A CARES classroom with power outlets set up at each desk

by Alexis Guiterrez and Drew Schneider

DC Public Schools has turned their attention to opening Canvas Academics and Real Engagement (CARE) classrooms for elementary students this month for Term 2, and is planning for reopening for Terms 3 and 4. DCPS made the announcement that Term 2 would remain virtual after significant pushback from teachers and parents about the reopening plans. The soon-to-open CARE classrooms will allow the most at-risk children to get support for their virtual learning at school with teachers and other adults in safer school environments than before.

Walk-throughs have been held at elementary schools around the city for a small group of teachers, principals, LSAT and PTU members. In Petworth, parents from local DCPS schools that participated in the walk through have largely reported that their respective schools of Dorothy Height, Barnard, Bruce Monroe, Powell and Truesdell had the necessary air filters in place, the social-distanced classroom established, as well as needed upgrades for the CARE classroom. Signs to socially distance were apparent throughout the buildings, a three-month supply of masks, hand sanitizer and other PPE were stocked, and water fountains were turned off and/or replaced by bottle-filling stations.

A few parents noted that walking into their schools for the first time since last March was like seeing a frozen planet, as several classrooms had not been touched. Kids' artwork and classroom schedules were still in the same place. As some of these schools plan to open one CARE classroom, only one classroom was set-up using the new protocol, leaving others untouched.

Truesdell is the first Petworth DCPS school to open their CARE classroom with five students. Bruce Monroe and Powell will open on December 9th. Dorothy Height will soon follow, but Petworth News has not been able to confirm if Barnard will have a CARE classroom. (You can track the re-opening of the CARE classrooms on the DCPS website.)

After receiving substantial criticism for not having a Covid testing planning for DCPS staff and students in CARE classrooms, DCPS announced on December 2nd that they are standing up a pilot for Covid testing starting the week of December 7th. If parents grant permission, children in CARE classrooms will be tested every 10 days and staff will be mailed a swab to self-administer. More details can be found on the Mayor’s website.

A Covid isolation room at Powell Elementary, where students will be taken prior to being picked up by a family member, if they exhibit signs of Covid while in school.

In addition, DCPS has started to plan for Term 3 by establishing a Reopen Corps for each elementary school. The Reopen Corps will meet four times to devise a recommendation for each elementary school.

The Corps is made up of the principal, Washington Teacher Unions representative, LSAT teacher representative, LSAT/PTU parent representative, School Chapter Advisory Committee representative, community representative, and student representative. All the Reopen Corps will have had their first meeting by December 4th.

By January, the Reopen Corps will have supposedly met four times. They are advising the schools on two questions: the instruction model, and what classrooms/grades should be open for in-person learning and CARE classrooms. In all planning for Terms 3 and 4, virtual learning will ALWAYS remain an option for families who choose it.

This means that for Term 3 there are three options for parents: CARE classrooms, in-person learning, and virtual learning. Early indications are that the priority for in-person learning will align with previous statements of the Chancellor: homeless children, English-language learners, and special needs children. Since DCPS had to revamp its Term 2 plans at the last minute, this meant that prioritized families had been offered seats, only to have that paused due to lack of staffing. Thus, those families will be the top of the list for in-person learning, likely will be 4 - 4.5 days a week, but with no after-care.

To help the Reopen Corps with their work, DCPS has a survey for Term 3 and 4 preferences for in-person, CARE classroom and virtual learning. Unfortunately, this survey was not widely circulated, and some schools have extended the time to fill in the survey. Talk to your school to see if you can still complete it if you haven’t already.

While the parents that Petworth News spoke with at Barnard, Bruce Monroe, Powell, Trusdell and Dorothy Heights are glad that DCPS continues to make steps to address the needs of students, there was a shared frustration that it has taken so long to engage parents and teachers in a meaningful way on how to safely reopen schools.

Some of the local school administrators told Petworth News they knew the schools were not ready to open for all students, but felt that DCPS was working hard to getting the CARE rooms set up. Rooms were organized to ensure desks in CARE rooms had electrical lines available as students participate in distance learning from the classrooms, and had special air filters running in the rooms.

That said, local elementary school administrators expressed deep dissatisfaction that they were learning about reopening plans at the same time — and sometimes after — parents were receiving messaging from DCPS leadership and the Mayor. “A lot of decisions are being made abruptly, without context,” said one school administrator. “Principals should have access to these decisions before it goes public, otherwise principal concerns can be overlooked. Principals know their school community and don’t have space to advocate for their communities.”

The DC Council held a three-hour roundtable on December 2nd on school reopening, featuring a wide spectrum of student, teacher, Washington Teacher Union and advocacy group opinions. Everything from students and parents advocating for virtual learning all year with more support to families, to others advocating for reopening, including establishing outdoor classrooms.

Both Washington Teacher Union President, Elizabeth Davis, and DCPS Chancellor Lewis Ferebee testified. Councilmember Grosso asked Dr. Ferebee if New York City schools can reopen, why can’t DC, with a much smaller population? (See the Chancellor’s testimony and this exchange around the 5pm mark in the video.)

Dr. Ferebee noted that the Term 2 and Term 3 plans are moving towards reopening. While the agreement with the WTU fell apart, DCPS is continuing to move forward with the tenets of that agreement. This means teachers can volunteer to return in Term 2. Then, based on the Reopen Corps plans and survey responses from families, staffing will be determined.

However, teachers were taken aback this week when DCPS notified them to start planning for returning to the classroom in Term 3. Based on information shared with Petworth News, teachers will only be allowed to have a virtual assignment if they have approved documentation for a federally protected leave category under the Family Medical Leave Act or the Americans with Disability Act. However, the demand for CARE classrooms and in-person learning will also be considered in staffing.

When asked by Petworth News if DCPS is ready to reopen safely for all students, one local principal said firmly, “No,” adding that they had no confidence in staff coming in for in-person teaching in the current climate.

If teachers are pulled out of the virtual classes to manage in-person classes during the pandemic, some administrators think teachers will push back — or leave the profession. “Teachers don’t feel safe,” said another elementary school principal talking about plans to reopen the schools beyond the CARE classrooms. “And until they do, any plan will fail. There are students that need support, and with proper planning and support there may be teachers willing to come in two days a week. The all or nothing [perspective] is an issue. Teachers are willing to do the work.”

Families have told local principals that if the virtual classes have to swell too large to accommodate a lack of teachers for online classes, they may pull out of DCPS — looking to private schools, at-home learning, or private tutors.

“We’ll need 40% of our staff to work with 20% of our students who might return to in-class learning,” said one administrator, talking about Term 3 and 4 plans to mix in-person and virtual classrooms. “That means 80% of kids will have only 60% of staff, and that’s hard.”

Some of the specially set up rooms and facilities if students return for in-person learning, including portable HEPA filters and motion-sensitive soap dispensers in the bathrooms.

Reopening of schools continues to be a polarizing issue across the DC community. A UNICEF report recently highlighted that schools are not the major drivers of transmission and the devastating impacts to society and children. At the same time, covid cases continue to climb in DC, making families feel uncomfortable with taking the risk of in-person learning.

The coming months will be yet another roller-coaster for families as they navigate the decision of whether to return to in-person learning or to stay virtual.