School Matters Week of 08/23/2021

Last year, I took a call from a parent who was extremely upset. I listened to her concerns and quickly realized that she was frustrated with her neighbor next door. It appeared that her child and the neighbor’s child, who attended the same school, were constantly fighting with each other. All of this was occurring at home. In addition, the mother was furious that the other child was sending her child mean texts all night long. She said that her daughter received late-night texts virtually every night from the other child. I suggested to the mom that she may want to block that number, cut the cell phone off at night, speak with the other parent, and keep her daughter away from that other child.

After a long discussion with her, I was surprised to hear two things. First, the mother stated she could not block the phone number or keep her daughter away from the other child because they were best friends…most of the time. Second, I told her that this was not a school issue, and I did not have the authority to address those issues that were occurring at home. She paused for a few seconds after that and eventually concluded her conversation with the feeling many parents have. She stated that she thought this was probably not a school issue, but no one else would listen to her, and she knew that we would take the call.

Over the last several months, there have been multiple individuals throughout this nation who want to blame others for bad decisions they have made, and there seems to be little self-responsibility. Families will be extremely active in the community and allow children to be socially active, but the school system is often blamed for all issues. School officials become an easy target for the frustration of parents. Often, we are simply following state or federal law, but parents want to express their frustration to us because we are readily available. I recently took a call from a parent who was frustrated with the lack of a mask mandate in the schools. I told her about the governor’s executive order which provided an opt-out option for parents and that mask mandates would not be feasible in Tennessee. I suggested that she contact the governor to express her opposition to the executive order. She informed me that she was not going to call the governor’s office because she did not know anyone in Nashville, but she did have my number.

Parents have called expressing frustration that their child has become infected at school which has happened. Without question, this has been accurate in many cases, but it is also important to note that various families have been extremely active in multiple community activities. Few are willing to accept any personal responsibility that the infection may have originally occurred outside of school. We must all modify our behavior in all situations if we are to experience relief from this pandemic. We fully understand it is easy to blame the schools but external actions can also contribute to problems within the schools.

Last year, a parent argued with me for nearly an hour that I needed to take personal responsibility for their child becoming infected by participating in a high school athletic program. I attempted to explain that athletic participation was voluntary and that the student probably should not have participated in that specific sport if family members were medically compromised. The parent was not convinced by that argument and was adamant it was my fault the child had become infected. At the end of the conversation, I asked if there was anything else that I could address, and the parent said there was one other complaint. He was extremely upset that we had postponed elementary basketball, and he demanded that we have an elementary basketball season so that his daughter could play. It was of interest to me that he never saw the contradictory nature of those arguments.

Regardless of these specific situations, we do bring nearly 10,000 students into our doors on a daily basis. The CDC estimated the original virus had a R-naught factor of 2.3 (which means an infected person would infect approximately 2.3 people). The Delta strain is nearly 40% more contagious and has a R-naught factor of 8.5. We cannot ensure the safety of every single child, and during this pandemic, there is a higher chance of infection. We do what we can to keep students safe, but recent restrictions by the state—specifically, no mask mandates and the loss of virtual instruction—have severely limited our ability to maintain optimum safe environments. Our stakeholders could have more of an impact on improving these conditions by discussing their thoughts with state leaders because they have created the environment in which we must work. We accept responsibility for all that happens within our school system, but there are numerous times that we are forced to implement bad political decisions.

Please take a moment to review the following and contact us if you have any questions. We will answer those concerns in our next article. Please email Mrs. Karlene Webb (webbk@hcboe.net) with any concerns or questions.

1. We continue to see an increase in the number of positive cases for the school district. Some of the data seems to indicate that states which have seen record number of cases are beginning to stabilize. It is our hope our numbers will begin to stabilize and plateau soon. We have seen a total of 631 cases since the start of this school year. Currently, we have approximately 309 total active cases this week compared to 229 cases last week. Of those active cases, 278 are students and 31 are staff.

2. We ask parents to consider having their child wear a mask indoors for the next 3 weeks to help slow the spread of the virus. We are not changing any policy, and we are not creating a mask mandate, because we believe the governor’s order effectively prevents us from doing so. We also understand there are many parents who dispute the effectiveness of masks and will not engage in that argument. However, we strongly encourage everyone to wear a mask for the next 3 weeks while they are inside the school and on the bus. There will be times in which the teacher can have students remove their masks, but there will be situations where students are more socially active and may need to wear them. Again, it is our hope we can take some of these precautions for the next couple of weeks in the hope our numbers will stabilize.

3. Just a quick reminder that we will have a virtual community forum on August 30 at 6:00 p.m. to respond to questions and concerns. We ask parents to email questions to Mrs. Webb (webbk@hcboe.net) prior to the meeting, or they can present questions during the meeting. The primary purpose of this meeting is to allow parents to voice their concerns and to ask questions. The meeting will not be interactive in that participants will be able to voice their concerns, but we will take questions and concerns through the chat feature. You may call Mrs. Webb at 423-581-3101 if you struggle with technology, and we will take your questions and help you get on the virtual forum. This is not a community forum to inform the public that we are going to adopt a mask mandate. Parents may use the following link to participate in the forum: https://youtu.be/VJ4M7_KGeKg

4. We do have some preschool openings this year at certain schools if parents have an interest. Currently, we still have openings at Hillcrest, Manley, West Elementary, Russellville, and Union Heights. Some of these programs are free and some are tuition-based. Please contact Dr. Christine Hogan-Young (423-586-7700) if you need additional information.

5. We are always needing additional substitute teachers. This year, we need subs even more than usual. Please contact Mrs. Jessica Darnell at (423-586-7700) if you are interested in subbing. We are also paying our subs an additional $300 bonus if they work 32 days out of the 37 possible days during September and October. We will also prorate this out for any other subs such as bus drivers, custodians, and cafeteria workers. Substitutes who are eligible for this bonus will not need to do any extra paperwork. We will determine who is eligible at the end of October and deposit the bonus on the next paycheck.

6. We have had several questions about students who live in a home where a sibling has tested positive. Nothing has changed on this policy from last year. All children who are not fully vaccinated should stay home (potentially for 20 days) if a sibling, or parent, within the home test positive. Students who are fully vaccinated may come to school if they are symptom free. Siblings should not come to school if a family member tests positive. They can contact the health department, or the school nurse, for a return date.

7. Schools will be closed for Labor Day on Monday, September 6.

8. Schools will be open on Friday, September 3. However, we will allow students to complete assignments at home on September 3 and not be counted absent. This will not be virtual, and there will be no virtual component this day. Students will not be required to log in but simply complete the assignments given by the teacher. We will create a longer holiday weekend to help reduce the number of students in school. It is our hope this small break will help slow down the spread of the virus in school and give everyone a needed reprieve. Staff will use this opportunity to connect with smaller groups of students and conduct essential intervention. It is important to note that buses will run on regular schedule, breakfast/lunch will be served, school will be open, and all classes will take place for those students wanting to attend in person.

Regardless of the situation, we will always attempt to answer questions and concerns from community members. It is my expectation that every staff member, including me, takes full responsibility for every action we take which results in negative outcome. Last year, I firmly believe that we were able to control the spread of the virus within the school. Our infection rate was approximately 14% while the community rate was nearly double that percentage. This year, we have fewer tools to combat the spread of the virus, and the data clearly demonstrates that more students are becoming infected at school this year. We continue to do what we can given the restrictions placed on us. However, we do ask stakeholders to become educated and understand where the source of the problem originated to help all of us create a more effective solution. Thanks for your attention to this article and remember, School Matters!