Staff vacancies force Akron Schools to go fully remote

By Rich Place

Students at Akron Central School will once again return to fully remote learning on Monday following Thanksgiving recess.

That announcement came November 19 in a letter from District Superintendent Patrick McCabe, who noted the plan for the official start of remote learning was scheduled for November 25, the day prior to Thanksgiving when students would already be learning remotely as part of the district’s hybrid model.

“While it brings great sadness for all of us,” McCabe noted in the letter, “this move is necessary as we have reached the point where we no longer have appropriate staffing levels to continue in person learning and maintain critical district operations including the classroom instruction, supervision of students, and other essential functions.”

It is hoped, according to McCabe in the letter, for the district to return to in-person learning on Dec. 7.

The decision to go fully remote came one day after McCabe discussed with the school board the various challenges facing the district in its attempt to stay open with a hybrid learning model that it has followed throughout the school year. He told the board during their regular meeting on November 18 that while the school’s commitment to keeping the doors open is imperative, the school’s actual ability to do it needed to be discussed.

It was evident in both the letter sent to parents as well as in his remarks during the board meeting that McCabe did not want to go fully remote, noting that students — as well as parents — struggle with remote learning.

“It’s not easier for students to learn fully remote,” he told the board. “It’s not easier for families to care for their children and support their learning fully remote; and it’s not easier for teachers to teach fully remote.”

Earlier on the day of the school board meeting, Newstead was placed in a yellow zone designation by the state as part of its micro-cluster focus zone approach to responding to rising COVID-19 levels. While less strict than the orange zone placed on towns such as nearby Clarence and immediate Buffalo suburbs, the designation meant new requirements for the Akron School District, including the need to test 20 percent of the school’s in-person population within a two-week period if in-person learning takes place.

The yellow and orange zones designations in some Western New York communities officially announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo on Nov. 18 began on Nov. 23 for school districts, including Akron’s yellow designation.

Although McCabe noted at the school board meeting that the new testing requirement ushered in by the school’s location in a yellow zone would bring its own unique set of challenges, faculty staffing levels was becoming one of the largest obstacles to overcome.

“We have an emerging staffing issue that is making in-person learning very difficult to maintain,” he said, foreshadowing the decision that would be made the following day.

McCabe told the board the day prior to the decision to go fully remote that unfilled staffing vacancies — positions where substitutes weren’t available to fill-in for teachers or other faculty — ranged in average from 7 to 10 per day. On the day of the board meeting, Nov. 18, that number was at 15.

“(With) the 15 vacancies — 11 teacher vacancies today (and four other staff members) — we have a lot of kids sitting in study halls at the secondary level and we have bodies covering at the elementary level,” he said. “It’s unfortunate there are no subs available but it is our reality.”

Compounding the scenario is the designation by nearby towns, including Clarence, into the state’s orange zone. Many staff members live in orange zone areas, McCabe noted, and those with children now required to learn remotely in those zones may also need to stay home if they cannot find childcare.

In addition to staffing concerns, the timeline to return to in-person learning is also dependent on the school’s ability to perform COVID-19 testing to 20 percent of its in-person population, a requirement that comes with being in the state’s yellow zone. Along with obtaining parental consent — a process that is already underway — the school must become a Limited Service Laboratory (LSL) to perform the testing, McCabe said.

“Frankly, I was disappointed when we reached out to our medical director and our doctors that we have a contracted relationship with; they said they weren’t willing to serve in that capacity due to insurance reasons,” McCabe told the board. “And I have been working diligently trying to find a partner for Akron for well over a week and half. This is a huge obstacle for us right now.”

Should the ability for the district to test become a reality, McCabe said those who consent to be tested would be added to a comprehensive list and random generating software would be used to select 20 percent of the total in-person population, which he said equates to 256 individuals. Parents would be notified if their child has been randomly selected. McCabe said he surveyed the school staff about their willingness to participate in testing, and 84 percent of the 234 respondents said they would.

McCabe said district officials are working on the logistics of performing the tests during the school day should the district return to in-person learning and testing need to be conducted.

Parents are asked to continue to monitor the school district’s website, akronschools.org, for the latest information on the school’s response to COVID-19. The district has put together a page dedicated to the pandemic that outlines details on remote learning. A link to that can be found on the homepage.

The next meeting of the school board on Dec. 2 will likely include additional conversion about the school’s response to COVID-19, as it is scheduled to take place five days before the current plan for the district to return to in-person learning. It will again be held online, and community members can watch live via ZOOM through a link on the district’s website.