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SOUTH SALT LAKE — With the opening of school just one week away, the Granite School District Board of Education held an unusual morning meeting Monday to alter its elementary school schedule.
The board voted to adopt an elementary school schedule that offers in-person learning Monday through Thursday and distance learning and teacher planning time on Fridays. The plan previously called for in-school learning five days a week.
Teachers and schools can select the mode they prefer for Friday instruction.
The change comes after input from the teachers’ association, educators, administrators and families, according to a motion read by board member Todd Zenger.
A recent survey by the Granite Education Association found that 70% of the 1,400 members who responded said they felt unsafe with the district’s current plan for school reopening.
“Educators are afraid for their health and the health of their loved ones. We are said to be essential employees and are the only group of such workers asked to be sequestered in a room with 25-plus people for several hours a day, every day. GEA is asking that educators’ fears and concerns be acknowledged and more so, addressed,” Granite Education Association President Michael McDonough wrote in a letter to Granite School District Superintendent Martin Bates and members of the school board.
Board President Karyn Winder said no single plan will suit everyone but after Monday’s action, “we believe today we will have the support of the majority of our teachers.”
McDonough said Granite Education Association plans to monitor teaching and working conditions and have ongoing conversations with top-level administrators and the school board as the school year gets underway.
“We’re grateful that the board has listened to teacher concerns about the need for time to plan lessons for in-person and distance learning. While the teachers are still concerned about safety, this morning’s action does address GEA’s concerns about planning time for elementary teachers and the ability for each school to design teacher assignments as benefits individual school locations,” McDonough told KSL in a statement.
Zenger said he’s “hearing loud and clear parents and teachers and administrators who continue to be concerned about a full-time class schedule.”
Although Zenger voted with the board to alter the elementary school schedule, “I continue to advocate for a modified schedule,” he said.
At the end of the day, we’re here for the kids. We’re here to ensure that their education is good and solid, and that they are learning every day and progressing every day.
–Granite School Board President Karyn Winder
Granite District schools are scheduled to open Aug. 24. Distance learning is also an option for families. The elementary school schedule adopted by the board Monday aligns with its schedule for secondary schools.
“At the end of the day, we’re here for the kids. We’re here to ensure that their education is good and solid, and that they are learning every day and progressing every day,” Winder said.
The district website notes the district is prepared to switch to a modified schedule or a full dismissal in consultation with the health department if needed.
“These plans and schedules are based on statewide guidance from the State COVID-19 Task Force and the Utah State Board of Education,” the board states.
The board also voted to add two additional professional development days for teachers at the end of the first term for teachers “to review what is working and what can improve,” according to a Granite School District tweet.
Bates said the district is the process of obtaining and installing hospital-grade air filters in schools, That work that will likely continue as the school year gets underway. However, air in schools is currently cycled three times and hour, which exceeds Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, Bates said.
Tens of thousands of masks and face shields have been delivered to schools. Some 10,000 student desk dividers and 3,000 desk shields for teachers are expected to arrive at the district’s warehouse this week and will be immediately delivered to schools, Bates said.
Additional funding has been provided to schools to obtain supplies they need other than those provided by the school district and the state, he said.
