WESTFIELD – At the Jan. 28 Special School Committee meeting, decisions were made to return students to school on Feb. 1 with Cohort A in the hybrid plan; to postpone the elementary parent teacher conferences until Feb. 24, and to extend increased pay for building-based substitutes through the end of February.
The vote to return to school on Feb. 1 was made at the Jan. 21 Special School Committee meeting in order to give the transportation department enough time to schedule school buses. However, at the earlier meeting the committee pledged to confirm that the numbers this week still allowed for the return. Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said on Thursday that the city’s numbers had decreased from 173 to 143, and the schools fared even better.
“Schoolwise, on Jan. 25 there were eight cases, zero on Jan. 26 and 27, and today (Jan. 28) five cases. I think the numbers in this city, much as Joe [Rouse, city health director] predicted, did go down,” Czaporowski said.
Rouse agreed. “We had a nice decrease last week, the two week sample size is where I would like to see it as you already voted to go back. Hopefully, we’ll see another marked decrease next week. I think our numbers went down 30 percent, or close to it,” he said.
Rouse also said the city has entered into Phase 2 for the vaccine, with seniors 75 and older now eligible. He also said a decision was made statewise, as recommended by the CDC, to next vaccinate seniors 65 and over, and after them teachers and staff. ”Just to let you guys know, every step we enter into priority is dictated by the state. We’re going to be limited in the beginning to 100 doses a week, and it will be a signup system for all eligible people at that point,” he said.
Consideration had been given to change the A and B week schedule on the planned return to school on Feb. 1, because the A cohort has had more in person days since the start of school. However, Czaporowski said the overwhelming opinion was to keep the schedule the same, due to the possibility of creating more difficulties for families who had based their schedules on the current calendar.
“We do think there is plenty of time in the school year where many things could happen. There could be a situation where we have to go remote again and change it then. We still have February and March to go through, and February is our snowier month. After talking it through, we decided to wait,” Czaporowski said.
Mayor Donald F. Humason, Jr. and Ramon Diaz both said their children were in the B cohort, but they agreed with the decision.
Czaporowski said instead, he was proposing changing the parent teacher conferences because the later date of Feb. 24 would move the early release day to an A week, which would help to address the unequal days.
School Committee Vice Chair Timothy O’Connor asked whether there had been any discussion about the potential impact of February vacation week on COVID cases.
“My understanding is people are being asked to stay at home,” Czaporowski said, adding If they do go out of state, they will have to quarantine.
“I would caution people about traveling right now,” Rouse said. He said the CDC has shored up their travel restrictions, and Governor Baker may adapt Massachusetts plans to the new CDC guidelines.
Rouse also said if everything else is looking good before the vacation, unless there they start to have an outbreak or cluster in the schools, the district just has to “go for it.”
“Once the vaccine becomes widely available, the governor and commissioner is going to be urging schools to go back. It’s the vaccine piece that’s missing right now. I am hopeful that we will be able to have all our kids before the end of the school year. Maybe it’s a pipe dream, but if we’re able to do it, that would be just great. Right now, we still have to adhere to 23 kids on a bus, six foot social distancing. Until those guidelines are lifted, we’re stuck where we are,” Czaporowski said.
Czaporowski then made a motion to continue the increased substitute pay through the end of February. He said since Jan. 1, they had 19 teachers test positive, most of whom live out of town so they wouldn’t be included in the Westfield numbers. He said in order to open Feb. 1, the increased pay would help to ensure the district has adequate substitutes.
Human Resources Director Paula Ceglowski said the district is trying to limit exposure, which is why they’re looking for building-based substitutes. These positions, which have been increased to $125 per day during the pandemic, require a bachelor’s degree. Other substitute positions don’t require a bachelor’s degree.
Ceglowski said all substitute positions are listed on Schoolspring via the district website at www.schoolsofwestfield.org. When asked about other requirements for substitutes, she said, “You have to like kids.”
“This is another reason we don’t want anyone traveling over the February break, because we are so low on subs,” said committee member Heather Sullivan, before the committee extended the pay increase to the end of February.
At the end of the meeting, O’Connor said the district lost two people in the last week who had been a part of the educational system; Angelo J. Furioni, who had worked in maintenance in the district for 38 years, and Laurence N. Brady, who had taught fifth and sixth grade before becoming principal of Highland Elementary for over 20 years.
“When I was in Highland in fourth grade, Mr. Brady was the principal, I was in line for the cafeteria and he asked if anyone in line was really strong, and my hand went up,” O’Connor recalled. He said for the next 10 minutes, he picked up somebody’s tray. “As we walked out of the cafeteria with a smirk on his face, (I realized) he didn’t need the strongest guy, he just wanted somebody to help him out. It’s those things that you remember,” he said.
“I also am a graduate of Highland School. Mr. Brady used to scare me because he was a giant of a man. When I heard my name called over the loudspeaker (one day) you can imagine my reaction. He just had a message for me to give to my dad,” Bo Sullivan recalled.
Humason then asked for a moment of silence for Furioni and Brady.
