蜜桃影视

Just over a year after a by Johns Hopkins University indicted Providence public schools for low academic standards and unsafe buildings, the district has launched a hybrid reopening model amid all the familiar worries of COVID-19 鈥斅爒entilation, social distancing and testing.

The 24,000-student district鈥檚 woes may be higher-profile than most thanks to the Hopkins report, but with students and teachers back in their classrooms since Sept. 14, Providence now walks the same thin line as many other small and medium-size public school systems. Should the district prioritize the academic and social well-being of its student population, which studies suggest may be by remote learning, or the physical health of students and staff by avoiding the hazard of facilities that have seen ?

The answer is that Providence will somehow need to do both.

鈥淲e鈥檙e willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that people feel safe, that their kids get an education,鈥� Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Ang茅lica Infante-Green, who took charge of the district last year after a state takeover, told 蜜桃影视. 鈥淲e were already behind the 8-ball, we know that.鈥�

Providence, like many of its small-city counterparts foraging for revenue streams even before the pandemic, will have to manage this difficult balance with limited funds.

鈥淪mall-city school districts tend to have older facilities,鈥� explained Andrew Van Alstyne, a co-author of a 2018 report on . So as these districts try to adapt to the pandemic, 鈥渢hey鈥檙e doing this with their backs already against the wall.鈥�

The 2019 report from Johns Hopkins University researchers on Providence schools found that 鈥淸the city鈥檚 buildings] are crumbling, there鈥檚 mold, there鈥檚 water coming into the building.鈥�

鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to be told in Providence that we鈥檙e struggling. We know we鈥檙e struggling,鈥� said Providence high school teacher Maya Chavez.

For many teachers, fixing Providence鈥檚 schools is a matter of equity. of the children the district serves come from low-income families, and are students of color. If Providence schools fail to effectively mitigate the risks of the virus, it will be historically marginalized students who bear the brunt of the consequences.

鈥淚f we don鈥檛 have the resources, then we need to demand that those resources are made available. We can鈥檛 just accept this idea that Providence kids are going to be less safe 鈥� and less healthy, and less cared for than kids in other districts,鈥� said Chavez.

Providence schools have undergone a , thanks in part to learning spearheaded by Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo. Elementary students are back for full in-person learning, while middle school students and high school freshmen alternate between days of in-person and remote instruction. Most other high school grades are still primarily remote, and districtwide, 6,500 students opted out of in-person learning entirely, signing up for a remote option through the first semester.

In response to the virus, Providence has upped its efforts to ensure safety. All summer, the district was working to update school facilities, and each of the district鈥檚 38 buildings has a plan to maintain good . For sanitation, the district now has 60 percent more custodians on staff than last year.

鈥淲e know the buildings are aging. 鈥� But that does not make the buildings unsafe for COVID,鈥� said Infante-Green.

But some teachers aren鈥檛 so confident. Many buildings have windows that are and will not open (though the district said these classrooms have been equipped with air purifiers). Multiple teachers told 蜜桃影视 that even during in-service training this September, their HVAC systems didn鈥檛 function properly. When the district released the results of its school-readiness walk-throughs before opening, a number of schools had marked incomplete.

There are 鈥渕ajor, major problems that are slipping through the cracks and going unnoticed,鈥� said Chavez.

Chavez and a number of other teachers have been outspoken in their efforts to call attention to these issues. They have taken to Twitter of safety hazards in their classrooms. A week before the district reopened, the Providence Teachers Union staged a protest on the statehouse lawn setting up a to demonstrate just how cramped their buildings would be.

鈥業 miss learning鈥�

Commissioner Infante-Green hopes staff will unite and direct their focus on the task ahead. 鈥淩ight now we鈥檙e fighting a pandemic, and we should be working together to get our kids ready and to be front and center,鈥� she said in a press conference after the to the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety for a districtwide facility review.

Even during a pandemic, the district has implemented a number of measures to promote student success. It invested in a new K-8 curriculum, expanded teacher professional development, created algebra tutoring options for all ninth-graders, and rolled out college dual enrollment opportunities for high school seniors. This week, seniors also returned to their buildings for half days, in part to prepare for the college application process.

Still, in majority-low-income districts like Providence, there鈥檚 reason to believe that the most important move of all may simply be the safe return to in-person learning. Initial research on the effects of COVID on education finds that remote learning low-income students, who may be less likely to have reliable internet, quality devices and a room free from distractions. Many Providence students are grateful for the chance to be back in the classroom.

鈥淚 miss learning,鈥� said Ghana Alnmes, a sixth-grader who immigrated to Providence five years ago with her family as refugees displaced by conflict in Syria. Alnmes is a star student: Even while honing her English language skills, she earned a spot in her middle school鈥檚 gifted and talented program. But even for her, remote learning was difficult this past spring.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e online, you just open the computer, and press on the meeting, and just, like, go to sleep or something,鈥� she said. Most of the kids 鈥渞eally don鈥檛 do anything or listen to the teacher.鈥� When she herself was tired, she would record the classes to watch later, Alnmes was quick to note. She鈥檚 glad to now be back for in-person learning at least part of the time.

Michellette Brand, a high school senior in Providence, has also had difficulty with remote learning. She attends a charter school that opted to start the year fully online. During the school day, she regularly has to tend to her two younger brothers. 鈥淢y house is actually really loud. So it鈥檚 very stressful to be in a house that鈥檚 very loud, that you can鈥檛 really control. Because I can鈥檛 focus on school work,鈥� explained Brand.

But even though she recognizes the benefits of in-person learning, Brand has been upset with the way Providence has gone about its reopening. She is a leader in the Providence Student Union, and she has joined multiple conversations with district officials that were billed as opportunities for students to share their voices, including one meeting with the commissioner the week before schools reopened, but she doubts whether students were taken seriously.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like we鈥檙e just not being listened to,鈥� said Brand. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like they host these meetings and conversations just so they can be like, 鈥楬ey, look, we are listening to you.鈥� But it鈥檚 kind of just like for show. It鈥檚 not really for action.鈥�

Still, Brand hopes that the district will be real about the challenges and dangers of COVID. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 something that you can sugarcoat. It鈥檚 a serious issue,鈥� said Brand.

鈥楢re they going to tell us if there鈥檚 COVID in the classroom?鈥�

For Providence high school teacher Cindy Castellone, the dangers are personal and threatening. She is the primary caregiver for her husband, who is recovering from heart surgery, and she has additional health complications herself. She filed an application to teach in the district鈥檚 Virtual Learning Academy, a remote learning option for Providence students, but her request was denied. Later, she heard that some teachers had received Virtual Learning Academy placements even though they preferred to teach in person.

Via text, Providence Teachers Union President Maribeth Calabro confirmed what Castellone had heard but explained that 鈥渇olks are fearful of speaking out due to retaliation.鈥�

鈥淭he lack of transparency has been really quite horrifying,鈥� said Castellone.

Parents in the district share Castellone鈥檚 frustration. Toting signs reading 鈥淵ou Promised Us Transparency. This Isn鈥檛 It鈥� and 鈥淭ell Us the Ventilation Plan by Classroom,鈥� a group of parents representing 11 Providence schools in the lead-up to reopening.

鈥淭hey give us a note if there鈥檚 lice in our classroom. Are they gonna tell us if there鈥檚 COVID in our classroom? Are they gonna tell us if there鈥檚 COVID in the school?鈥� said Jenna Karlin, one of the parents who took part in the protest.

Herself the symbol of institutional power in the district, Commissioner Infante-Green empathized with their concerns. 鈥淭here鈥檚 distrust in Providence, period. I think they have been let down for a very long time, so anything that anyone says, their first instinct is not to trust.鈥�

But amid fear and skepticism, health experts are optimistic about the measures that Providence schools have put in place.

鈥淲e鈥檝e really set up a robust approach to addressing COVID in the K-12 school system,鈥� said Dr. Philip Chan, associate professor of medicine at Brown University and medical director for the Rhode Island Department of Health. Any student or staff member who is symptomatic or has been exposed to someone who tested COVID positive will have access to free, rapid-results testing. 鈥淲e are really leading the way in this,鈥� said Chan. 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e set a model for other places.鈥�

As of Sept. 28, across Rhode Island, there had been 33 positive cases identified among in-person students and staff and 44 positive cases identified among virtual learners, said the state department of education. According to Chan, those results actually represent the successful interruption of the chain of transmission in schools. 鈥淭hat was what the system was designed to do,鈥� he said.

But as strong as Providence鈥檚 safety measures may be, the task ahead for the district will be anything but easy. Notwithstanding the many uncertainties and even with district critics, there is still a shared sense of purpose and commitment to the city鈥檚 students.

Karlin, the parent of two elementary students, has confidence in the school environment her children enter each day. 鈥淭he leadership of the school, the teachers, the aides, right, I think everyone there is really excited to see them and will give them 鈥� a warm and caring and steady environment,鈥� she said.

High school teacher Chavez, while demanding changes for her students, knows that the path forward will take work on all sides.

鈥淚鈥檓 not here to call Providence out. I鈥檓 here to call Providence in.鈥�

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