Tackling coronavirus school shutdown issues
By LINDA CHION KENNEY
Consider it a trial under fire for Addison Davis, the newly appointed superintendent of Hillsborough County schools, who at his first board meeting as leader of the nation’s seventh-largest school district issued a report on how school officials are dealing with the coronavirus school shutdown.
“You certainly have had quite an introduction to Hillsborough County, which has come with a lot of additional responsibility through this crisis,” said school board chair Melissa Snively. “These are certainly unprecedented times.”
In both his March 31 report to the school board and his responses to board member questions, Davis touched on issues that covered a wide range of topics, including grades, high school graduation ceremonies, food insecurity, technology issues and equity and access concerns as they relate to the ever-evolving coronavirus crisis.
Hillsborough County schools closed March 16 for spring break and by state order are to stay closed through Friday, May 1, with changes to that directive expected if the situation warrants.
As for areas of concern that are being addressed, Davis noted, among other things, system shut-downs due to massive high volume of traffic (which he noted is a national concern as well); the need to get mobile devices into the hands of children who need them; ensuring families with connectivity issues get the help they need; and time-management and workload issues to ensure students “don’t get to a point where they are super frustrated, and they just shut down.”
In his March 31 report, Davis said more than 150,000 meals have been distribute at 147 ongoing Grab-and-Go school sites and through 150 routes driven throughout various communities. Some 32,000 mobile devices have been distributed to students, with “thousands ready to go,” he added, after school officials ordered another 42,000 units.
The second choice application process window has been postponed and “no final or end-of-the-course examinations will take place,” Davis said. As for upcoming graduation dates, Davis said school officials are holding off from making any firm decisions until they have to, recognizing the importance of the ritual to seniors and their families.
Saying she was glad to hear graduation ceremonies, at least for now, remain intact, school board member Cindy Stuart added she does not “have a lot of confidence that that is going to happen,” and asked for the matter to be addressed further.
Davis responded that a number of high school principals and school officials have been brought together to review the issue and that six or seven alternative possibilities have been identified, including “whether we have to move back the dates” or, “and I don’t want to say this,” hold graduations virtually.
Davis noted that school grades have been waived for the 2019-20 school year. While underperforming schools will remain in that status for the 2020-21 school year, “there’s a lot of good work going on in these schools,” he added, as he promised to keep the board apprised of ongoing turnaround option plan updates.
Likewise, state assessments — the Florida State Assessments (FSA) and End-of-Course (EOC) Assessments — have been waived for grades 3 through 12.
“If you have a senior that is seeking to graduate who has not passed the 10th grade literacy FSA or the Algebra I EOC, those requirements have been waived, as well, along with waiving the SAT and ACT concordance score,” Davis said. The biggest focus for seniors, he added, “is to make certain that you are focused in on your grade-point average along, with making certain that you have the necessary credits to graduate and move forward academically.”
International Baccalaureate (IB) exams will not take place this year, necessitating other grading options, he added, while Advanced Placement exams will go on as planned, only in a modified manner, through a 45-minute virtual assessment.
As for online instruction, “we have got to do a better job educating our parents on how to go through this e-learning process,” David said. “We are writing the playbook today, and every day as we evolve.”
School board member Steve Cona noted that after his election in 2018, he was surprised at “how far behind we are in technology” and that in 2019 “a huge infrastructure plan” had been enacted to update the system, “but I still believe we’re behind there.” Calling it “a blind spot for us,” Cona said it would take “a significant investment” for the district’s “infrastructure to be world-class.”
Davis did not disagree.
“I send an e-mail, and then it takes four hours for it to get through to our employees,” he said. “It just can’t happen. We have got to become a more sophisticated organization.”
Davis gave a shout-out to teachers who worked during spring break “to develop lessons and start connecting with children.” He noted professional development efforts covering such topics as Zoom classrooms and differentiated instruction.
“Our teachers have done an impressive, amazing job,” Davis said. “When you talk about a workforce and an organization that will stand together, teachers do just that.”
As for the limited number of individuals who are working at school sites, necessary wipes and sanitizers are in place, and equipment has been purchased to conduct hygienic “thermal fogs,” Davis said. He added that Hillsborough is “one of the only school districts in Florida that has an industry hygienist who assists with specialized school cleaning.”
To view for yourself the March 31 board meeting and to read a transcript of the meeting, visit www.schoolboard.hcpswebcasts.com. The school board is online at www.sdhc.k12.fl.us or call 813-272-4000.