By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The Bowling Green Board of Education voted unanimously this morning for a plan that is hoped to provide the best education and safety for students.
The plan offers full-time in-person learning for students whose families feel that is safe, and remote access to classes for those whose families don’t feel being back in the classrooms is safe.
The decision was met with relief by some parents, and concerns by others that this decision is too little, too late.
Melissa Hill said her children will be ecstatic about the shift to full-time in-person classes – especially her youngest.
“I can’t wait to go home and tell my kindergartner that they will let her go back to school full-time,” Hill said.
But other parents, like Suzanne Swope, were worried about the damage already done.
“This could have been planned in July,” Swope said, expressing concern that many children will suffer long-term effects from nearly a year with no in-person classes. “Our children have lost so much.”
Prior to the meeting this morning, a couple dozen parents and some children stood outside the meeting location in the Performing Arts Center, holding signs expressing their feelings.
D.J. and Amy Deiter held signs stating “Our kids deserve better education” and “This year is a joke.” As a blended family, they have seen the effects on their children – with some having in-person classes, and some not.
“It’s just frustrating when as a parent you see other school districts holding classes,” D.J. Deiter said. “It’s embarrassing” for the Bowling Green district.
Amy Deiter praised Bowling Green teachers, but added that remote learning is just not as good as in-person classes.
“Our kids just want to go back to school and have a teacher really teach to them,” she said.
The plan recommended by Superintendent Francis Scruci and approved by the board calls for the district to return to full in-person instruction on March 29. For those families with concerns about their students returning full-time, remote access to classes will be provided for those in grades 6-12.
For kindergarten through fifth grade, the district will provide:
- In-person classes five days a week.
- NOVA classes supplemented by Bowling Green teachers, with daily interaction with teachers and support staff.
For grades 6 through 12, the district will offer:
- In-person classes five days a week.
- NOVA classes supplemented by Bowling Green teachers.
- Remote access to in-person instruction.
Parents interested in the online option for their students must enroll them by contacting their schools. The deadline to sign up is Wednesday, March 24, at 4 p.m.
School board President Norm Geer said this plan seemed like the next logical step for the district. And board member Jill Carr noted all the improvements to the online NOVA option.
Angie Schaal, executive director of teaching and learning for the district, explained how Bowling Green teachers supplement the online NOVA program.
“We have not just slapped an online system up and said ‘Good luck,’” she said.
Schaal also said the NOVA program already offers AP classes in biology, calculus, American history and American government, plus honors classes in algebra and English.
Today’s decision about in-person classes is the third made by the board in less than two weeks. The board voted unanimously on March 9 to return to school full-time. That vote was rescinded on March 16 when three of the five board members changed their minds.
The plan approved today is an effort to meet the needs of students whose families want them back to school full time, and those who worry that full-time in-person learning is not safe.
At the beginning of this morning’s meeting, Scruci explained that Bowling Green City School District was better prepared than most for the online learning that was required early on in the pandemic. However, the district’s old school buildings, small classrooms and poor ventilation systems made it difficult to return in-person, he said.
“We never tried to hide that,” Scruci said.
Again this morning, Scruci repeated that the district cannot guarantee safe social distancing. However, CDC guidelines now allow opening of windows with fans pointing outward, and three feet social distancing, he added. And on March 29, COVID vaccines will be opened up for ages 16 and older.
But parent suggestions about using outdoor tents for lunches and classes are not options, he said, talking about the school buildings’ safety infrastructures to stop intruders.
“Our entire administration team wants our students back as much as parents,” Scruci said.
Today’s decision added the remote access option for grades 6-12. Schaal and technology director Beth Krolak stressed that remote access is not the same as remote instruction.
“Our teachers are teaching the kids in front of them,” Schaal said.
The live-streaming of classes will allow students at home to listen in, but not to interact. The administrative team looking at the remote access option all agreed that it is not a good educational tool for elementary students. And it will not be as good as in-person learning for hands-on classes like science labs.
“There will be limitations,” Krolak said.
Students should not expect the same interaction with their teachers, said Middle School Principal Eric Radabaugh.
“Our teachers are frequently moving around the classroom,” he said. That is ideal for in-person – but not for online.
Students who are quarantining or isolating due to COVID will also be able to attend the online classes, so they don’t miss two weeks of school.
Conneaut Elementary Principal Alyssa Karaffa explained why livestreaming classes is not a viable option for K-5 students. Elementary students are constantly moving and having interaction with their teachers, and asking students at home to “sit and get” their lessons is “not educationally sound,” she said.
“In-person instruction is the best option when it is safe, when it is possible,” Karaffa said.
