What has been the greatest challenge you’ve faced when transitioning from traditional to online schooling? 

The greatest challenge, I believe, has been to create all of this up so quickly. Up until a month ago we never had any distance learning protocols, expectations or any real history of online learning for the entire school/district. Now, in a short amount of time, we are up and running and finding a rhythm and routine that almost, almost, makes this all feel normal. This has been the biggest challenge but also one of our most successful efforts. There are still so many unknowns right now (graduation, prom, grades etc.) that bigger challenges may be on the horizon.

Are there any specific challenges that the Winchester High School faces which are not faced by the other schools? 

The main challenges are dealing with all of the unknowns and details that we have never had to think about. For example, if we do not return to school this year, how do we get all of our books back from students? How will this impact budgets and ordering for next year? Every unknown can be figured out but what are the ramifications down the road that we cannot foresee?

How difficult do you believe it will be for students to continue with standard curriculums next year, given the online schooling they received this spring? 

Every student in every class has a different experience so that is impossible to quantify. We will certainly have to adjust a number of our curriculums and are planning to do so but each student will face different challenges.

What are the biggest challenges the individual teachers are struggling with during this transition? 

I think people truly do not understand how difficult the work-life balance is right now for teachers. We know a lot of folks are facing similar challenges but if you are trying to engage 25 students on a Zoom call (which is harder than we make it look) and your own child, say a 3 year old, wants your attention because they are not used to you being home, then that can be very difficult. We also have to keep in mind the needs/demands of our students and how our jobs have very much become a 24/7 job so it is difficult to turn school "off" for a lot of our staff, certainly myself included.

Do you have any parting advice?

Perspective is so important. We need to always remember that there is a much greater issue happening outside our doors (and in some cases in our homes) than how much curriculum we are or are not covering. Folks are worried about our students "falling behind" and we need to remember people are dying from this pandemic and that there is no road map for any of this. I am confident that our kids, even if we are doing school differently than some private schools or other communities, are still going to be well ahead of most similar age students across the country.

Do you believe that you were equipped to combat COVID had the school not been closed? In other words, are school nurses provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) of any sort? 

The Winchester Public School Nurses are grateful for the resources which have always enabled us to have sufficient PPE on hand. We routinely stock medical face masks and examination gloves, for various nursing interventions that we might deliver in the course of a typical school day.  When we first learned of the impending risk of COVID-19, we were able to upgrade our masks to include facial shields to further protect the wearer from airborne particles contaminating the face and eyes. 

The nursing team also promptly developed guidelines to address the care of individuals (students, teachers, staff, and volunteers) who may possibly present positive for Covid-19 at school.

What are your primary concerns when students return back to school?

Our primary concern is always the health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff.  Although we are not sure when our schools will reopen, we are actively considering procedures to ensure the optimization of health; including potential return to school guidelines based on the guidance of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and active collaboration with the Winchester Health Department.  It is always imperative for students and staff to stay home from school when they are ill, to prevent the spread of illnesses. 

Do you have any parting advice?

Currently, we are focused on educating our community in mitigating the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing, hand washing, and cough and sneezing etiquette.  An additional priority includes connecting with our students to help keep them fed, safe, and healthy. Even though our buildings are closed, the Winchester Public School Nurses remain available to support students’ and their families’ health needs and concerns.

A full on-site instruction may not be feasible under current pandemic conditions without an approved vaccine. Social distancing is virtually impossible under such circumstances. So far, the two most common options that are being considered are full remote or hybrid. As the name indicates, full remote will have all educational services provided online to students. The hybrid model is one where half the students will attend school in person for either a full week or a few pre-determined days of the week. On the other days or week, the instruction will be remote. This process will then be repeated for the other half of the students.

There are many issues at play when considering these options. Some kids have special needs which make remote learning virtually impossible. Financial constraints - not having a reliable internet connection, a good computer, and food instability - can also hinder the remote learning process. On the other hand, keeping the classrooms and the teachers safe is no easy feat either. What happens if a student or instructor shows symptoms? Do we have enough infrastructure for effective contact tracing? 

Many pediatricians have warned that remote learning might hinder a child’s development, especially for younger children. They state that children learn best when they are physically present in a classroom. Plus, there are the social and emotional skills that cannot be duplicated online. Naturally, this is of grave concern to many parents. Moreover, for working parents, not having on-site schooling or alternate daycare facilities make it harder for them to work effectively even when working remotely. For parents who are essential or frontline workers, the lack of childcare services may preclude them from working at all. 

On the other hand, teachers, especially those at high risk, are understandably concerned. It won't always be possible to exercise social distancing, especially when dealing with younger children. What happens when a teacher needs to tie the shoelaces of a child? Many teachers are also concerned about bringing the disease to their families. This becomes especially hard when a member of their immediate family is immuno-compromised.

There are also financial and personnel resource constraints that administrations have to deal with. For example, having a remote and a hybrid model would require more instructors. Some of the instructors will teach on-site and some remotely. Naturally, there is a cost associated with this. Moreover, there might not be enough qualified teachers available. How do you creatively solve this problem? One option being entertained is to combine the teaching staff of the different school districts when teaching remotely.

The issues to deal with are numerous and do not come with any easy answers. No matter what decision a particular school district takes, the said decision may not be satisfactory to all families. However, the nature of the pandemic is such that it is hard to come up with a solution that pleases everybody. And whatever decision is ultimately made may need to be revised as circumstances change.

As of August 21, 2020, Winchester High School is offering its students both full-remote and hybrid educational services. For the hybrid model, the school is preparing both the building and its staff. Everyone will be required to wear masks at all times and students will be allowed to take masks breaks in tents outside the building. Additionally, there will be projectors available for teachers who feel an outdoor setting would be an appropriate teaching environment. The school has also rearranged desks and reconfigured the cafeteria and gym to comply with social distancing guidelines. Finally, WHS has added plexiglass around teachers’ desks, required teachers and students to wipe down desks in between classes, and ensured that there will only be one-way traffic in the hallways. For remote students, the school is ensuring all classes are effectively provided to them as well. Remote and hybrid students will also be able to meet digitally during their exploratory classes to foster the WHS community even during these unprecedented times.

The athletic department will abide by the MIAA Rules rules for the start of Fall sports. The start date will be no sooner than 9/17/2020.

The school board is also educating the students on various protocols and habits to follow in preparation for school reopening. As part of that effort, every week the school superintendent will send out an email to the parents covering different health topics that will help keep the students safer during the school  year. Topics covered will include, but not limited to, how to effectively wash your hands or how to properly wear a face mask. It will also point parents towards useful resources like CDC guidelines.  

With many safety procedures and protocols in place, the administrators and staff are doing everything they can to bring disruptions to a minimum in these unprecedented times.

Some sports, like indoor track and wrestling, have been canceled, while others, like ice hockey, basketball, and nordic skiing,  have restrictions on the number of practices, group sizes, transportation, and spectators. I spoke to both coaches and students across multiple sports to get a holistic picture.

The rising COVID numbers is definitely a concern to both the coaches and the athletes. If the numbers rise too rapidly, the school will probably shut down and go full-remote, all sports will be terminated as a result. Athletics is a crucial outlet for high school students as it “provides a channel for students to be competitive and make friends in ways that school doesn't offer.” So there will be a psychological cost for students if athletics is shut down. 

I first interviewed Mr. John Fleming (basketball) and Mr. Derick DiVincenzo (ice hockey),  on how their respective sports will look like this coming winter. The number of practices in both sports will be reduced but the “intensity of the practice will not be diminished.” Everything possible will be done to ensure that. Moreover, on their days off, athletes will still be engaged in modified physical activities. They are happy that the students are getting an opportunity to play a sport that they enjoy. 

The coaches feel that the students will be able to adapt. To put things in perspective, these changes are still not as “radical” as the hybrid schedule and remote learning that is currently in place for academics. Reduced group sizes and having no spectators remove the social aspect of the sport. However, everybody is grateful that it has not been canceled. Says Alex Cumming, a captain of the Nordic skiing team, “Sports have always been a really big part of my high school experience and  I'm lucky that I got to continue this year.” There is some concern that the races in nordic skiing may not be as competitive as last year due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

Safety, of both the players and the coaches, is a paramount issue. The rinks, for ice hockey, have set strict guidelines for everyone to follow. Says Mr. Fleming, “The school has done a great job putting together safety protocols for students and we are doing the same for our student-athletes.” Luckily a sport like nordic skiing is relatively safe as it is not a contact sport. Says Katherine Lew, another captain for the Nordic ski team, “I feel very safe with the idea of nordic skiing since we are all outside, and the skis kind of make us socially distant anyway. Plus, the nature of the sport makes it pretty easy to keep masks on compared to other sports like cross country or basketball.” Most of the participants seem to be abiding by the rules and wearing masks whenever necessary. Moreover, both cross country and nordic skiing take place entirely outdoors, further reducing the risk of transmission.

The lack of transportation is definitely a challenge. Carpooling will be inevitable especially if a parent or guardian is not able to drive the kids. In such situations, students will be encouraged to wear masks and open the windows when they can. Nordic skiing is the sport most impacted by the lack of a school bus to/from practices and games. Says Catlin Wiseman, another Nordic ski team captain, “I would say of all the winter sports this has the biggest impact on Nordic. It is the only team that has to travel almost 20 miles to Weston every day for practice.“ Luckily, there are a lot of student drivers. However, that puts a huge logistical challenge for the captains. They need to make sure everybody has a ride to the ski track. The training has to be designed with both carpooling and skill level in mind. Young drivers have the additional burden of driving in the dark during rush hour, in addition to practicing.

In order to enforce social distancing, the ice hockey rinks have their own set of guidelines and protocols that everybody, including coaches, has to follow.  Violating it could result in reduced ice time. For basketball, thanks to the size of the gym at WHS, the players can be spread out.

Additionally, the rules for both ice hockey and basketball have been modified to minimize close contact. For ice hockey, the roster size has been reduced to 20 from 25. Locker rooms are no longer available, affecting how players dress up before a game. The player can come to the rink only 15 minutes prior to the game. If you are on the ice, you have to wear a mask, and if on the bench, maintain distancing rules. For basketball, jump ball shots will not be allowed. There will also be no inbounding from under the hoop. “The rules were put in place to cut down some of the opportunities where there is close contact.  That being said, there are times when players are close as that is inherently part of the game of basketball and/or hockey as it was in the fall with soccer and field hockey,” explains Mr. Fleming.

I also spoke to Amanda Harrison and Gabriel Watson both of whom are part of the indoor track team. Unfortunately, that sport has been canceled for the winter. They are disappointed but realize that “it needs to happen in order to keep everyone safe.” The only good thing is that the coach is going to send a training schedule. This will keep the students active and engaged. Unfortunately, that is not the case with wrestling, another canceled sport. Says Elias Kourafalos, “not much can be done by way of training other than run or lift weights”. 

In spite of all the changes to the sports, the expectations from the athletes are going to be the same as they were in past years. Parents may not be at the gyms or the rinks but they can be just as supportive. Flexibility is going to be a major component of the upcoming season as things can change at a moment’s notice.