Board Glimpses Complexities of Reopening SMUSD

It wasn’t even an action item on the meeting’s agenda, but a comprehensive report from the San Marino Unified School District’s school reopening task force was on the minds of parents wondering what the 2020-21 academic year might look like amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have had a tremendous response,” said Superintendent Jeff Wilson as he introduced the subject at the school board’s June 23 session, indicating that more than 70 teachers, administrators, staff members, parents and community members have been researching the five elements crucial to the district’s formula for the future delivery of education. “There are so many questions and so few answers,” said Wilson, as he explained that the data will be gathered for a written report that will be presented to the school board at a future date. “We are researching best practices to talk about what that would look like.”
Research was divided into five main categories, including instructional programs, safety and health, social emotional wellness, family and community engagement, and operations, and those dialed into the virtual meeting heard a report on each section.
Michiko Lee and Nicolette Fuerst went first, explaining the findings of the family and community engagement team. Lee revealed that a districtwide survey indicated that 76% of the 1,818 SMUSD parents who responded to the poll chose in-person learning as their first choice, with 24% opting for a distance offering that includes a possible hybrid model. The presentation explained several options that are under consideration. Hybrid models could include a scenario in which half of students, the A group, attends school in-person two days per week while the other half, the B contingent, remains at home on remote learning. The A students might attend in a traditional manner on Mondays and Tuesdays, then exchange with the B students on Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays would be used for asynchronous learning, teacher preparation and campus cleaning.
In explaining the instruction piece, Lettie Aranda and Diana Hang emphasized the extensive need for personal protective equipment under any plan that includes on-campus attendance.
“Masks, shields and gloves would be the absolute minimum,” said Aranda, who also mentioned the need to create a large number of different schedules to satisfy students who would be learning in-person, online or on the hybrid schedule.
Zeina Daoud and Dr. Danielle Dabbs addressed the health and safety considerations that must be addressed when students eventually return to campuses. Daoud detailed the needs for student ingress, egress and the need for health checks at campus entry points. She also indicated that each entry point would have a dedicated no-touch thermometer to accommodate regular screenings of students, teachers, staff members and any visitors. Daoud also explained the challenges presented by meal services and other typical services and the almost constant chore of cleaning facilities.
Abigail Cabrera spoke to the additional need for social emotional support that has emerged due to the pandemic, including increased measures for discipline as well as guidelines for dealing with anxiety and depression.
“We are going to need to have a solid social emotional learning environment at all sites,” said Cabrera. She indicated that the distance learning requirement forced upon the education system by the pandemic has placed parents in a role of “video teacher” that many are not comfortable with. She also said she will create a flow chart so students know where to go for support and also mentioned that the pandemic “is traumatic for our staff as well.”
“It is really about helping everybody have access to mental health support,” said Cabrera.
Lisette Moggio presented the data as it relates to operations, stating that the requirements of providing an in-person or hybrid education with proper social distancing would present a significant challenge to facilitating 12-15 students in each classroom. Moggio explained the prolific need for hand sanitizers and floor markings with foot traffic arrows to illustrate proper social and physical distancing in all common areas. Other considerations, such as disabling drinking fountains and playgrounds as well as providing individually wrapped condiments at food stations, were also discussed.
The board also heard reports from groups charged with researching the specific needs of students and educators at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
Public comment on the subject was mixed, with several speakers encouraging the district to continue with at least some form of online delivery as many students live in multi-generational families populated by aged or immune-deficient relatives.
The board is in the process of identifying an additional date or two in July to meet and further discuss the matter, according to Wilson
At a special meeting before the open session, the school board discussed curriculum, instruction, professional development and training related to issues of racism, equity, implicit bias, diversity and inclusion, subjects that were raised by several current and former students since George Floyd died while in police custody in Minneapolis. The topic became even more relevant after an allegation in early June that three current and former San Marino High School students created or were in possession of racial content and hate-speech material. An investigation into the allegation continues, and two petitions demanding reforms by the district were circulated.
“This is a time for truth-telling,” said Wilson of topics discussed at the special meeting. “A time to listen intently. This is a starting point, an opportunity for the board of education to hear their concerns and have a conversation.”
Jason Kurtenbach, SMHS’ incoming principal, began his presentation by saying he has already been in contact with many of the school’s students. He said the administration is “identifying resources and looking for current staff members who have not yet been identified” as possible resources in the matter.
“How are we listening to students, staff and the community?” Kurtenbach asked rhetorically. “How do we appropriately listen so we can provide the proper feedback?”
Kurtenbach mentioned the possible development and implication of course offerings he once oversaw while an administrator at Santa Monica High School; a freshman seminar, an ethnic studies class and a general diversification of senior literature class offerings.
“They found this very powerful at Santa Monica High School,” said Kurtenbach of the freshman seminar. Touching on the subject of health, the seminar also has a “deep component of recognizing the inherent dignity of all people within the high school. We have to understand how our lives are different from their lives and how neither are better or worse. This course can help do this. It can set the stage for everyone entering the school.”
The ethnic studies class would be taken during a student’s sophomore year and assures that each student “sees themselves with curriculum and are represented within San Marino.” Kurtenbach advocated for senior literature class offerings to include contributions from writers representing the Asian American, LGBTQ, Latinx, African American and Jewish communities, among others.
“We want to work with all marginalized groups,” said Kurtenbach. “We want to work together to bring a spotlight to so many people that we might be teaching about and around, but are not talking to.”