BATH — Regional School Unit 1 plans to continue having its younger students split time between attending school in person and learning from home, despite some resistance from parents who want to see the kids go back to classrooms for the full week.
The district’s board of directors decided to delay sending pre-kindergarten through 5th grade students back to classrooms , out of concern that the return to normal could increase the spread of COVID-19.
The board fielded 36 public comments from parents, most of which were critical of the board’s late-September decision late, but a handful thanked board members for prioritizing students’ health and safety.
Allison Cosgrove, an RSU 1 parent, wrote the board’s decision to hold younger students at their part-time, in-person plan “deeply saddened many families and students.”
“It will have a negative impact not only on children’s academic progress but on their social and emotional wellbeing as well,” Cosgrove wrote. “This decision creates an enormous amount of negative consequences such as stress and uncertainty regarding childcare, emotional wellbeing of students’ families and compounds the gaps students are experiencing with their education.”
Manuel said district officials are developing a childcare option for RSU 1 parents through the Bath YMCA with some CARES Act funding. Information will be released to parents when a plan has been ironed out.
Leslie Gallant, a kindergarten teacher at Dike Newell School, said the part-time, in-person plan benefits children because the smaller class allows students to receive individualized attention from teachers with fewer disruptions.
“Their work, play and engagement with learning in the short time we have had them in kindergarten so far is phenomenal,” wrote Gallant. “The personalized attention they can each receive is a powerful gift and one I am so happy we can provide. I have been able to make connections with individual students quicker and in more depth due to the class size.”
Pre-kindergarten through grade 5 students will continue to attend school in person two days a week, and distance learning will begin this week, said RSU 1 Assistant Superintendent Katie Joseph. She said teachers will send students home with paperwork to complete as much as possible to reduce the amount of time young students spend on the computer.
RSU 1 serves Bath, Phippsburg, Arrowsic and Woolwich.
School board members reiterated that the decision to keep younger students in a mixed in-person and distance-learning plan was meant to reduce the number of students per classroom, allowing more space between students to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
As of Friday, there have been 5,468 confirmed or probable cases in Maine since the coronavirus pandemic reached the state in mid-March. Of those diagnosed, 4,741 people have recovered and 142 Mainers have died.
The board’s initial decision late last month was prompted by a survey in which 60% of the responding teachers and staff told administrators they’re not convinced changing to a full-time, in-person plan would be the safest option for students and staff. Their concerns centered around students getting too close to one another when eating and moving from one activity to another.
Board members reassured parents their ultimate goal is to have all students back in school, but they need to ensure they can do that safely.
“There’s a very clear commitment on the part of the board and the administration to come back and revisit this decision as circumstances change,” said Stephen August, board chair. “Our goal is clear: We want our schools open full-time for all our students.”
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