It looks like the Wayland Board of Education is getting ready to drop the hybrid model of instruction and instead go with at least four days a week of classroom instruction.
The board voted unanimously Monday night to have administrators present at least two options, notably with more face-to-face instruction during the Covid-19 pandemic.
School board members have been agonizing over the issue of continuing the hybrid system of two smaller student groups meeting twice a week on site with on-line learning only Wednesdays or having the kids meet more often in classrooms. The issue, which has made Wayland about as divided as Washington D.C., is between the health of students, teachers and staff and the quality of education being offered.
Board of Education President Cinnamon Mellema reported a survey of 990 people revealed 50.2% were satisfied with the hybrid, but nearly 60 percent identified full-time face-to-face instruction as the best way to proceed in the academic year.
A survey late last summer showed better than 80 percent support for fully reopening schools. However, nearly three-fourths of faculty and staff backed the hybrid model that started the academic year.
Superintendent Dr. Christina Hinds last week recommended continuing the hybrid because of safety concerns with the Coronavirus. However, she quickly noted she would implement whatever option the board chooses.
Trustee Gary Wood said, “It does feel like this is slanted (in favor of the hybrid), like we were just steering this conclusion… I feel like the administration hasn’t really given us another option, and that’s disappointing.”
Wood said going immediately to five days face-to-face would be too much too fast, however.
Mellema said, “Our goal is to provide good stuff to the kids without overwhelming the teachers. Everybody wants face to face, but we want it done safely.”
Hinds said she and her administrative team will meet with members of the School Improvement Committee and she hopes to have proposed options ready for the board by Thursday. The board will decide on what to do at its work session Monday, Oct. 26.
There has been talk about implementing changes, if they are approved, by the start of the second trimester next month.
The board heard a presentation earlier in the evening from Angelique Joynes, health officer with the Allegan County Health Department, who offered sobering caution because of a recent spike in Covid-19 cases in the county.
Allegan indeed has reported only seven deaths since the pandemic began in March, but she said there has been a spike of 271% in cases in the last two weeks. As of Oct. 19, the county had more than 1,000 cases, though 728 patients have recovered.
“We’re doing better than surrounding counties, but we’re higher than we’ve ever been in Allegan County,” she told the board, noting that the local 4.4% infection rate is much higher than in September. She added that West Michigan lately has seen an increase in the spread of the virus, but death rates have declined because of better medical treatment.
Mellema noted that Forest Hills Northern, Rockford and Grand Rapids Public Schools have had to shut down lately, at least temporarily, as have Martin and Plainwell.
But at least two parents who spoke at the special meeting said they haven’t been happy with the quality of education associated with the hybrid approach.
Corrie Northey said the hybrid forces parents into a world of problems with day care. Her husband, Andy, insisted he hasn’t heard anything positive about other districts that have been successful with the five days face-to-face model.
Mandy Nielsen said, “My daughters are struggling to keep up with the curriculum… This is a board I would not want to serve on, but I want more instruction time.”
The other side was presented by parents who are teachers.
Missy Sova said she is concerned about “the persistent push to full time.” She said no one second guesses administrators when they decide to call off school because of snow and ice on roads.
She added, “We must use scientific data to make decisions, to protect our students.”
Cindy Mathis urged the board to wait until the infection rate is lower before fully reopening school.
Jocelyn Merchant said, “My family has had to make a lot of adjustments, but we feel Wayland has done a much better job (in plans to go back to school) than other districts.”
Jackie Sowle said, “I want you to consider science rather than public opinion. We need to keep our children and teachers safe.”
