With less than a week before school begins, some Greeley schools struggle to get class sizes down
By Kelly Ragan
As Greeley-Evans School District 6 Superintendent Deirdre Pilch talked to principals preparing to open schools next week, she said one thing seemed to be clear: if they weren’t ready to open now, they never would be.
After a summer of planning, shifting and adjusting, many students will return to their brick and mortar classrooms for the first time since Spring Break.
What do class sizes look like so far?
As of Monday, about 17% of students were enrolled in the district’s full-time online option. About 20% of students enrolled in charter schools had opted to be full-time online as well.
Thanks to the online option and a hybrid system for older students, the district has been able to reduce class sizes to 24 students or less at most schools. That’s the district’s goal.
Some still struggle, such as Heath Middle School, where class sizes are still well above the 24-student recommendation.
Maplewood and Brentwood elementary schools and Franklin Middle School also had class sizes close to the limit by Monday’s count.
“I’m really uncomfortable with the higher numbers at Heath,” said school board member John Haefeli. “That’s a real concern of mine. Somehow, we need to figure something out.”
Pilch said she does have a plan to address those concerns. That plan includes checking to see if any 7th or 8th graders are on a waiting list to transfer to schools like Jefferson Junior High School, which had smaller class sizes by Monday’s count, Pilch said.
“Then we want to make contact with each of those families, check online registration, verify those kids exist and that they’re really coming,” Pilch said.
Though for context, Pilch said, class sizes at Heath in a normal year are often up to 38 students – so while the class sizes are larger than the 24 limit so far, they are smaller than they would be during a normal year.
Testing for teachers
Pilch said the district has been working with the district’s insurance provider and with Banner Health to hash out a way to provide testing for staff who want it through the district provided insurance.
“What we’re looking at is having the possibility of having drive-up testing every 2-3 weeks,” Pilch said. “Banner would then bill insurance for that at no cost to the teacher.”
Health officials, she said, recommend the district wait a few weeks after the start of school to start testing.
Who feels what about returning to school?
Haefeli said he spoke with several teachers who are anxious about returning to school.
“I hope that’s something we can emphasize, that we don’t discount their anxiousness,” he said.
During public comment Monday, several teachers and parents spoke out against returning to in-person classes.
April Kramer, a fourth grade teacher at Maplewood Elementary School, said she opted to teach online this year.
Karen Wainscott, a subsitute teacher, volunteer and parent also spoke at the meeting. She told the board she caught COVID-19 from students she worked with in March. The infection, she said, left her with a chronic cough and relapses.
She criticized the district for not asking for more input on reopening.
“I’m extremely frustrated that this school district has shown me time and time again that I don’t matter,” she said, her voice cracking, “and that the risk to my children doesn’t matter.”
One parent even had to be removed by security after he continued to talk after the two minute time limit.
At the school board meeting Monday, Pilch said principals are confident about returning to in-person learning.
School board member Terri Pappas asked to what extent teachers had been consulted about reopening school.
“I’ve never seen this as an issue teachers should vote on,” Pilch said. “No, we did not ask each teacher what they preferred.”
Pilch said she knows the fear is real and people have genuine concerns about returning to school, both students and staff. But, she said, the district is working with staff who have requested accommodations or leaves of absence.
“I still believe in the power of in-person learning and the power of what our staff can do in person,” she said.
Equity issues
Equity issues are a major driver of District 6’s decision to stick to in-person learning.
About 67% of the district’s students qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch, an indicator of poverty. If the doors close, it’s harder for schools to provide meals to those kids, and it’s impossible for schools to feed kids who don’t qualify thanks to how the funding pans out on a federal level, Pilch said at a previous meeting.
“We can’t feed everyone and be federally reimbursed for that, so it gets really complex,” Pilch said.
That could mean an additional burden for families who don’t qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch but are struggling.
Relying on internet use and access also causes problems. Though the district can provide laptops, internet access is still a barrier for many students.
At the end of the day, remote learning does not provide equal access to education, Pilch said.
“There are homes that do not and cannot have internet at this time,” she said.
Beyond that, Pilch said, going 100% remote will mean hundreds of district staff who aren’t teachers, such as custodians and bus drivers, will lose their paycheck.
People in those positions don’t have the ability to work remotely.
“If we go remote, hourly employees will have to be furloughed,” she said. “That’s the last thing I want to do.”
Update from the health department
On Monday, folks from the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment gave a presentation to the school board.
As of Monday, the positive test rate in Greeley and Evans was about 5%. Weld overall had a positive test rate of about 5.6%.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the median age of patients has changed, according to Cindy Kronauge, senior health data specialist with the health department, and her colleagues.
In March, most patients were older adults and health care workers connected to long-term care facilities (like the outbreaks at Centennial Healthcare Center and Fairacres Manor).
But as of Aug. 6, the median age was 33, with most cases affecting people between 20-59 years old.
Of 2,267 confirmed positive cases, 39, or 1.7%, were ages 0-9 years old. About 92, or 4%, were 10-19 years old.
That’s small potatoes in the grand scheme of things – so far – but keep in mind schools were quick to close as the virus spread. As the school year begins, those numbers will be worth watching.
What would it take for the district to change course?
As it stands, this is what would have to happen for District 6 to move to 100% remote learning:
10% or greater positivity rate in Weld County (we were at about 6.2% as of Monday)
10% or greater COVID-19 related absence in multiple schools
10% or greater student or staff absence districtwide
Dramatically increasing hospitalization rates
Significant increase in rates of new cases per 100,000 people
New guidance from health officials and/or an executive order from Gov. Jared Polis