at least another week, after Berman-Ishee said six weeks of Plan C would be closer to ideal from a training, planning and device availability perspective.

Before the debate — and the vote — Berman-Ishee told the board the district only has 150 of the 250-300 teachers needed to teach the nearly 40 percent of district students who have opted for the Virtual Academy. 

Principals will begin reaching out to teachers to try to get the number needed to successfully facilitate the state-mandated all-remote option. But if they are unsuccessful, teachers will be forced to participate — either individually or collectively.

“We need teachers for this,” Berman-Ishee said. “We have no choice.”

She then laid out the many challenges still facing Central Office staff and school administrators as they attempt to ensure Plan B can be executed.

“We’ve solved some,” Berman-Ishee said. “We’re still working on others.”

Among them is teacher training.

Berman-Ishee told the board that every teacher should be in the “first-year teacher” mindset this year — as everyone would be asked to educate students in a way they have never experienced before.

But to ensure students are receiving the quality of education they are guaranteed by law, teachers need instruction themselves. Berman-Ishee said that training cannot be accomplished in the few workdays that fall on the calendar before students return to campus under the previously approved Plan B.

“How do they teach this? How do I conceptualize this hybrid model?” she said. “Nobody has trained us (at Central Office on how to train them).”

Bus routes represent another challenge.

“We don’t even definitively know who is enrolled in Wayne County,” Berman-Ishee said, adding that until the rosters are complete, routes cannot be made. “Registration is a little different this year.”

A lack of devices is another critical deficiency.

“Realistically, we are probably looking at October before it’s all here,” Berman-Ishee said. “That makes it harder for us to have some kids all-virtual and some kids on Plan B.”

And because the students attending the Virtual Academy get priority because of Gov. Roy Cooper’s mandate – it is unclear how many of the 7,000 will need laptops – there is no way to ensure every student would have access to the technology they would need under Plan B.

“It’s a hard challenge,” Berman-Ishee said, adding that in the spring when all students were doing remote learning, there wasn’t an issue. “It’s this dual in-school and at home at the same time that we’re worried about.”

After the presentation, Burden said that while she remains ultimately in favor of Plan B, she felt the district — and school administrators and staff — needed more time before it could be successfully implemented.

West agreed, but board member Wade Leatham said the board wasn’t “giving our teachers enough credit” and argued schools could pull off the plan, and opening dates, agreed to last month.

Vice Chairman Jennifer Strickland said she had talked to teachers and principals who told her they were “ready to go back” on schedule but, should the board decide to give them more time to plan and train, they could be prepared in “two weeks.”

Berman-Ishee noted that new information has surfaced very recently that those staff members might not have been aware of when they made those statements.

Strickland wasn’t moved.

She read a letter from Wayne Pregnancy Center that stated the number of teen pregnancies had “doubled” because students were out of school.

She referenced CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations that students return to classrooms.

And she ultimately motioned that the board move into Plan C for the first three weeks of the year.

West disagreed.

“I’m getting texts from principals saying that after the (principals’) meeting today and what was given and presented to them today, it’s completely changed and they don’t know if they’ll be ready in three weeks or four weeks,” he said. “I’m trying to give them a voice through me.”

Burden, who is a former teacher and principal, reiterated that the board should give the district the time its administrative staff says they need to begin the year safely and effectively.

“It doesn’t make sense to have the people that are doing the work to tell you they need one more week over what you’re saying and we cut them off,” Burden said. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Berman-Ishee added that should the board approve Strickland’s motion, “I would ask you to be mindful of the device problem and the training problem in particular. The device problem will linger if we’re back in two weeks or three weeks.”

West attempted, several times, to get more time for the district and its staff. 

He proposed, on multiple occasions, an additional week of remote instruction in the interest of providing more hours for the district to complete training — and, at one point, even asked Berman-Ishee for her recommendation.

“There is not a person that sits on this board that’s actually been in a classroom teaching or in a building administrating except for Patricia Burden,” he said. “What is your recommendation?”

Burden emphasized the need to trust the Central Office staff’s recommendation — and to support the teachers as they make the transition with the training and time they need.

Then, after board attorney Richard Schwartz suggested WCPS’ leadership team be given an opportunity to weigh in, Berman-Ishee said more time was critical for proper training — and to get the district closer to having the devices it so desperately needs.

“I think it’s realistic to assume that we could be in a much stronger position and much better-prepared with six weeks (of remote instruction) than with two or three or four,” Berman-Ishee said. “Keeping in mind the pain I feel about children not being in front of teachers for that amount of time.”

Merrill agreed.

“Obviously, I would like to have as much time as possible to prepare,” he said. “Anywhere from four to six is better than the three to two. We all want the kids back measured against the offsets. So, the more time you can give us, the better. I think Mrs. Ishee has given you the outside ideal for us.”

A few moments later, the board rejected those recommendations by a 4-2 vote, with West and Burden voting against Strickland’s motion.

During board comments, Dr. Joe Democko emphasized that while the board had decided to only grant an extra three weeks to prepare for the reopening, should circumstances change, the board could revisit the decision.

“This could all change tomorrow,” he said. “We are malleable.”

Democko said the board is operating on the information it has at hand and the feeling that “the residents of Wayne County want to see our kids back in school.”

Dealing with COVID-19 and the challenges it creates is tough for everyone, he said.

“We are making decisions on things that we have no earthly idea how it is going to turn out,” he said.

Strickland said that while she “had a bunch of things to say,” that she would “stick to her script.”

She quoted the Bible several times, reading Scripture about standing firm in the face of criticism and avoiding defending yourself when others attack you.

She said she is not paying attention to her critics, but is, instead, making decisions by listening to parents of essential workers who do not have the option of staying home any longer with their children; special education students and those with individualized education plans who have not seen their therapists or gotten the services they need in months; and the teachers and staff she says are anxious to get back into the classroom.

Strickland also noted that she especially values the input of the “servant leaders” at the Wayne Pregnancy Center and local pediatricians who are worried about the effect staying at home has had on the students.

She also chided Cooper, whom she said chose a Plan B reopening for political expediency rather than what was best for the students, dumping the responsibility and the fallout on local boards of education.

“I will always do what is best for the community,” she said.

West said that all board members are trying to do what is best for the children, staff and community, adding that unprecedented times are forcing school leaders to make some tough calls.

“There is probably not anyone in this county who doesn’t wish that we were back to normal,” he said.

But, West added, this is a time to move cautiously and with the bigger picture in mind.

“At the end of the day, we are trying to get our teachers prepared to give our students the best education possible,” he said.