Minutes 09-24-2020 Virtual Joint Meeting w-Schools

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