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Agenda - 11-05-20; 8-a - Minutes
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Agenda - 11-05-20; 8-a - Minutes
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10/29/2020 3:47:58 PM
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BOCC
Date
11/5/2020
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Business
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Agenda
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8-a
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Agenda 11-05-20 Virtual Business Meeting
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\Board of County Commissioners\BOCC Agendas\2020's\2020\Agenda - 11-05-20 Virtual Business Meeting
Minutes 11-05-2020 Virtual Business Meeting
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\Board of County Commissioners\Minutes - Approved\2020's\2020
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3 <br /> 1 She said currently the district is in a plan C, but plan B would be a hybrid model with both <br /> 2 remote and in person instruction. She said there will always be a fully virtual option, and if OCS <br /> 3 does move to plan B, there would be strict adherence to all social distancing protocol. <br /> 4 Melany Stowe said the needs of parents and students continue to drive OCS. She said <br /> 5 virtual schooling is particularly daunting to those who face various inequities, and supervised <br /> 6 learning labs are the new necessary adaptation of OCS. She said Orange County Schools has <br /> 7 facilitated a supervised learning lab for a month in partnership with the YMCA, and a second <br /> 8 learning lab started this week in partnership with Pleasant Green United Methodist Church. She <br /> 9 said equity is a district priority, and the district sought to insure that the learning labs are <br /> 10 accessible to all. She said there are 3 different payment options, including a reasonable rate of <br /> 11 $10/week thanks to an anonymous donor. She said the second lab has given priority to <br /> 12 students that are homeless or in foster care. She said OCS is using the before and after school <br /> 13 fund balance to provide this service at no cost, including transportation. She said there is an <br /> 14 upcoming service that will be offered in an actual school. <br /> 15 Melany Stowe said technology is an ongoing need, and OCS has opened two Internet <br /> 16 hubs, which are located at schools near the greatest areas of need. She said families can sign <br /> 17 up, and come into the buildings so that there is access to bathrooms, as well appropriate air <br /> 18 temperatures. She said sitting in a car parked to access Internet service is not necessarily <br /> 19 equitable, and thus OCS has responded accordingly. She said staff will continue to work <br /> 20 towards plan B, and the needs will continue until all students can be back in school full time. <br /> 21 Dr. Kathleen Dawson said access to bathrooms, HVAC, and safety is basic human <br /> 22 rights. She expressed thanks to the BOCC for its support and willingness to fund the additional <br /> 23 hotspots. She said Orange County Schools purchased 500 hotspots in the spring, have <br /> 24 purchased 400 this fall, and have 600 more on order to meet the needs of their families. She <br /> 25 said a question was raised about where the need was coming from and why. She said the <br /> 26 quality of service was lacking, and families are trying to do what they can, but families have <br /> 27 multiple users on the bandwidth trying to work and learn. She said there are areas in the <br /> 28 community where even a hotspot will not help. She said 40% of OCS families qualify for free <br /> 29 and reduced lunch, and it is unrealistic to think these families can transport children to the <br /> 30 schools for Internet access. She said a lot of families rely on the district's services. She said <br /> 31 the district has purchased flash drives to download learning materials in order to support the <br /> 32 needs of their students. She said OCS has worked on making secondary school parking lots <br /> 33 Wi-Fi hotspots, and is working on doing the same for elementary school parking lots. She said <br /> 34 OCS is also seeking to purchase teacher devices, as many were incompatible for remote <br /> 35 learning. She said an expected delivery date for Chrome books was unknown. She said OCS is <br /> 36 renting devices to insure all children have access, which costs over$90,000 and webcams for <br /> 37 teacher laptops were over$35,000. She said once the district is able to transition to plan B, <br /> 38 there will still be remote learning students, and teachers will have to take on that dual <br /> 39 instruction, which will require setup technology. She said the costs are enormous, and Covid <br /> 40 has required all of this in such a rapid manner. She said OCS has spent over$954,000 since <br /> 41 Covid hit, which does not include the previously scheduled laptop refresh. She said the biggest <br /> 42 long term issue is Internet access for all. <br /> 43 Dr. Monique Felder introduced the scientific analyzing boards (ABC science <br /> 44 collaborative), which is a partnership between OCS, CHCCS, Duke and UNC. She said the <br /> 45 purpose of these boards is pair schools, medical and scientific professionals to help to keep <br /> 46 students and staff safe. She said there are weekly COVID-19 webinars and webinar topics <br />
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