As of right now, what is your plan for the remainder of this semester and moving on forward?
At this point, we have transitioned to 100% virtual for all students and staff at least through December 7. We will evaluate the data closer to the end of this week to determine if we can at least return with the staff in the buildings and the high school students returning 1 day per week, per grade level. My prediction is that we will not return until 2 weeks after New Year's Day. As of last week, Lake County, IN entered the "red zone" for community spread. In this category, the Lake County Board of Health recommends all schools move to 100% virtual.
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What were the results of the referendum and does it bode well for your school?
Unfortunately, it did not bode well for our district. Last year we had to close an elementary school and consolidate the students into 1 remaining elementary building to reduce costs. If we do not pass a referendum by next year, we will have to eliminated bus transportation to save the $1.4 million lost to the property tax caps which began this year. We are not sure, at this point, if there will be additional revenue lost due to COVID. If so, I am not sure what we will do. We have cut staff to bare minimum needed to function in an urban district with over 90% at-risk students.
Cutting the buses will only help to maintain operating costs (paying utilities, debt, etc.). We will not have funds to increase teacher pay or to make much needed repairs to our buildings. For example, the HVAC system at the high school is almost non-operational. We keep placing band-aids on the system, but it needs to be replaced. The same is true for the electrical system. This was never updated to account for the increased technology. Schools were built 50 years ago to accommodate lights and chalkboards, not laptops, printers, etc. The referendum was supposed to help make these improvements, as well as make safety improvements. For example, the Main Door at the high school is not secure. Visitors are buzzed in by the Main Office, and once in the building, they have full access to go anywhere. The Main Office is around a corner and out of view of the Main Door. This was supposed to be completely remodeled so that visitors had to enter the Main Office before being able to go anywhere else in the building.
All this being said, we have been working with the State of Indiana on our budget. They have audited us and told us that they do not see anywhere else we can cut and agree we are managing our finances very well, considering the constraints. However, the State doesn't increase funds just because the community won't pass a referendum. The community doesn't understand this part. They think the State should cover all budget needs, but that is not the way the system is set up. We will need to try for another referendum next year, but the economic impact of COVID may not work in our favor.
Mrs. Von Ogden mentioned your school has not attempted a hybrid method, why is this? Do students lack the proper internet?
We had a hybrid model at the high school. The students came in 1 day per week, per grade level. We were not able to do this K-8 for several reasons, such as:
The number of staff who were eligible to take the 10 weeks paid leave for not having childcare due their children's school being remote. By going virtual, all staff were able to continue working and bring their own children to school for childcare. We couldn't accommodate for their childcare if our own students were in the building for safety reasons. If they would have taken the leave, we would have not been able to find subs or teachers to replace them while they were on leave. It would have been much tool costly.
The number of staff who were eligible for ADA or FMLA leaves due to being in a high-risk category for COVID. Just as with the staff above, not having these staff available to teach would have crippled our ability to function. By being virtual, we were able to maintain staffing to teach all courses.
The number of students opting to be virtual only due to COVID was over 60%. Given the high number of students choosing virtual and a limited number of staff members, asking the teachers to teach both in-person and remote students is overwhelming, especially with a high at-risk population.
The number of staff out due to being Close Contacts or Contracting COVID has been so high that if students were in the building, they would be out most of the time anyways because the teaching staff keeps having to quarantine and isolate for weeks at a time. This type of disruption to our parents' schedules and to the students is not favorable either. Our parents and students need consistency and need to be able to plan appropriately for childcare.
These were just a few of the hurdles. There are many more, but those were the major factors in making the decision for remote learning, along with Lake County and Gary being hotspots for COVID transmission. We have hotspots for any student without WiFi. 100% of the students have a device and access to the internet.
Have students had to drop out to help their families financially?
​No, and we would do everything we could to prevent this from happening. We would use our virtual curriculum to accommodate any student in this situation. Many of our student work, some over 40 hours a week, but their employers all accommodate their school schedule. Since we are a small district, we know our students well. They know we will always find a way.
Has lack of attendance been an issue?
Yes, for some. There have been a nuber of families who have lost housing and are doubled, even tripled up in houses, some even out of state temporarily. However, we make sure after 2 absences that we have a personal contact with every student and parent to support any needs they may have, whether financial, physical health, mental health, etc. We have made accommodations for students to turn in work late, work with tutors in the evening, etc. to help with any attendance issues. So far, so good.
Is there any current sort of counseling or therapy for students or staff?
Yes, for both. We have partnerships with 3 mental health providers. They are offering counseling to staff, students, and families. They have been amazing. Soon they are going to be offering some virtual group therapy to our teachers. They are experiencing COVID fatigue and depression. We asked them to start this in the next couple of weeks. We hope this will help. Self-care is critical in making it through this pandemic.
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What would you prioritize your money with first?
Personnel. Teachers and School Counselors first. According to all research, when students are 2 or more grade levels behind, as over 50% of our students are, they should have closer to a 3:1, if not 1:1 once at the secondary level, to make the gains necessary to decrease academic gaps. We are no where near that of course. However, any additional funding would first go to decreasing the adult to student ratio. With funds beyond that, we need to update our facilites to make them safe. Air quality is a must.
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How has your school dealt with the parents of students?
Since we are remote, we have been able to interact with more parents now more than ever. This has been a plus. We also have worked to give them access to us through our social media, emails, Google Voice phone numbers to call and text, etc. Again, since we are a small district, 2-way communication with our parents has been a strength, especially at the elementary level.
And how did you convey the information to them in terms of safety?
If you are speaking about safety related to COVID, we have COVID information on our website, we send letters home, do all calls/texts, and have been successful with participation in Facebook Live events with our community throughout the pandemic.
