Joint Committee on Education Informational Oversight Hearing

 You can find the livestream here; note that testimony today is by invitation, though anyone is welcome to send in written testimony to the co-chairs at Jason.Lewis@masenate.gov and Alice.Peisch@mahouse.gov.

updating as we go

Senator Lewis acknowledge "the extraordinary effort" of (long list here) those involved in K-12 education
aware that decision making "has been contentious" in many communities
"must do everything possible to support the academic and social emotional" needs of students
danger of exacerbating opportunity gaps
"need to focus on the needs of these students"
expect it will shed light on challenges; hope it will shed light on best practices

Rep. Peisch: thank all members of the education community from custodians to teachers, principals, paraprofessional
extraordinary effort to get schools operating "in some fashion"
"no easy answers"
"recognize all of these challenges"
importance of ensuring that our students are well-served, particularly our high risk students
did hold hearing in the spring: informed decision making going forward
"by no means" a normal reopening
purpose is the examine what has changed since May

Lewis: expect about four hours of testimony
Secretary and Commissioner
Then MASS and MASC

Secretary Peyser and Commissioner Riley first
had no idea back in March when schools shut down that we'd be here seven months later, but "the virus had other ideas"
nooo it wasn't the virus
long list of thanks here
and now he talks about childcare for awhile, which I assume is to try to prove that this is all fine
between 85 and 90 cases a week
DESE provided "detailed guidance" for reopening this fall after consulting
uh
"have to make sure that parents feel comfortable and confident" that their children are safe in schools
absence of school "can cause and already has caused" harm to students
for many students, when they are not in school, they are not always as "well monitored or as safe" as school itself
what an odd way of putting that
administration has "strongly encouraged" districts to be back in school
"we are encouraged that most school buildings are open for business"
preparing to "audit such districts who have unnecessarily delayed" in person instruction
"nearly $1B" in funding
"increased school aid for FY21"
"add up to more than was called for in the Student Opportunity Act"
yup, there's that line again
"increasingly clear" that schools are not sources of transmission of schools
this is the sort of line that ends up in the books later
"in the name of equity and justice, we must do everything we can" to provide students with meaningful instruction this year "and that includes MCAS"
know that there will be increasing push to hold off on MCAS for another year; must be seen "as a stalking horse" for ending the test entirely
and now he's doing a college thing
cites the parochial schools
"should accelerate our efforts to get students back in the classroom"

Riley: priority remains the health and well-being of students and staff
have seen regression in skill development
Significant progress to bring as many students back safely
most families that are...I missed that...it ended with "in school"
"want to take a few moments to talk about fiscal relief"
okay thing there which also included PEBT and nutrition
now going to start starring if institutional impact on community case count
guidance now is updated that districts "are encouraged to remain open even if their community is red" so long as schools are not sources of community spread
80% of schools in full or hybrid, majority in hybrid
preparing for MCAS in 2020-21
instructional support networks: "our school support remain strong"
over 225 pages of guidance "and we will continue to update our guidance as necessary"
"plan to be responsive to districts needs"
request have resulted in commitments by many districts to provide as much in person instruction as possible 
worth noting, by the way, that the two districts the state ended up furthering their "audits" with had flipped to red and to yellow by the time the state asked
positive cases of students and staff that have been in school buildings within 7 days of  a positive result
state tracking how many students of various demographics are learning through what model
technology: "was and is our belief that all students required" technology literacy
and there was a bunch more here about technology
and there was a passing thing there about engaging with families which somehow segued us into fewer cases in schools?
use several weeks of community health data before shifting models
"keep their models open until there is evidence that community transmission in a school"
COVID compensatory services for students for early ed, transitioned-aged students
elevate importance of that
"continue our districts throughout the year"
monitor districts
"continue their districts to align with health metrics"
"review and monitor" for best practices

Lewis: questions from Senators
from Comerford and (sorry, I missed who else...Hinds, maybe?) unique challenges of rural districts, ongoing lack of broadband access, lack of access to rapid testing: speak to challenges
Riley: continue to work on many of areas; beginning rapid testing rolling out; "significant work on technology"; transportation guidance being reviewed right now "particularly for green and grey districts" considering "a loosing of standards"
Lewis question from DiDomenico: students learning remotely especially in urban areas, amount of teaching directly, students being home alone due to parents needing to work, especially true of children of color
"high quality delivery of remote instruction" and how to support families with range of challenges
Riley: DESE monitoring throughout the year the quality of remote instruction
quality and amount of synchronous and asynchronous instruction
day care: "equity pods"
Peyser: crucial that we bring students back in person as much as possible
Lewis: pod question: time, sequence
Riley: addressing time with superintendents, effort to communicate with learning pods
Cyr: when students and families travel out of state; only students over age of 10 need a negative test to come back into school
concern around Thanksgiving holidays approaching; families traveling out of state, impact on schools
asks if we should be thinking of week after Thanksgiving "be a fully remote week in all of our schools" in order to not see a spike as a result
Peyser: some questions better to ask DPH
"I would be very concerned if districts adopted as a policy...a fully out of school or remote week after Thanksgiving...communicate with families that they need to be taking precautions with their health all the time, not just on holidays, in order for children to be back in schools"
Riley: spoke to district, have said that is not the way to go
Lewis: tensions in some places around remote learning: what does audit mean?
Riley: some districts had turned in plans earlier than we had asked
"on a call with school committees, we told they did not have to change what they had voted on"
that is not what he said
left them alone for first three weeks, four five
sent out sixteen letters, still concerned about two districts

Peisch asking for Tucker: when might you make decisions about changes on MCAS
Why are you giving MCAS
Riley: usually assessment in the fall
different than a common statewide assessment
waiver was due to waiver from US DoE, and waiver from state law
federal government has signaled that they aren't giving out waivers this year
assuming that administration is still there
no relief from the law on MCAS
"Fervently believe that we need diagnostic statewide data...I think parents want to know"
"lots of money tied to the test" by which, nice clarification by Peisch, federal title grants
Peyser: "can't write off this year" academically, going to create problems for ourselves later
Peisch from Tyler: percentage of families not contacted
Riley: "we know that schools are our ultimate safety nets"
"an incredible resource for families"
"promote need for districts to be overcommunicative for families"
Peisch asking for Walsh: students moving to private online education services
also withdrawn from local public schools?
Riley: state does a yearly October 1 collection
"in process of collecting all that data...more info in next week or two"
seeing particularly in kindergarten, staying home a year, and moving to parochial schools
Peisch for Vargas: work on low income count 
Riley: work has slowed, but continues, particularly on students whose immigration status is question
Peyser: think committee will be getting report "within a matter of days"

MASS Tom Scott and MASC Glenn Koocher
Scott: three districts reporting today in different models
planning began in spring, hope that would be back in buildings
"have been an exhausting time for all of us"
families split on what they wanted to do
unions wanting to go remote; local negotiations differing
70% of districts back for at least some in person
"appreciate amount of product" provided to us by Department
weekly meetings with superintendents; Commissioner gave cell number to superintendents
training around remote learning for staff
connectivity, technology, tech support in local districts
working with parents and creating options and schedules; forums for families
staffing and scheduling
working with school committees who ultimately had to decide on what model to follow
ventilation, PPE, distancing, logistics on class size, how to go about in-person and remote
for districts in hybrid, "there are some serious challenges" on how to go about in-person teaching; streaming, asynchronous learning, other forms of simultaneous learning
each model not something we had a deep sense of research
think that ten days of PD were invaluable
association concerned about burnout factor of superintendents
"because there is no good decision"
Hybrid is very challenging model for teachers; only five or six weeks into school year
still learning as we go; have to be very cognizant of demands on teachers right now
"certainly the Commissioner was very clear that those decisions were local decisions and would be respected"
MASS supported with regional roundtable meetings
upcoming issues: flu shots; while 85% of children generally receive, some do not; need state support on backstop
impact on holiday events: concern of superintendents
how to deal with number of families who choose to go out of state
"but I want to focus on our staff"
Ventilation with colder weather coming on; classrooms not as open to fresh air
metrics: color coded metric "given to us a little too late to us in the summer"
"has certainly some usage, but looking for something more expanded"
"our schools don't usually reflect our communities" number of cases don't reflect number of cases in our schools
what?
fragile structure of staffing; need for staffing; not enough flexibility for parents who want to send children back
"concern about illnesses among the staff"
fill the need for adults in our classrooms
COVID testing
"change is unfortunately a part of what we need to deal with"
CDC change for 15 minutes cumulatively: changes the way in which educators might set up learning models
Those are the kind of things...nothing seems to be stable
based on numbers from superintendents: 40 to 50,000 students who won't be enrolled compared to next year
"how to address our budget heading into FY22"
Many feel needs will be greater than they are right now
"we understand that MCAS has its value...our concern is in the diagnostic domain rather than the accountability view"
"going to need that to assess where we are with our children"
technology is something that we need to pay attention to; "basic fundamental right that we provide to all of our students"
"relationships matter"
"we've learned a tremendous amount, and we'll continue to learn and improve as we go on"
Koocher: our members include doctors and others
additional information that may not have been repeated
"children are resilient and they can recover from this and we're confident in that"
do want to continue approaching guidance
"deeply concerned about the fiscal year 22 budget, simply because those in the know don't know"
confident that federal aid is coming
some districts have 4, 5, 8, 12 communities in them
"districts are doing the best that they can"
the threat of an audit for not getting students back in the building...is not helpful for us...when you threaten us, you demonize yourself and energize the rest of us in the field to do the best that we can"
parents' patience are wearing thin
negotiations with unions ongoing
concern of high school seniors over what comes next
compliment Commissioner on efforts with field; leery of how test data might be used
"our members have never opposed testing...only how it was used"
"very convenient to blame the federal government...but expect those will be rescinded on January 22 at 12:01 pm"
Berkshire County task force work
Staffing in buildings; work on teacher shortage
concern over well-child visits

Peisch: what would be helpful to have more in-person learning?
hybrid model difficult to manage
"any one thing that would get more students into the schools?"
Scott: medical community will have to signal that we can relax the six foot distancing issue
and bus issue
"if the transmission rate is as low as they say it is...and we begin to see the right kind of therapeutics and supports...and there are districts that are interested in that, for sure"
Peisch: aware of anything that would suggest that there is a problem relative to the health of the staff?
Scott: from a COVID perspective, no. But normal progression of a school year with other things
Koocher: public health and education people could get together and look at some of the more complex situations
regionals "have colors all over the place"
Peisch: policies at district level dealing with what to do with a student who does not show up?
Koocher: general policies in place that can still apply; having someone go check on them
"it's in everyone's interest to find them"
Scott: matter of accountability
Lewis: superintendents and school committee members have a difficult job in usual times; "in these past several months, I think it's been extraordinarily difficult"
how are we doing at educating our students?
Koocher: special needs kids "are being better served than others, but not as well as we'd like"
other students at risk, remote learning isn't working as well for them; "they need to be back in school...the sooner we can get them back in school, the better off we'll be"
Scott: compliments Russell Johnston for work with districts in making it as clear as possible
"adding additional pressure and support to get all of those children back in person as soon as possible...and I'll be perfectly be blunt: they should be in person as much as reasonably possible"


sorry, missing a bit of Billerica here
Principal of Kennedy Middle: "it should be noted that teachers are working harder and more hours than I have ever seen"
worry about the strain on teachers' families
umbrella report is I think teachers feel safer as time as gone on; fewer questions about HVAC and more about learning
I think most of the Kennedy community feels safety and learning are not in conflict
parent commented that some districts have reverted to full remote learning; hopeful state remains healthy enough that hybrid can continue until can return to full learning in schools
Lewis: wife is a middle school science teacher, appreciate hearing that about their work
what more do you think we can and should be doing to support teachers and other staff?
funding, acknowledge is federal dollars, but what else
Superintendent Piwowar: appreciate saying it's like a first year teacher or administrator
"there's been the conversation about MCAS and accountability and all the pieces that go with that"
"very anxiety provoking for teachers"
"if it's given, we should say loudly and clearly that we're using it for diagnostic" not for comparing
"context varies widely"
"ramp down the accountability place and say that loudly and clearly and widely"
Peisch: asks about timing
Piwowar: high needs special ed and English learners back four days a week
community outreach social worker to reach out to those students who aren't engaged; transited from a truant officer position
"still sort some paraprofessionals for in-person jobs"
Peisch: total costs due to hybrid?
Piwowar: some increase staffing costs, decreased transportation; still working through budget to quantify that

Springfield Superintendent Dan Warwick: runs through district demographics
note that they are remotely learning
have 57 schools; three that were built in the 1800's
industrial hygienist coming back with report to committee on Thursday
have 8 positive cases with staff, even as they are working remotely
looking at report and levels of virus in making decisions on moving forward
about 50% of parents did not want kids back in buildings
over 50% of parents of high needs students did not want them to come back in
work to concentrate on remote learning being done effectively
have paid for ComCast essentials for all of our families or provided hotspots
one to one program
days before school opened very helpful; work on staff collaboration for remote students
staff reached out to every family and go over program with every family
food insecurity issue a major issue; have 18 sites and also have delivered to families
have delivered 3.8M meals to families
"not against the MCAS, but" don't think this year it's advisable
staffing okay, due to remote; will have staff on health leave once back in buildings
full day program for all students; combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning
taking attendance and grading
Siobhan Conz, principal, White Street School: important to maintain instruction
Many parents are essential workers; needed to have school do the work for them on education
pleased with model of remote learning; full direct instruction for full day with appropriate breaks from technology
time to learn technology tools, pacing guides with PD before school started
focused with staff on who, what, how on remote learning
confident in the "how" then could move away from that being their new learning and focus on content and curriculum
teachers have built in collaborative time and built in professional development time
teachers have as much if not more to collaborate on students and student needs
cohesion across the grade level: same lesson at the same time with the same pedagogical model
when students are missing, counselors are contacting families
Kaitlin Hogue, first grade teacher: seeing where students place on standards that previous year required
follow model of regular school day which she's not reviewing
distribution of learning materials to students: hands on learning with distribution of materials to families
"we've provided all the materials families need for their students to learn at home"
students have done an amazing job of adapting to the technology
Peisch: what do you find of attention span?
Hogue: similar to what it is in the classroom
have been very creative in what we've done in delivering instruction
work varies from day to day
do think technology lends itself to switching it up more than you would in the classroom
"a lot of movement and brain breaks over the day, getting them up and moving around"
Peisch: students whose parents are not able to be there? Childcare?
Conz: various agencies supporting families; have two staff that can work with families on these needs
constantly visiting classrooms online to evaluate needs
CityConnects and counselor work with agencies as needed
Lewis: interesting to share your thoughts with us
"sounds like the kind of teaching and learning in the Springfield Public Schools is light years ahead of where we were in the spring"
struggling with "a lot of testimony" heard earlier today that there's no replacement for in-person
speak more about decision; what is your thinking relative to what other districts are doing
Warwick: as a district, goals is to bring kids back in
concerns about ventilation systems; school committee voted to go remote
Lewis: very impressed by what you're accomplishing in the Springfield public schools

Hadley: Annie McKenzie, superintendent
"the town of Hadley may have more cows than kids"
met frequently over the summer to create reopening plan
cohorts, transition over time
in August, exercised caution given Five College area
only 50% of students came back for start (2/3rds of day)
80% of elementary in-person five days a week
35% of middle and high in person five days a week; they're not a fan of the cohort model
"one big ask today: I would characterize it as a 'beg'"
statewide surveillance testing strategy in K-12 schools: 
"the key to equitable educational outcomes is prevention"
test as much as possible to keep our schools as safe as possible
Paul Phifer, Hadley School Committee
children in Hadley and in Amherst school districts
shoutout to your work and that of the administration
have experienced "contentious school committee meetings"
"all well intentioned"
difficult conversations; "I don't welcome a return to those conversations, but I think they're necessary"
that will be difficult
one is full day remote, one has started back part day
"we heard a lot of effects of the students, but I hear a lot of the parents"
"easy to quantify the effects of the disease, but we certainly can't quantify the effects of not being in school"
more testing needed as superintendent said
"my concern is that if we don't get something like that soon, we'll quickly get back to where we were in the spring" and then we'll be waiting for the vaccine
Lewis: how were you able to get students back, considering space and buses
McKenzie: were concerned about virus transmission, so we cohorted everybody
upper grades are doing remote learning in schools
"spacing is not as difficult when you don't have 25,000 students"
there are challenges that come with that as well, staffing having multiple jobs
transportation: families were willing to help us
"this also speaks to the disparate impact of the pandemic" as not every district has families that can do that
Lewis: talk about testing
McKenzie: would absolutely defer to medical doctors
would visualize: if you tested everybody once a week on a staggered cohort
school transmission "is an immediate shutdown" so need to know them
purposeful about your daily cohort, allows you intervene very quickly on
would need consent for all of this
test results in thirty minutes
Peisch: think surveillance testing is a very important issue
have heard some numbers that might even be less, some issues with reliability and such
internet access?
McKenzie: issue of access in western Mass "cannot be understated"
not nearly an issue for the Route 9 corridor, but it is for the hill towns and Hampshire County
Peisch: sense to which families have struggling issue?
McKenzie: still an significant issue
"certainly was a great deal of help from the state...but that is just an equity issue that I don't think is resolved to anyone's satisfaction"
Peisch: an unprecedented situation without any real model

Tracy Fuller, YMCA of the North Shore; academic learning pods
YMCAs have been meeting weekly on how best to serve families in the communities
sustained support for families
students learning remotely in cohorts on different schedules for lunch and snack
students as young as five online for hours
prioritizing a liaison with schools and Y's
Peisch asked some questions about staffing and funding
Lewis thinks its remarkable how Y's have stepped up
"I've been a little frustrated that school districts haven't been stepping forward to fund" some of the services that are being provided by Y's 
Fuller: Salem has to an extent
"we understand" school districts are dealing with unanticipated costs
Much more funding is going to be needed

Lewis: clearly understand need for more funding
While there have been additional dollars for pandemic relief, "I want to be clear that we do not see that as a substitute for the Student Opportunity Act"
do welcome written testimony from any education stakeholders
Peisch: urge submission of written testimony from educators
remain very supportive about implementing the Student Opportunity Act 'as much as is possible'
thought we would have seen federal aid by now
"very encouraged today by those in the field who are doing extraordinary work"
very optimistic
doing "just an incredible job of dealing with this unprecedented situation"
"we'll be doing all we can to support you"