New Bloomfield's Board of Education touched on preschool, virtual learning, emergency sick leave and the employee handbook during its Thursday meeting.
The board voted unanimously to extend emergency sick leave to employees for the remainder of the school year for those who have not already used the leave.
In March, Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act allowing for emergency sick leave for those who have COVID-19. But that is set to expire at the end of the year, and the federal government has not made moves to extend it.
"I'm bringing this to you tonight because I want to be equitable as much as possible," Superintendent Sarah Wisdom said.
Wisdom asked the board to extend the leave, noting 34 staff members have already used part of it.
"COVID is not going away after Christmas break," Wisdom said.
Wisdom brought another matter to the attention of the board - the district offers a monetary incentive to employees who intend to resign at the end of the school year if they alert the district before Jan. 1.
Though the board-approved policy was to provide the incentive for staff who have been with the district for six or more years, the employee handbook stated in error that only two years were required.
"Really the goal of this is to get that early notification so that we can open it up and get the most qualified people in," Wisdom said.
The board voted unanimously to change the policy and amend the handbook so the incentive is changed to a sliding scale. After two years of service, the incentive is now $200. With each year of service, the incentive increases by $100 with a maximum of $500.
In addition to these votes, the board also heard reports from district administrators.
Currently, there are 26 students ages 3-5 in the preschool program. The waitlist for next year stands at 14 students. In the past, the program has served up to 30 students, but Special Services Director Amy Parker said the smaller number is more manageable.
With the space and staff currently available to the preschool, the program maxes out at 30.
"If we continue to see that many on the waitlist, it might be something that we look into increasing because it definitely benefits the kids, our community and us," Wisdom said.
Board member Angie Robinson-Sullivan praised the program.
"It's an amazing thing and we had a really great experience there," she said.
Elementary Principal Jennifer Fletcher told the board upcoming professional development for new staff focuses on classroom management. After an in-person presentation, the presenter will conduct class observations and give the new teachers individual feedback.
"I think that'll be wonderful for the teachers," Fletcher said.
Virtual learning
During the fall semester, six elementary students started the semester enrolled in virtual learning. One of those students was moved back to in-person learning due to a lack of participation early in the semester.
"We went ahead and got them out, it wasn't a good fit for them," Fletcher said. "The other kiddos are doing wonderful in it."
Four of the current virtual elementary students and four additional students plan on learning virtually in the spring.
At the middle school and high school, there were more virtual learning struggles to report.
Principal Paul Cloudwright said 31 older students opted for virtual school this fall.
Cloudwright has brought up virtual learning before - in past board meetings, he warned some students will need help returning to in-seat learning.
"Most of these virtual learning programs are designed so they mirror what happens in the classroom," he said.
What this means is that virtual students are expected to spend about as much time logged in and learning as in-person students spend in class.
"The idea that a 14 year-old is going to spend seven hours a day virtually - that's hard," Cloudwright said.
He said several of the students have excelled, but many have not.
Twenty-seven are set to finish the semester virtually, but only 10 are still eligible to return to virtual learning in the spring.
"The eligibility requirements were, to be frank with you, very low," Cloudwright said.
The students returning to in-seat learning after a virtual semester are behind. For some classes, the student might be able to come back into class even lacking key concepts from the fall semester.
For other subjects, that just isn't possible.
"You cannot come into second semester geometry, or math in general, at the high school level if you only did two lessons for the semester," Cloudwright said. "That builds way too much to just throw you back in."
Many of the returning virtual students will need to be placed in the credit-recovery class to catch up. The school is working with each student individually to meet their needs and get them back on track. Options include alternative school or a hybrid of credit-recovery and regular classes.
Most of the virtual students are underclassman, Cloudwright said, meaning they have time to catch up.
Students who want to move from in-seat to virtual at the middle and high schools have until Jan. 8 to sign up.
The board will meet 5:30 p.m. Jan. 7 to discuss board goals for the upcoming year.