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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 10 September 2020

Created: 10 September 2020

Last Updated: 22 October 2020

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Students line up to receive devices at the middle school. Photo credit: Jon MarkSo how is this first week of school going for Scarsdale students and parents? From what we heard, the short answer is, it’s complicated.

Rather than go into full swing this week, the district has organized a series of virtual meetings, smaller in-person meetings and orientation for students of all grades to permit them to see their transformed schools, meet their teachers and learn about all the new safety protocols in place to safeguard the themselves and their learning environment.

At the elementary school level students are having virtual orientations with their entire class where they meet the teacher and the aids. Using a camera, they are being shown around their classroom so they will know what to expect when they start to attend in person. Also this week, each student and parent will have an individual virtual meeting with their teacher. And next week, before launching into the full hybrid schedule when half the class will attend in the morning and half in the afternoon, smaller groups of 50% of each cohort will go to school to familiarize themselves with the routine. On Thursday the 17th, the regular schedule will launch.

At the middle school, students lined up to receive their devices yesterday. The seventh and eighth graders will attend orientation this week followed by separate sessions for sixth graders. Ultimately students will attend school in person for two days per week, either Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays.

At the high school, students will have only two mornings per week in school, with virtual classes in the afternoon. The entire school was invited to a virtual webinar on September 9. Initially, since attendance on the Zoom was capped at 1,000 people, some students had trouble getting on the call, but this was corrected. This week all tenth through twelfth graders went to school for a one hour orientation in their homerooms. The ninth grade will have their own orientation day on Friday September 11.

Students who choose all virtual learning, will see their classes via Zoom, while the actual class is in attendance. It’s not clear how well those at home will be able to participate while their classmates are present in the classroom.

Before entering the school each day, students will need to submit a health survey that they will have to print out and complete before going to school. The morning session will extend from 8:10 am to 12:05 pm and students will have to leave the building quickly and get home to attend their afternoon classes. Students may not be inside the school for more than 10 minutes before the start of school, and must leave within 10 minutes of their last class.

Even though in school time is so limited, some students have “free” periods in their morning schedules and there are clear instructions about where in the school they can be during that time.

Next week each cohort will go in one morning for class and beginning on September 21, the two morning a week schedule will start.

We spoke to parents with kids at all grade levels and heard about their concerns and how they were adjusting.

A parent of a kindergartner noted that a parent will pretty much be a partner in their child’s education. When kids are on Zoom, a parent will need to help them sign on to school, monitor their behavior while they watch and help them to complete any at home assignments.

Another elementary school mother was concerned about her child’s schedule to attend school in the afternoons. She said, “My own concerns about the PM cohort for my 5th grader include the fact that she won't be starting school until 12:45 so may remain unmotivated in the mornings. I think for a lot of kids, it is easier to get up and go to school, have your lessons and then go home to do asynchronous work.”

Parents were also worried about the district’s plans to sanitize the classrooms with a fogging machine between the morning and afternoon sessions. There were concerns that the fogging chemicals could cause respiratory issues. In response, the district h changed that protocol and will instead spray high touch surfaces with a green bio-based product called concrobium to clean and disinfect.

Many parents and students have been scrambling to assemble all the information they need. One mom said, “I do feel like the district has stepped up their communications, but I now feel like I am swimming in emails. I wish there was one succinct place to get all info instead of some info hidden deep in one email and other info hidden deep in a different email. While I understand, it has also been somewhat frustrating to have schedules shared so last minute.”

A mom of high school students said she was doing her best to stay positive and be grateful for what the school is offering, but she said, “it seems like this is really going to be a challenging year. I truly see parents trying hard not to freak out.”

Some parents were still reflecting on missteps in the planning process this summer and having trouble trusting in the schools. A readers said, “I think a big part of why many were so up in arms is because of the lack of transparency and that the district had no plans to share "reopening plans" with parents before submitting them to the state. The district shared the plan with teachers to assure their buy-in, which was great, but didn't plan to also share it with parents before submitting it, making parents feel like they weren't equal stakeholders. It is only my opinion, but I think if the district would have shared the plan with teachers and parents alike and explained their research and reasoning for the schedules, there would have still been a lot of unhappy people, but maybe not such an uproar.”

And the mother of a middle school and a high school student who is still reeling from the debacle this summer said, “The teachers are angry to be back in school, the parents are angry that the kids have so little school, and we are all angry about the e-learning failures in the spring and have absolutely no faith in the administration that they will do any better this year. “

Despite some complaints, it appears that overall parents realize that we are in unusual times navigating unchartered waters. Teachers who are accustomed to standing in front of a classroom of kids are now trying to keep the attention of 25 kids at home, over technology that is sometimes difficult to use. Administrators have implemented untested protocols, complex schedules and myriad rules and regulations, all in just a few weeks. No one knows whether all of these procedures will be able to combat the spread of a relentless virus and permit the district to remain open, at least partially, for the foreseeable future.

As one parent said, “Most people I speak with understand the extensive amount of work it is taking to reopen schools and appreciate everyone's effort to do so.”

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 21 September 2020

Created: 21 September 2020

Last Updated: 21 September 2020

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As if COVID did not pose enough of a challenge to the reopening of the Scarsdale Schools, now the district has announced that legionella bacteria, the cause of Legionnaires’ disease, has been found in the water at Scarsdale Middle School and the Quaker Ridge School. An email from the district says, “The bacteria can cause a form of pneumonia that can be severe. While found in drinking water, the disease may result by breathing in or aspirating small water droplets containing a pathogenic type of legionella bacteria.”

Testing at the school was conducted on September 4, but results were not reported until September 14. You can see the test results here: As a result, the district covered all water fountains and drinking stations with the exception of water stations that include UV filtration, that kills the pathogens. They will supply water bottles for drinking at both schools, and plan to replace all water fountains with UV filtration stations. According to an email from School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman, “District Food Services in the two affected schools will suspend the use of kitchen sinks at for food preparation until mitigation is complete.” It’s not clear how they can prepare food without water.

In order to eradicate the bacteria, the district plans to disinfect the system, flush the lines and retest. This work will be done at all seven schools.

According to Scarsdale resident and physician Darlene Lefrancois, “It is unfortunately Legionella pneumophilia, a highly pathologic strain, and per reports it was at two out of four sources at Quaker Ridge and five out of six at the Middle School, representing an extensive degree of small to moderate colonization.”

She continued, “I am glad to see they are planning on regular retesting going forward, also addressed in the Sept 17th briefing. I am dismayed they didn't deal with this issue before reopening the schools. Nobody needed this and it was foreseeable. As I had guessed I think the COVID closures of school in March and low flow of the water is a contributor. Given this testing was done as part of the reopening plan it's unfortunate this was not dealt with prior to actual reopening schools for instruction.”

Providing some background on the bacteria, LeFrancois said, “We have unfortunately had a number of cluster outbreaks of this disease during my tenure working as a physician in the Bronx. While there are a couple of select classes of antibiotics that can treat the disease (these do not include the B-lactam class e.g. penicillin), they are certainly not 100% effective. Mortality numbers overall are as high or even higher than for COVID-19. Immediate source control is essential to eliminate the risk and until that is achieved anyone in attendance or working at the school may be at risk of acquiring this serious infection from various water sources. Thankfully, as the briefing points out, there is no person to person spread. As an important aside, the clinical presentation can be similar to that of a typical pneumonia but is very often atypical (hence why Legionella pneumonia is considered an "atypical pneumonia"). Specifically, gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g diarrhea, vomiting) are very common and may be the predominant symptom at presentation. The community should be made aware of what to look for.”

An August 27, 2020 article in the NY Times alerted the public to the risk of legionella in schools that were shutdown since March. A district in Ohio found the bacteria in five of their schools and it was detected in four schools in a district in Pennsylvania.

In order to reopen and comply with safety procedures to mitigate the risk of COVID, the Scarsdale Schools had to take many measures to alter the configuration of classrooms, install hand sanitizers and signage, purchase PPE and draft rules, regulations and procedures for to govern school attendance. Facilities Director John Trenholm retired in July which may have further stressed the administration. Testing for legionella is not part of the district’s usual protocol. In an email to parents dated September 16, 2020 Dr. Hagerman explained, “Testing for legionella is not a requirement for schools and mitigation measures are not regulated. However, we decided to add this testing as part of our broader building restart plan based on the CDC recommendations outlined in the Guidance for Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown or Reduced Operation. Going forward, we will engage in regular legionella testing as part of our comprehensive environmental testing plan.” 

The CDC report warns about the risk of both mold and legionella in buildings that have been shutdown. It opens as follows:

“The temporary shutdown or reduced operation of a building and reductions in normal water use can create hazards for returning occupants. Two potential microbial hazards that should be considered prior to reopening after a period of building inactivity are mold and Legionella (the cause of Legionnaires’ disease). For mold, a “prolonged period” may be days, weeks, or months depending upon building-specific factors, season, and weather variables. For Legionella, a “prolonged period” may be weeks or months depending on plumbing-specific factors, disinfectant residuals, water heater temperature set points, water usage patterns, and preexisting Legionella colonization.”

We’re not sure if the district conducted air quality reports to test for the presence of mold before the opening of school. For now, we don’t see these results posted on the district website, but do know that the district committed to annual testing of both air and water quality. Here is the link to the facilities page on the district website. 

Regarding legionella, in a memo to parents dated September 15, Dr. Hagerman said, “We wish this communication wasn’t regarding yet another challenge to overcome, but we would rather know and be able to complete a course of mitigation than the alternative. These are challenging times indeed, and we thank you for your support as we navigate this unusual school year.”

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 03 September 2020

Created: 03 September 2020

Last Updated: 03 September 2020

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Staffing is Up and Enrollment is Down at the Start the 2020 School Year in Scarsdale.Given all the work that is now being done to start the school year, the Scarsdale Board of Education is now meeting twice a month rather than once. They held their last virtual meeting on Monday evening September 1 and announced their next meeting would be held in person on September 14, 2020. Dr. Hagerman announced that the staff and faculty convocation, customarily a joyous gathering to launch the school year, will be held virtually this year on September 2, 2020.

The beginning of the school year will be phased in with orientation for elementary school students on the week of September 10 and the full hybrid plan beginning on September 17. Virtual learners will follow a similar schedule. At the middle school, are a series of virtual and in-person orientations beginning on September 10 and extending through September 18, 2020. At the high school, ninth graders begin with a webinar on September 8, a virtual orientation on September 9 and an in-person orientation on September 11. Hybrid learning is phased in for all grades from September 14 – 18.

With complex plans in the works, the meeting covered progress on the district’s restart plan, enrollment, staffing, an update on athletics and facilities.

Health and Safety

Discussing the Scarsdale Schools Covid-19 Family District Compact which asks parents and children to follow safety protocols, Dr. Hagerman said that it has been signed by half of Scarsdale families. Though it is not required for attendance the district feels that it’s important to get families’ commitment to guidelines.

The district is working with a group of resident physicians who are mothers who are sharing their medical expertise. To date, they have created two guides that are posted online. One is an educational guide to the use of face masks, and the other is guidelines for a safe return to school.

Dr. Hagerman said that the district is collaborating with White Plains Hospital on streamlining testing and helping families to find out how they can access testing.

Eric Rauschenbach offered a review of the proceedings of the Restart Steering Committee including the parent compact, testing availability, along with closure protocols. He mentioned three reasons for the possible closure of school once it opens, including an order from the Governor, staffing shortages or excessive heat. He explained that the district’s cooling plan allows for school to remain in session during days when temperatures rise above 90 degrees by grouping students in large common spaces that are air conditioned. However, due to the distancing requirements, it would no longer be possible to use these spaces for that purpose, and in the event it gets too hot, school might have to be cancelled.

Enrollment and Staffing

Assistant Superintendent Andrew Patrick explained that student enrollment is lower than projected and staffing is higher than budgeted. The district budgeted for 4,743 students but will begin the year with 4,657. They planned for 460.8 teachers but will begin the year with 465. In terms of total staff, the district budgeted for 630 but now have 644 employees.

Why the increase in staff? Patrick explained that kindergarten enrollment fell short of the demographers projections, and recently some kindergarten and first grade students have withdrawn from school for the year. However in other grades, students entered and caused class sections to break, resulting in 108 rather than 102 sections. This includes two virtual class sections in each elementary school grade and three virtual sections in first grade. Middle School and High School student enrollment and staffing were on target with the budget.

New cleaning and disinfecting protocols which require work both before and after school and in between class sessions necessitated the hiring of 9.5 full time employees to the custodial staff.

Reviewing the class distributions which showed some virtual classes with 22 or 23 students, Board member Amber Yusuf asked Patrick, “Some of the virtual elementary classes seem pretty full - how will a student be placed in a virtual class if they decide to move from hybrid? Patrick responded, “We have space in some of these classes, but we do exceed class sizes limits during the year – if we have students move in we sometimes make slightly larger classes. I am not sure exactly what we would do – we could hire an additional teacher or set up a co-taught class. The virtual classes still follow the am/pm model, so the teacher is only working with half of the students at a time. Even if we go all remote, there will still be the am/pm model as the research shows that small class sizes are better.

Later in the meeting Patrick discussed requests from teachers for accommodations. He said, “We heard many requests via the Americans with Disabilities Act. We have received 91 requests – the vast majority are from teachers. They have come from all 7 buildings. We granted 13 remote accommodations for work from home and provided enhanced PPE.” He noted that the district may continue to receive requests, saying, “There is no time limit for requesting an accommodation – it is the law.”

He added, “We do have employees struggling with childcare because the childcare is not open or their own children have a hybrid schedule. They are working hard to find arrangements.” He said that staffing could be a challenge throughout the year, noting, “Teachers can take intermittent leave – even for an hour during the school day.”

Facilities

Assistant Superintendent Stuart Mattey said, “We are getting our buildings ready.” He said preventative maintenance and testing were being done on HVA systems and the fire alarms. The district is installing signage throughout the buildings for traffic flow and hand washing hand sanitizing stations are being installed at building entries, in classrooms and doorways. They are replacing hand air dryers with paper towel dispensers and blocking off urinals for social distancing. Classrooms are being laid out in accordance with enrollment and to ensure physical distancing.

Mattey explained new cleaning protocols which call for high touch surfaces to be cleaned throughout the day and bathrooms to be disinfected in the middle and the end of each day. The buses will be cleaned after each run and disinfected at the end of each day. Drivers are being trained on proper disinfection.

He responded to parents concerns about the midday cleaning between cohorts and said, “The CDC and the school physician recommend that that disinfection occur. We use green, bio-based products that also disinfect. Cleaning protocols are posted online. They will use fogging or atomizing between the am and pm sessions. This allows product to be applied to all areas. It’s the most expedient. Dense fog drops within seconds.”

Mattey reviewed ventilation work, saying, “The ventilation plan focuses on introducing as much fresh air as possible, filtration and exhausting building air.”

He explained, “Physical distancing and wearing of masks are the main mitigating factors and ventilation is third.” “Opening the windows is very effective” and the district will “bypass their energy recovery systems to introduce fresh air.” Increasing outdoor air ventilation will change the amount of air the systems bring inside. They will run the ventilations systems for two to three hours after the students leave the building as well. The district is installing MERV 13 filters wherever possible and using MERV 8 filters where MERV 13 filters cannot be used.

The newer ventilation systems installed at Fox Meadow, Edgewood and Heathcote are bringing in 100% fresh air and therefor do not require filters. The district has also ordered portable HEPA units to be used where filters cannot be installed.

Mattey also discussed environmental testing. He said, “We are on top of our water testing. All levels have come back at acceptable levels. Drinking, cooking, plumbing water has been tested. We are flushing hot water in all of our sinks. We are flushing all of our systems.”

Reporting on facilities work, Mattey provided an update on the renovation at Greenacres School saying, “it is almost completed…. the building looks amazing, bright and welcoming. Students and teachers will be super excited about the building. There is new lighting, cabinetry and a totally different feel. The learning commons is an amazing space that the community will enjoy. It is only rivaled by the learning commons at the high school. We’re cleaning out spaces, moving contractors equipment out, installing fixtures, and waiting for things to arrive.” He added, “Though the library, and the basement and supply closets will still need work, there will be no construction when students are in the building.”

Discussing Greenacres, Dr. Hagerman said, “Having lived through all of the difficult discussion about Greenacres, it is such a transformation. It is so light and bright and has a cool modern Scandanavian feel. It has changed the character of the school. And all the concerns about BBS … they provided all these small touches that made it an amazing remodel. It will be the gem of this district and a model for what elementary buildings should look like.”

Continuing, Hagerman said, “I have to acknowledge the teachers and the Sharons (Principal and Teacher in Charge) for picking out the colors and tiles. There are moments of drama throughout the building that are quite spectacular. Thank you to BBS and the faculty. It is a magnificent remodel. I am crestfallen that everyone will not get to see it at the opening.”

Athletics

Athletic Director Ray Pappalardi provided an update on where the school stands with competitive sports. Governor Cuomo issued guidelines on August 26 that permit “lower- and moderate-risk sports (e.g., tennis, soccer, cross country, field hockey, and swimming) to begin to practice and play on September 21. Travel for sports is prohibited until October 19, 2020. Higher-risk sports (e.g., football, wrestling, rugby, hockey, and volleyball) may practice, effective September 21, 2020, but not play until authorized at a later date, but no later than December 31, 2020… Practices are limited to individual or group, no- to low-contact training (e.g., skills development) whereby contact between players may only be incidental and any activities that are specifically designed to promote close physical contact are prohibited.”

Pappardi explained that, “The interscholastic program is part of our academic program, and we are “looking to contribute to the maturation of students,” but, “competition might not be a big part of the program this fall …..we want to model behavior by following all guidelines.”

Though tennis, soccer, cross country, field hockey, and swimming are permitted on September 21, Pappalardi said that holding tryouts and forming teams would compromise the cohort system and could increase the risk of the spread of the virus for the entire school population.

He said, “Athletic cohorts don’t have to be the same as academic cohorts. If there were tryouts – students on the A day could only try out on an A day and students in the B cohort on a B day. If the full team was selected, it would expand the practice to more cohorts. … It would compromise the entire cohort system and could send the whole school into quarantine.”

He concluded, “We will have to decide whether to start on September 21, 2020 or wait until January to begin.”

Public Comments

During public comments Sharon Chesler of Brewster Road asked for more information about how teacher aids will work in the classrooms. About kindergartners, she said, “How are we prioritizing those littlest learners – right now everything is equal and I believe our kindergartners need more of an assist.”
She also asked if the district could test waste water to see if there were COVID carriers in the schools as some colleges are doing. She requested that the district emails include links to the appropriate restart pages in every update. About the cohorts she said, “I have a kindergartner and a second grader – who will both attend the PM sessions. But other families do not have this arrangement. So you are exposing more people if all families are not together?”

Deepah Sehgal of Aspen Road said, “Both my kids will do remote learning. Regarding the specials, who will run them for the virtual cohort? What happens if more kids move to virtual since the classes are already large? Are there aids in the virtual model?”

Jennifer Zola of Carstensan Road spoke on behalf of Scarsdale Youth Soccer. She requested that fields be made available for children in grades eight and below to play. She said, “We request the school board opens fields for ISO activities. Scheduling is complicated because we don’t know anything about the availability of the fields. Though you have a lot to do, we hope you can provide interim access. I am hopeful that this can be considered in the next week or so.”

Mayra Kirkendall Rodriguez asked for details about changes in the curriculum and what will be curtailed. She said, “What metrics will we use to determine if students are receiving a competitive education?”

Rachana Singh said, “I implore the board to publish more details about changes to the curriculum, more details would be welcome”. She asked for more parent education and links to supplemental fact sheets. She said, “I want to commend Eric (Rauschenbach) for holding a productive zoom for those with students in special education.”

Jyoti Ruta of Tunstall Road said, “I am concerned that students that are remote will not have the same chance to learn as those in the hybrid program. The teachers will be busy with the students in the classroom. I feel like the first few weeks of school are when relationships are formed. If remote teachers cannot see or hear, they may be frustrated with these students. I am concerned about the added frustration for remote students. I think remote students could be on unequal footing. Can classes be recorded so that students have equal access. I feel like the hybrid and remote model creates huge inequalities.”

Responding to a few of the questions, Andrew Patrick said, “We are making aide assignments now. We will have as many in the classrooms as possible. We will have to work out the details as working at a distance is new. They can help with record keeping and homework as well. Virtual classes will also have aides.”

Dr. Hagerman addressed the kindergarten questions, saying, “We are fully committed to our youngest learners.” About cohort placements he said, “ it is impossible to match cohorts with other families but we have done it within families.”

Stuart Mattey addressed safety protocols saying, “We are mitigating risk with masks, social distancing and disinfecting. The district does not have the capacity to analyze waste water.”

About virtual learners, Edgar McIntosh said, “Specials for virtual students will be the same as the hybrid students. Virtual teachers are looking forward to reaching out to their students.”

Watch the full meeting here: