Ada says PSS is methodologically strategizing for in-person classes

Education Commissioner Dr. Alfred B. Ada said the Public School System is methodologically exploring its options on how to reopen schools safely for the resumption of in-person instruction.

Speaking at the Board of Education meeting, Ada stated that the planning is going slowly because they are “very cognizant” of COVID-19, asymptomatic persons, and information that the virus is a “super spreader.”

Right now, Ada is pleading with parents to give remote learning a chance. He acknowledged that many parents want to open face-to-face instruction in elementary schools and Ada assured that PSS do plan to do that, but they are still planning if they have to increase class sizes from 10 to 15 students per class and working with their rosters on which students will come in for the morning or afternoon sessions.

BOE member Paul Miura, who attend the special meeting via Google Hangouts, asked if the increase in the number of students in a classroom would be against social distancing rules and if they have to talk to the COVID-19 Task Force on this issue. Ada said they are still negotiating with the task force on this matter, so there’s no clear “yes” or “no” answer. Ada stated that they are working with the principals and the principals are working with the teachers on deciding how to reopen smoothly because “of all the conditions in this pandemic.”

As for bus services, Ada stated that, in the case of for face-to-face instruction, the PSS Office of Transportation has put in place new rules to ensure the safety of students when they are transported from bus shelters to campuses. PSS Transportation director Shawn San Nicolas assured that the rules are compliant with the governor’s COVID-19 directives. The number of student passengers, for example, has been reduced to 22 from 40 to 60, San Nicolas said. This means that a row of seats, which usually accommodates two to three students, will now only have one.

As for the bus itself, it will be sanitized more often and children’s temperature will be taken before they enter the bus, and it is mandatory for students to wear a face mask throughout the bus ride.

“We need to comply with directives on social distancing and other safety measures to ensure that we protect the students and staff on the bus,” San Nicolas said. “We need to ensure that we transport the students to school on time and safely.”

A small survey that was distributed to PSS parents shows that 94.7% of parents says that their child has yet to use the Blackboard Ultra platform that’s used for remote learning, Ada said. Additionally, they’re still collecting data until the first day of the second quarter, Nov. 17, to get a clearer picture of how remote learning is working. This is the third week that the platform has been up and running.

As of Oct. 19, there are currently 8,180 students enrolled on all three islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

Ada stated that the Department of Youth Services and the School Attendance Review Committee are assisting PSS in locating the families who are hard to reach. Before the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, PSS district-wide enrollment was 9,486 students.