Published in the April 23, 2020 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Superintendent Doug Lyons says that since schools were shut down here on March 13, Wakefield school teachers and administrators are working harder than ever.
“I think we’re busier now than when school was in session,” Lyons told the School Committee last week.
Now that Gov. Charlie Baker has canceled school for the rest of the year, local teachers and school administrators can plan on being straight out for the next couple of months, until the nominal end of the school year on June 17.
Lyons said that teachers and administrators are putting in long days. Guidance staff are doing meetings regarding college counseling. Adjustment counselors are touching base with students to check on their social-emotional wellness during this difficult time. Administrators are spending a good part of every day on conference calls or Zoom teleconferences with the state Department of Education.
With all that, Massachusetts is doing distance learning better than any other state, according to a survey of all states done by MIT, which ranked schools in Massachusetts No. 1 in the nation for remote learning. And with its pre-existing “Learn Anywhere” program, Lyons said, Wakefield was ready to switch to remote learning when schools closed five weeks ago. Some school districts, awaiting guidance from the state, only initiated remote learning a couple of weeks ago. Lyons said that he was proud of the fact that Wakefield’s Learn Anywhere program has been in place during the entire five weeks that schools have been shut down.
Administrators at the high school and the Galvin Middle School have surveyed students in an effort to improve teaching and learning under the current circumstances, Lyons said. Meanwhile, the school administration and the Wakefield Education Association (the teachers’ union) have completed the first draft of a memorandum of understanding that defines the ground rules and expectations for faculty and staff while schools are closed. A final draft of the MOU should be ready for the School Committee’s review at their next meeting, Lyons said.
The distance learning program in place is not perfect, Lyons admitted, but he stressed that efforts to improve it are going on every day.
Lyons told the School Committee that he and his staff are meeting daily to talk about the budget, state aid and budget forecasting.
He noted that everyone is expecting cuts in state aid, as the Commonwealth’s revenues are taking a big hit during the shutdown. He said that he would have more to report as the state firms up its budget. He did acknowledge that there is a lot of concern about the FY 2021 town budget and potential revenue shortfalls. He said that the School Department is looking to collaborate with the town and the Town Council, while still providing services to students as required by law.
With this year’s spring MCAS tests canceled across the board, Lyons told the School Committee that the district is awaiting additional guidance on competency determination (the MCAS requirement for graduation). New legislation allows the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, upon the Education Commissioner’s recommendation, to modify or waive the requirements of the competency determination for high school graduation in order to address disruptions caused by the COVID-19 state of emergency. The commissioner is considering various options, and further guidance will be forthcoming, Lyons said.