School Reopening and Remote Learning UpdateBrenda Cassellius, Superintendent12.16.2020

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Revised BPHC COVID Metrics

● New Positive Tests for COVID-19 in Boston Residents: This tells us how many new cases we’re seeing each day and how quickly COVID-19 is spreading in Boston

● Number of COVID-19 Molecular Tests Performed: This helps us to understand whether we are performing a consistent amount of testing among Boston residents.

● COVID-19 Emergency Department Visits to Boston Hospitals: This helps us understand the overall impact of COVID-19 on hospital emergency departments.

● Availability of Adult ICU and Adult Medical/ Surgical Beds at Boston Hospitals: This tells us how many inpatient beds are open at hospitals to treat patients.

● Percentage of Non-Surge Adult ICU Beds Occupied at Boston Hospitals: This tells us how full our Boston hospital adult ICUs are and indicates when hospitals may need to start using surge beds to care for patients.

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Link to Metrics at bphc.org

Link to most recent report

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Schools open for December 14th

1. Blackstone Innovation2. BCLA3. Boston Green Academy4. Boston International5. Brighton HS6. Carter School*7. Charlestown HS8. CASH9. Condon K-8

10. Curley K-8 School11. East Boston HS12. Eliot K-813. English HS14. Excel HS15. Frederick Pilot MS16. Haley Pilot School

17. Harvard/Kent18. Henderson K-12*19. Hennigan K-820. Horace Mann*21. Jackson/Mann K-822. Kilmer K-823. King K-8 School24. Lee K-8 School25. Madison Park HS26. Mario Umana27. Mattahunt Elementary28. McKinley K-12*29. Mildred Avenue K-830. Ohrenberger School31. TechBoston Academy32. Tynan Elementary

* School opened on Nov. 16th

Schools Reopened on Dec. 14

4 Boston Public Schools

Labor Collaboration

with BTU

● September 8 School staff and BTU members report to work remotely or in-person for professional development

● September 9 Original MOU signed

● September 21 All students start school remotely

● September 29 Signed side agreement to provide additional staffing flexibilities for school teams to lessen the number of staff in a building and to allow teachers to focus on primarily serving in-person or remote students

● October 1 Schools open for hybrid students identified for high in-person priority (HIPP) 2-days a week

● October 7 The positivity rate increases beyond 4%, which triggered a clause in the September MOU that called for schools to close until BPHC deemed it safe to reopen. BPHC assessed the situation and deemed schools safe to reopen for students with high in-person priority

● October 8 The BTU responds to schools reopening by filing a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction that would give all BTU members the option to work remotely

● October 14 The court affirms the MOU and states that BPHC will determine and approve when it is safe to have schools open for in-person learning

● October 22 BPS decides to transition to fully remote learning

● November 15 Signed MOA for four K-12 specialized schools (Carter, Henderson, Horace Mann, and McKinley) outlining new health and safety protocols and equipment

● December 14 An additional 28 schools set to open for 1,700 students

5 Boston Public Schools

DistrictSchool Leader

StudentFamily & BTU Collaboration

● Summer (July): Reopening Task Force○ Purpose: 9 groups met weekly until school opened○ Membership: BTU and school leaders with district

support

● Fall (Oct): Reopening Task Force Scheduling Subcommittee○ Purpose: Review creative schedules to improve student

learning experience and address the challenge of simultaneous teaching while limiting staff in buildings.

○ Work to Date: Has met weekly since Oct. 1. Approved plans from 19 schools; most schools have multiple plans generated from various teacher teams.

○ Membership: Co-led by BTU and district leaders. Task Force includes nine BTU members and nine school leaders.

● Late Fall (Nov): High In-Person Priority (HIPP) Task Force○ Purpose: Safely and expeditiously returning students

prioritized for in-person learning○ Work to Date: Has met weekly since Nov. 2○ Membership: 8 BTU members, 4 school leaders, 8

parents, 2 students, 4 district leaders

Schools Returning Students for In-Person Learning

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● ~1,700 students with complex disabilities and students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE)

● 28 schools with the most of these students choosing hybrid learning

7 Boston Public Schools

Health and Safety

● Boston Public Health Commission sign off on all school plans● HVAC or portable air purifiers in all instructional spaces,

medical waiting areas, and nurses offices● Data loggers RFP has been initiated (Central monitoring of

CO2, Temperature, and other air quality measures)● In consultation with Dr. Allen from Harvard School of Public

Health, BPS Custodians and BPS Environmental Division continue to follow BPHC and CDC-approved cleaning and air quality protocols

● Increased medical grade PPE where needed and 3 month supply of cleaning materials and PPE

● Weekly COVID testing available for all staff and students (pilot) at each school serving 9-12 students

● Staff at K-8 schools may test at 4 locations throughout the city ● Room capacity allows for 6-foot social distancing● Minimizing total number of persons in spaces and interactions

and mixing of people

Student Health

● All BPS Schools have at least 1 full time nurse. Of the 28 schools reopening:○ 6 schools have 1.5 nurses○ 7 schools have 2.0 nurses○ 1 school has 2.5 nurses

● Nursing PPE cross all schools for Nurses○ Over 2,000 N95 respirators on hand ○ 90,000 medical grade masks in schools○ 800 boxes of over 100,000 gloves

● Partnership with BPHC for close contact identification & tracing

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Contact Tracing and Communications Protocols● Covid Precautions

○ Sick individuals must stay home,○ seek testing,○ can return only with documentation of:

■ a negative COVID test - or -■ note from a medical provider or local

board of health

● Mitigation and containment efforts○ Maintaining 6 feet distance○ Mask wearing for all ○ Prompt close contact identification○ Standing cleaning protocols

● Communications○ Close contacts notified by phone○ Non-close contacts notified via School

Messenger○ BPS publishes positive cases in buildings

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● Notification to DESE○ Positive cases are reported to DESE○ DESE does not publish remote cases

● MA Mobile Testing Unit○ BPS in consultation with the BPHC may

request deployment of a state-sponsored mobile testing unit when transmission/exposure is likely to have occurred within a 14-day period:■ Classroom testing: 2 or more cases in 1

classroom test positive ■ Cohort testing: 3 or more individuals or

3%, whichever greater, in the same cohort■ School testing: more than 3% of a school

tests positive■ Bus testing: 2 or more individuals within

the same bus test positive

Facility EnhancementsWindows: ● Phase Two of window repairs continues

○ 11,647 were inspected and cleaned and lubricated. ○ 6,834 were identified in need of repair○ 2, 300 have been repaired to date○ Experiencing delays due to awaiting parts on order and/or being manufactured.

Bathrooms:● Three rounds of renovation. First round to take place in 30 schools

○ Six schools in phase one for completion by mid-winter ($950,000)○ Six more schools out to bid for Spring renovations ($1.8 million)○ Eighteen schools in third phase this Summer ($3 million)

Water: ● Water Sustainability project manager Audrey Nig started Dec. 10th

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TransportationRouting:● Bus routes in place and running for 1,414 bus-eligible BPS students learning in-person● Routing underway for all students identified for hybrid learning for potential future

phase-ins

Communications:● Bus schedules have been communicated to schools and families of all BPS students

currently learning in-person● Continuing to improve our Customer Service capabilities

○ Family Hotline (617-635-9520)○ Customer Service Support Portal (new)○ Chat feature to chat with a Customer Service Rep on our website (new)

Transdev Operations:● Recalled all bus drivers and monitors, and executed a full operational dry run in

advance of re-opening● Operational improvement work ongoing to further improve on-time performance

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Food and Nutrition Services

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3+ million meals served to date Supersites:● 13 Supersites preparing meals onsite by Dec. 14th; more than 51,000 meals served under

this new program from 11/5-11/30● 20 Supersites prepping meals onsite by 01/2021● 33 Supersites provide meals Mondays & Thursdays from 10am to 6pm● Grocery distribution is available at 11 sites and will expand to 22 sites by January

P-EBT updates:● 51,025 cards issued between June and September ● Over $30 million of funds provided to BPS students and families to purchase groceries● ~80% of families have accessed the funds

Re-opening:● FNS Staff onsite preparing meal service for both remote and hybrid learners● Finalizing special diet meals needed● Adding option of 1-day meal packs for students attending 4 days a week

Remote and Hybrid Learning Update

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Lessons Learned from Spring 2020● Expectations for learning during the spring 2020 school closure were outlined for the second

phase of closure from May 4 - June 22. During this time:○ student daily attendance averaged 83% and student daily online activity averaged 51%○ 33% of students overall responded favorably to the question, ‘How excited are you about

participating in your classes?”○ 19% of teachers surveyed responded favorably to the question, “For your students who

need the most academic support, how confident are you that you can help those students in a distance learning setting?”

● Key changes were made to improve the remote learning experience in the fall: ○ Provide clear direction and training on a learning management system (LMS) for younger

students → procured Seesaw for grades K0 - 6○ Provide clear guidance to teachers on attendance → clearly communicated attendance

protocols and adjusted systems to differentiate in-person and remote attendance○ Provide data system and necessary training to monitor and log academic, attendance and

SEL intervention plans → procured Panorama Student Success for all schools○ Provide professional development for teachers and school staff on successful remote

learning practices → 9,480 trainings with over 15,593 attendees were held prior to 10/1

Remote Instruction ImprovementsInfrastructure Support Accountability

● Learning Management Systems

● Panorama for Student Success

● Adaptive Learning Platforms

● Materials for At-Home Learning

● Two-way Multilingual Family Communication

● Transformative SEL practices daily in all classrooms

● At-Home Learning Kits● Ongoing Professional

Learning● Digitized Curriculum,

Prioritized Standards● Multilingual, Small Group

Synchronous and Asynchronous Family Support / Workshops

● Equity Roundtables ● Virtual Walkthroughs● School level adherence to

guardrails● English Learners - ESL

course level attendance in Aspen

● Grading, Report Cards and Progress Reports

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Caring and competent staff that reflect our students and are focused on service

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Eliminate Opportunity and Achievement GapsBPS graduates will be ready for success in college, career, and life.1

Accelerate LearningBPS schools will demonstrate strong growth in ELA and Math.2

Amplify All VoicesBPS schools will implement the core elements of family engagement.3

Expand OpportunityBPS schools will be funded to meet the unique needs of the students they serve.4

Cultivate TrustBPS school and central office staff will reflect the students we serve.5

Activate PartnershipsBPS schools will have established partnerships with community, employer, and higher education organizations that expand learning beyond the classroom and create pathways to college and career success.6

Strategic Plan Commitments & Anchor Goals

Commitment 1: Eliminate Opportunity and Achievement Gaps

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Course Failure Rate for Core SubjectsGrades 6-12

Subject Q1 2019 Q1 2020 ChangeELA 12.4% 18.0% 5.7%Math 13.1% 16.6% 3.5%Science 11.8% 15.2% 3.4%Social Studies 11.2% 17.1% 6.0%Total: 4 Core Subjects 12.2% 16.8% 4.6%

Race Q1 2019 Q1 2020 ChangeAsian 5.9% 9.8% 3.9%Black 29.1% 34.7% 5.5%Latinx 28.7% 34.1% 5.4%Multi-Race/Other 19.9% 27.3% 7.4%White 10.9% 15.2% 4.3%

Percentage of Students Failing 1+ CourseGrades 6-12

The first quarter ended for grades 6-12 in November 2020; consistent with nationwide trends, there is an increase in course failures across all four core subjects and all racial groups.

Note: Data reflects Q1 grades entered in Aspen as of 12/7/20. Schools on a trimester grading schedule are not included.

Commitment 2: Accelerate Learning

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● The average attendance rate is currently 90%, which is slightly lower than a typical year. Student attendance is recorded on a daily basis by teachers.

● The average daily online activity rate is 86%, meaning on an average day, 86% of students used their BPS email to log into online learning tools. It does not include offline activities or other online activities not connected to a BPS email.

Note: Data reflects the beginning of the year through 12/4/20. The BPS Average Daily Attendance Rate ranged from 91.9% to 92.9% between 2014-15 and 2019-20.

Commitment 3: Amplify All Voices

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Current Survey Participation (12/11):

▫ Surveys were designed to gather information on perceptions of remote learning, cultural awareness & action, and other respondent specific topics. Surveys will remain open until 12/23.

Families were asked in August to indicate their preference for fully remote or hybrid learning model; approximately 44% of students are enrolled in a fully remote learning model currently.

Student Response Rate # of Student Responses Family Response Rate # of Family Responses Teacher Response Rate # of Teacher Responses14.4% 5,419 16.7% 7,640 22.1% 968

Commitment 4: Expand Opportunity

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▫ Approximately 76% of students have a BPS Chromebook, and an additional 10% of students have opted out of receiving a BPS Chromebook. Any students who need a Chromebook can contact their school.

Note: Data updated as of 12/4/20.

Commitment 5: Cultivate Trust

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All BPS staff members sign in and out each day, regardless of if they are reporting to a school or central administration building, or working remotely. The data provided here reports the percent of staff who have signed in each day. On average, 90% of staff are signing in each day.

Staff AttendanceImproved Data Tools

ODA launched new data tools for BPS staff in Fall 2020, including Panorama Student Success for school staff to access real-time, actionable and holistic student data and work together to log support notes and design and monitor Student Success Plans. Additionally, the Data Digest Dashboards were launched as a tool designed to support equity roundtables at the school and central office.

Note: Data updated as of 12/4/20.

Commitment 6: Activate Partnerships

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Summer Learning▫ Over 17,000 students

in 160 programs served

▫ Average attendance rate of 80%

▫ Students report a supportive social environment in both remote and hybrid opportunities

OST Hubs▫ BPS is currently

operating 9 OST Hubs with partner organizations.

▫ 10 additional OST Hubs are scheduled to open in January.

Postsecondary Readiness▫ Among BPS graduates in

the class of 2020, 53% enrolled in college in the fall immediately after high school -- an 8 percentage point decrease from the class of 2019 (61%).

▫ 20% of current seniors have a completed FAFSA application so far this year.