Top Five Takeaways
The School Committee voted unanimously in support of having a 6 feet minimum social distancing standard for initial reopening plans.
The district introduced a timeline for the fall reopening process, with August 13 as the date when the district will share its final reopening plan for the 2020-2021 school year.
More WPS families preferred a within week hybrid model over a by the week hybrid approach.
WPS educators said that remote learning practices and anti-racism education were top professional development needs.
Although 68 percent of WPS educators surveyed said they would be willing to return in person to teach, 60 percent felt nervous about returning.
Reports
We encourage students to contact us through the PROVIDE INPUT tab at the top of this page or email us at wscstudentreport@gmail.com to help us better represent students in our reports during these meetings.
Fall Learning Plan Timeline
The district released a timeline for the fall reopening process.
Three feet vs. six feet social distancing guidelines
Although state guidelines said that a social distancing standard of at least six feet is preferred in schools, the guidelines also suggested that three feet minimum could be sufficient as long as students, teachers, and faculty wear masks, wash their hands, and practice other sanitation measures.
Considering the recommendation of the Wellesley Board of Health, the School Committee voted unanimously in support of requiring a six feet minimum social distancing standard for initial reopening plans. Additionally, both WMS and WHS cannot accommodate 100 percent of their respective student bodies even with repurposed spaces at a 6 feet distance, so it is not possible for either school population to return to full in-person learning for the fall.
WPS Family Survey Results
After surveying a total of 2754 WPS parents/guardians from July 3 and July 10, Anne Beauchamp and Joan Dabrowski of the WPS administration presented the results. The district collected 1111 responses from WHS parents/guardians.
Of the 1111 responses, families said they would enroll their children in full in-person and hybrid models at similar rates. More families preferred a within week hybrid model over by the week model.
WPS Educator Survey Results
From July 6 to July 13, the district collected a total of 733 educator survey responses. Of the total responses, 198 were from WHS educators. While 68 percent of WPS educators said that they can return in person, 61 percent of WPS educators are nervous about returning to buildings.
WPS educators cited remote learning aspects and anti-racism education as important professional development needs. The majority of WPS educators were highly concerned about their emotional and physical well-being. WPS educators were most concerned about supporting people in their lives.
Hardy Hunnewell Upham (HHU) Schematic Design Vote
The School Committee voted unanimously to approve the Hunnewell schematic design. For more details, you can watch the presentation from the last meeting (7/7/20) at 58:49
Full 7/15 Meeting Video