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Nauset public schools

    NAUSET SCHOOLS

    Clenchy’s Successor Will Have Some Tough Tests

    New superintendent will face shrinking enrollments and rising budgets

    By

    ORLEANS — Nauset Public Schools Supt. Brooke Clenchy has confirmed that her retirement at the end of the current school year, first announced last month in an email to parents and staff, will mark the end of her 40-year career in education. She began as a classroom teacher in Canada and has been a superintendent in Maine and Massachusetts for more than 20 years.

    Nauset Schools Supt. Brooke Clenchy will retire at the end of the current school year. (File photo)

    “This has been a calling for me,” she told the Independent. “This is a dedication in your heart that you feel, to make the right decisions for children.”

    Clenchy was praised by members of the regional school committee for leading the schools in the wake of the pandemic, streamlining procedures, revamping policies, and uniting the system’s five districts. Nonetheless, major challenges face whoever steps into Nauset’s top job next year.

    “I probably will remember her most for bringing together our five districts in a way that I think was never done before,” said regional school committee chair Judith Schumacher of Orleans. Those five districts include just seven schools: five elementary schools administered by local committees in four towns — Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet — and the middle and high schools governed by the regional committee.

    Clenchy, whose salary for the current school year is $212,175, was hired as interim superintendent in July 2021. After a search, she was chosen from among four finalists and given a three-year contract in January 2022.

    The toughest issues that will confront the next superintendent include declining school enrollment, staffing and recruitment challenges, increasing budgets, and uncertainty over the future structure of the four towns’ elementary schools.

    According to state data, combined student enrollment at Nauset’s middle and high schools dropped by 16 percent in the last four years — from 1,480 students in 2020 to 1,236 in 2024. Statewide public school enrollment has increased slightly each year since 2021.

    Schumacher and committee member Chris Easley of Wellfleet attributed the trend in part to the region’s soaring housing costs, which have also made it challenging for the schools to attract and retain employees.

    “We need both students and staff,” Schumacher said. “It’s a double challenge.”

    Beginning in 2020, the pandemic created a period of unprecedented staff turnover in the Nauset Schools. A total 178 staff members, including 118 instructional staff, left during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. The system employs an average of 550 staff each year.

    “Anytime you have turnover of that type, it challenges your culture, and it challenges your identity, because you’re losing your historical reference and your historical people,” said Easley.

    An increase in the number of students leaving the Nauset system to attend charter schools or take advantage of school choice — which allows students living in one district to attend public schools in other districts — has also been a factor, they said. According to state data, the number of school-choice students opting in to Nauset has dropped from about 290 in 2020 to about 170 in 2024, while the number of students opting out has increased from about 40 in 2020 to about 60 in 2024. That’s a net loss of 140 students.

    Because school districts must make tuition payments for students who leave to attend other public or charter schools and receive payments for each student who opts into the district, attracting and retaining more students could provide a much needed financial boost for the Nauset Schools.

    In recent years, several of the system’s five districts have seen their annual budgets increase by more than the state mandated maximum of 2.5 percent per year as costs for labor, transportation, and special education continue to rise, prompting the need for town budget overrides to pay for regular operating costs.

    Administrators and school committee members are hopeful that the Nauset High School renovation project, which may have deterred students from choosing the school during construction, will ultimately draw more students to the district once the work is complete.

    “We have to finish the building project at the high school,” said Schumacher. “We have to make sure we have the strongest and most dynamic administration at both the high school and the middle school, and that we offer the programs that meet today’s needs. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

    The high school renovation is scheduled for completion in December 2025. “The energy that has been generated with the partial opening of the new campus is bound to spill over,” Schumacher said. “I think a new person is going to come to a very strong and vibrant district.”

    Another looming question for an incoming superintendent could be how to lead the district through a potential reorganization of its elementary schools, Easley said. Although town and school officials have discussed the fact that aging buildings and declining enrollments in each of the four elementary school districts could point to a need for regionalization, no plan or vision currently exists for how this might happen, he said.

    “The towns are very protective of their elementary schools, but just look at the per-student cost on them,” said Easley. “There comes a point where the economics makes them very challenging to maintain. I think you can answer this problem by coming up with a greater vision of what education could be out here.”

    With these challenges in mind, Easley said the overriding job of the new superintendent will be to cultivate a culture of education that fosters community and includes all students.

    A search committee comprising four members of the regional school committee and one member from each of the four town elementary school committees has been tasked with leading the search for Clenchy’s successor. A joint meeting of all five committees aiming to kick off the process and identify a consulting firm to help with the search was scheduled for Oct. 30.

    NAUSET SCHOOLS

    Clenchy’s Successor Will Have Some Tough Tests

    New superintendent will face shrinking enrollments and rising budgets

    By

    ORLEANS — Nauset Public Schools Supt. Brooke Clenchy has confirmed that her retirement at the end of the current school year, first announced last month in an email to parents and staff, will mark the end of her 40-year career in education. She began as a classroom teacher in Canada and has been a superintendent in Maine and Massachusetts for more than 20 years.

    Nauset Schools Supt. Brooke Clenchy will retire at the end of the current school year. (File photo)

    “This has been a calling for me,” she told the Independent. “This is a dedication in your heart that you feel, to make the right decisions for children.”

    Clenchy was praised by members of the regional school committee for leading the schools in the wake of the pandemic, streamlining procedures, revamping policies, and uniting the system’s five districts. Nonetheless, major challenges face whoever steps into Nauset’s top job next year.

    “I probably will remember her most for bringing together our five districts in a way that I think was never done before,” said regional school committee chair Judith Schumacher of Orleans. Those five districts include just seven schools: five elementary schools administered by local committees in four towns — Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, and Wellfleet — and the middle and high schools governed by the regional committee.

    Clenchy, whose salary for the current school year is $212,175, was hired as interim superintendent in July 2021. After a search, she was chosen from among four finalists and given a three-year contract in January 2022.

    The toughest issues that will confront the next superintendent include declining school enrollment, staffing and recruitment challenges, increasing budgets, and uncertainty over the future structure of the four towns’ elementary schools.

    According to state data, combined student enrollment at Nauset’s middle and high schools dropped by 16 percent in the last four years — from 1,480 students in 2020 to 1,236 in 2024. Statewide public school enrollment has increased slightly each year since 2021.

    Schumacher and committee member Chris Easley of Wellfleet attributed the trend in part to the region’s soaring housing costs, which have also made it challenging for the schools to attract and retain employees.

    “We need both students and staff,” Schumacher said. “It’s a double challenge.”

    Beginning in 2020, the pandemic created a period of unprecedented staff turnover in the Nauset Schools. A total 178 staff members, including 118 instructional staff, left during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. The system employs an average of 550 staff each year.

    “Anytime you have turnover of that type, it challenges your culture, and it challenges your identity, because you’re losing your historical reference and your historical people,” said Easley.

    An increase in the number of students leaving the Nauset system to attend charter schools or take advantage of school choice — which allows students living in one district to attend public schools in other districts — has also been a factor, they said. According to state data, the number of school-choice students opting in to Nauset has dropped from about 290 in 2020 to about 170 in 2024, while the number of students opting out has increased from about 40 in 2020 to about 60 in 2024. That’s a net loss of 140 students.

    Because school districts must make tuition payments for students who leave to attend other public or charter schools and receive payments for each student who opts into the district, attracting and retaining more students could provide a much needed financial boost for the Nauset Schools.

    In recent years, several of the system’s five districts have seen their annual budgets increase by more than the state mandated maximum of 2.5 percent per year as costs for labor, transportation, and special education continue to rise, prompting the need for town budget overrides to pay for regular operating costs.

    Administrators and school committee members are hopeful that the Nauset High School renovation project, which may have deterred students from choosing the school during construction, will ultimately draw more students to the district once the work is complete.

    “We have to finish the building project at the high school,” said Schumacher. “We have to make sure we have the strongest and most dynamic administration at both the high school and the middle school, and that we offer the programs that meet today’s needs. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

    The high school renovation is scheduled for completion in December 2025. “The energy that has been generated with the partial opening of the new campus is bound to spill over,” Schumacher said. “I think a new person is going to come to a very strong and vibrant district.”

    Another looming question for an incoming superintendent could be how to lead the district through a potential reorganization of its elementary schools, Easley said. Although town and school officials have discussed the fact that aging buildings and declining enrollments in each of the four elementary school districts could point to a need for regionalization, no plan or vision currently exists for how this might happen, he said.

    “The towns are very protective of their elementary schools, but just look at the per-student cost on them,” said Easley. “There comes a point where the economics makes them very challenging to maintain. I think you can answer this problem by coming up with a greater vision of what education could be out here.”

    With these challenges in mind, Easley said the overriding job of the new superintendent will be to cultivate a culture of education that fosters community and includes all students.

    A search committee comprising four members of the regional school committee and one member from each of the four town elementary school committees has been tasked with leading the search for Clenchy’s successor. A joint meeting of all five committees aiming to kick off the process and identify a consulting firm to help with the search was scheduled for Oct. 30.

    TESTING

    As All Students Return to Class, Covid Cases Are Expected to Rise

    State to publish weekly numbers for school districts

    By

    None of the Outer Cape’s public schools had any Covid-19 cases in the state’s first report of positive tests, issued last Thursday. But as of Tuesday this week, cases were starting to appear, with two reported in Provincetown, one at Nauset Regional High School in Eastham, and one at Nauset Middle School in Orleans.

    Statewide, last week’s report showed 1,230 cases of Covid-19 among the 920,000 students who had returned to classrooms. There were 190 positive tests among 140,000 staff members during that same period.

    The numbers were from just three days, Sept. 13 to 15. Going forward, the reports will be published each Thursday and reflect positive tests in the state’s public schools for the previous seven days. The state has done away with remote learning this year, so with more students in the classroom, case numbers are expected to be higher than last year.

    What’s different this year are new testing programs that mean fewer teachers and children will have to be quarantined.

    On Tuesday, Provincetown Schools Supt. Suzanne Scallion told the Independent that, because the district is small, she did not want to say whether the two cases found there were among students or staff.

    She did explain the school’s new testing protocol. When a case of Covid is identified, all students in that class and any other asymptomatic children considered close contacts are tested daily for at least five days with the BinaxNOW rapid antigen test. The tests are provided free by the state. The students can remain in school as long as they test negative.

    If parents have opted out of the testing program and their children have been in close contact with an infected person, the children must be quarantined.

    “We do not have any parents who have declined,” Scallion said.

    This year is not much different from last year in terms of protocols like masking, Scallion said, but “we’ve come a long way,” she said, thanks to the tests.

    Truro has its own prekindergarten through grade 6 school district, with 112 students. Principal Patrick Riley reported Tuesday there had been no positive tests there so far. Truro also is participating in the state’s test-and-stay program, Riley said, though in his district not all parents had returned forms allowing their children to participate.

    Students head into the Truro Central School on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The state’s first report on coronavirus cases in schools, issued Sept. 16, said Truro had no cases. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    Riley noted that it is still early in the year. “We’ll circle back to the parents who haven’t returned the forms,” he said.

    The state does not require students to wear masks outdoors. Truro students were initially allowed recess only with the children in their classrooms, but after conferring with Truro Health Agent Emily Beebe, Riley loosened that restriction, allowing multiple classes to be outside without masks.

    The state requires a distance of at least three feet between students indoors, with all wearing masks. “A lot of classes can maintain more than three feet,” Riley said.

    When three-foot distancing can’t be accomplished, such as during one-on-one instruction, staff can wear additional protection, such as multiple masks and face shields.

    Mary Ellen Reed, lead nurse for the Nauset Regional School District, said Tuesday there had been three cases in her district — two students and one staff member: one from Nauset High School, one from Nauset Middle School, and one from the Eddy Elementary School in Brewster.

    The district’s other schools — Eastham Elementary, Wellfleet Elementary, Orleans Elementary, and Stony Brook Elementary in Brewster — had not yet had any cases, Reed said.

    Nauset is not currently participating in the state’s test-and-stay program, although Reed said the district is trying to register for it. At this point, the school nurses in the district perform rapid tests on anyone who shows symptoms while at school but not on children who are asymptomatic.

    The Nauset schools are taking other steps to keep students and staff safe. They allow staff and students in the buildings only during the school day. Visitors and volunteers, including parents, are not allowed inside. When there is a positive test, those who are considered close contacts must quarantine for seven days (close contact is defined as sitting within three feet of an infected person). Asymptomatic close contacts may return after five days if they test negative, but “we still actively monitor them for symptoms through 14 days,” Reed said.

    Masks are currently required indoors statewide until at least Oct. 1 for students, teachers, and staff, whether vaccinated or unvaccinated. After that date, fully vaccinated students and staff, where at least 80 percent of the school population has been vaccinated, may not have to wear them, according to the state’s rules.

    At present, children 12 years and older can be vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus. Pfizer may soon have vaccine approval for ages 5 through 11, according to news reports.

    Scallion said that will be a great relief.  “We worry for our kids who are not vaccinated,” she said.

    The state report published last week showed other Cape Cod school districts with Covid cases: Monomoy reported six students and one staff member; Falmouth had 16 students and one staff member; Dennis-Yarmouth had six students; Barnstable had 12 students; and Bourne and Mashpee each reported one case among students.

    Those numbers will be updated on Thursday, Sept. 23.

    SCHOOLING

    Nauset District Loses Students at All Levels

    New state-of-the-art Cape Cod Tech is drawing away students

    By

    In early October each year, all of the state’s public schools finalize their enrollment numbers for the new school year, and school aid from the state follows. At the Nauset Regional School District, the news is not good.

    Every school except for Eastham Elementary has lost students, with the largest decline at Nauset Regional High School, which has 44 fewer students, according to the enrollment report released at the Oct. 8 regional school committee meeting. Next on the list was Brewster’s Eddy Elementary School, down by 35 students, followed by Orleans Elementary with 24 fewer students. Total losses for the district: 121 students.

    The Stony Brook School, also in Brewster, had 11 fewer kids; Wellfleet elementary was down by three. Eastham elementary gained two students, while the Nauset Regional Middle School was down by six.

    The only school on the Outer Cape with a significant increase in enrollment is Provincetown, up by 16 to a total of 147. The Truro Central School’s enrollment is 113, the same as last year.

    Nauset school committee members expressed worry about the high school, which has seen a steady decline from a high in 2013 of 1,024 students. The current enrollment stands at 877.

    A new high school is in the final stages of planning, designed for 905 students, according to the Mass. School Building Authority.

    Ian Mack, a committee member, said local high schoolers have several choices, including the Sturgis Charter School, Cape Cod Regional Technical High School, and private schools. Why, he asked, is enrollment at the middle school holding steady while high school enrollment was dropping “so precipitously.”

    Enrollment matters because the schools receive state funding based on the number of students who attend school in the district. This money offsets the fixed costs of buildings and equipment and affects the amount that local taxpayers must raise to fund the schools.

    All of the schools on the Outer Cape have seen enrollment dwindle for years, as families leave because they can’t afford housing. According to the Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts, 242 babies were born in the four towns of the Nauset district in 1989. By 2014, 25 years later, only 113 births occurred in Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, and Brewster. Total enrollment in the Nauset schools was 3,207 in 1993; now it is 2,361.

    The Outer Cape’s school buildings and staff need more kids to support what they already have.

    That is why School Supt. Tom Conrad said, “We will need to dissect these [enrollment] numbers 10 times over before we get to budget season.”

    A look at the data shows that the greatest draw away from the high school is Cape Cod Tech, the Harwich high school that recently underwent a major renovation. Ninety-two students living in the Nauset district went to the Tech this year. That’s up from 76 last year and 77 the year before.

    “The [students going to] the Tech was not a surprise,” Conrad said. “They are going into a state-of-the-art facility, and we saw that would be attractive for kids.”

    Only 10 high schoolers from the Nauset district went to Sturgis Charter School, the smallest number since 2011. In other years, as many as 25 made the drive from the Outer Cape to Sturgis, an International Baccalaureate school in Hyannis.

    Nearly all the Nauset schools also lost students to private schools and home schooling, a trend that Conrad attributed to the coronavirus. No one on the school committee mentioned whether the inadequate ventilation at the aging Nauset Regional High School was to blame for driving students away. Repairing that system forced Nauset High to stay closed until Thursday, Oct. 15, when a hybrid system will begin and kids will be invited back two days a week.

    Data showed that, due to Covid-19, seven previously enrolled high school students moved to private schools this year, two opted for home schooling, and two school choice kids returned to their own districts.

    School choice refers to students who attend Nauset but live in other districts. In order to keep its numbers up, Nauset High has recruited between 190 and 236 school choice students per year since 2012. This year, 198 have “choiced in,” the first time in five years the number of choice students dropped under 200.

    Conrad said choice kids come from all over the Cape. But the pandemic has made many parents rethink the long commute, he said. One reason: all mid and upper Cape students have one bus to get to Nauset. It’s at the Burger King at Exit 6. Sometimes that bus had 70 students on it, Conrad said. But due to Covid-19 regulations, less than half that number can ride it now.

    “I knew that school choice was a worry,” Conrad said.

    Outer Cape Oct. 2020 School Enrollment

    Provincetown Schools: 147 (up 16 from last year)

    Truro Central School: 113 (same as last year)

    Wellfleet Elementary School: 105 (down 3)

    Eastham Elementary School: 196 (up 2)

    Orleans Elementary School: 175 (down 24)

    Eddy Elementary School: 212 (down 35)

    Stony Brook School: 213 (down 11)

    Nauset Regional Middle School: 583 (down 6)

    Nauset Regional High School: 877 (down 44)

    BACK TO SCHOOL

    Nauset High May Re-open Oct. 15

    Ventilation system repairs not as costly as feared

    By

    EASTHAM — The Nauset Regional High School ventilation system turns out not to be as bad as expected, with the majority of classrooms expected to be ready for an Oct. 15 opening, School Supt. Tom Conrad told 100 school committee members and parents during a nail-biter of a virtual meeting on Sept. 10.

    Just 10 days earlier, the superintendent had announced that schooling would have to be fully remote, after a report from the ventilation company gave the antiquated campus an “F” for ventilation.

    This news had stunned the parents of 921 students who had been preparing since early August for a hybrid plan, which had students learning virtually at home for three days each week and in person at Nauset for the other two days.

    The pandemic has altered plans repeatedly, so it was unsurprising that 100 people joined the Thursday meeting on Zoom. When Conrad revealed the news about the ventilation repairs and the new Oct. 15 opening date in the final hour of the meeting, school committee member Josh Stewart said, “You guys kind of buried the lede tonight…. I feel much better hearing that.”

    Chris Easley, chair of the regional school committee, had just finished a passionate plea to get the students together.

    “I have heard from more parents than I can tell you, and the chorus is ‘creative measures,’ ” said Easley, who lives in Wellfleet. “Finding a method to get a large group of kids together at the middle and high school is important. It is a critical part of education,” he said, “That is the priority of parents of kids in our system.”

    Mechanical Air Controls, the ventilation contractor, already has Building N ready, Conrad reported. Building A, another classroom building, is nearly ready, with new parts and fans being installed. Buildings B, C, and E are also in line to be repaired by Oct. 15. They house many classrooms, science labs, and ceramics and arts, Easley said.

    The cafeteria won’t be open to students. They will stay in their classrooms for lunch, which will either be delivered or picked up at a designated location, Easley said.

    If all goes according to plan, most of the campus will be re-opened on Oct. 15, with the exceptions of the auditorium, gym, and cafeteria, Easley added.

    Another piece of good news is that repairs to the ventilation system may not break the bank. Easley estimated the cost to be around $100,000. The school system has $50,000 already budgeted for ventilation repairs, Easley said. Though this is costly for a school that is about to undergo a complete renovation estimated at $132 million, it’s not as bad as expected, he added.

    Evidence of the stress among staff and parents was highlighted by Conrad, who told everyone during that meeting that his health was fine.

    “The rumor had been floating around that I had a heart attack,” said Conrad, who is 63. “I think my health is excellent. I did not have a heart attack, and I pray that I never do. I feel a little awkward sharing that, but that’s where I stand.”

    LEARNING

    Nauset PreK-8th Grade Plan: Back in Buildings Sept. 16

    Nauset High will try a hybrid of remote and in-person classes

    By

    EASTHAM — Nauset Regional High School students will attend school twice a week and stay home for remote learning on the other three days, while the plan for preschool through eighth grade in the district — Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, and Brewster — is to return to classrooms five days a week beginning Wednesday, Sept. 16.

    Unlike in the spring, when online learning was limited and there were no grades, courses will be graded and attendance enforced, Supt. Tom Conrad told members of the five school committees during a Zoom meeting on Aug. 6.

    The four-hour meeting had about 100 participants and was broken up when a bat entered Eastham Town Hall and dive-bombed Conrad and Nauset Regional School Committee Chair Judy Lindahl.

    The reopening of the district schools includes a requirement that all students — even those in preschool — wear masks, though there will be mask breaks: designated times when students can be outdoors with a plan for safe distancing from each other. Children will have assigned seats on buses and in classrooms.

    The eight-day-late start will give teachers time to prepare for a challenging year, said Conrad.

    High school educators must be prepared to teach both remotely and in person at the same time. All staff will add policing social distancing and mask-wearing to their job descriptions.

    Meanwhile, the Cape and Islands teachers’ unions are opposing a full return to classrooms, and pushback came from some school committee members from all four towns. Martha Gordon, of the Wellfleet committee, asked why schools will return to business as usual when everyone else in town government still works from home.

    Conrad responded, “We have depended on information from a variety of medical directors and they are going to be giving us additional information, but they are of the opinion that, if we can follow the guidelines as discussed, our staff and students will be safe.”

    Of all the schools in the district, only the aging high school is too small to allow all the students to return with the minimum three feet between desks required by the state, said Principal Chris Ellsasser.

    How small is it? Only four sets of bathrooms are currently monitored and usable in the entire campus serving 900 students, Greg Levasseur, chair of the Nauset School Building Committee, told the Independent. The school district will be asking voters to pay for the renovation of the buildings at upcoming town meetings.

    Parallel Processing

    High school students will be separated into two groups based on grade level, Ellsasser said.

    One group will attend school in person on Mondays and Tuesdays, everyone will work at home on Wednesdays, and the other cohort will come to school Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesday will serve as a cleaning and disinfecting day, with few students in the school. The exception will be “high needs students,” who are learning English, on individual education plans, or have certain socioeconomic needs. They will be allowed to attend school on campus four or even five days a week, with each case to be decided individually, Ellsasser said.

    Ellsasser said remote learners will follow the same schedule as students participating in the hybrid model. Everyone will attend four 80-minute classes each day, whether in person or online.

    The classes will be live, so remote learners will watch their teachers as they teach students in person.

    Ellsasser said the school is trying to have the online experience and the hybrid experience be synchronous.

    “When friends who are at home are going to lunch, you’re going to lunch,” he said. “When you’re on a mask break, the other students are on a screen break. So the experiences mirror each other.”

    Either/Or for Young Students

    Hybrid models were not recommended at the middle school or elementary schools. Children will have the option to attend school five days a week or learn remotely five days a week.

    The middle school will switch from hour-long blocks to five 100-minute classes each day, with breaks in-between, according to Principal Julie Kobold. She said the school is doing away with the use of lockers.

    Google Classroom and Google Meet will be the platforms for online learning at the high school and middle school.

    At the elementary level, kindergarten through grade 2 students will use a platform called Seesaw, while students in grades 3 to 5 will use Google Classroom, according to Wellfleet Elementary Principal Mary Beth Rodman.

    “Students working remotely will still be submitting assignments and receiving feedback,” Rodman said.

    An initial survey of families received 1,269 responses districtwide, with a large majority — more than four out of five — wanting to return to in-person learning. Just 182 families (14 percent) preferred a remote learning plan, Conrad said. Five percent were unsure.

    Eleven families said they still need internet access while 82 families said they need increased bandwidth to be able to participate. Twenty percent said they would need child care should a remote or hybrid plan move forward, Conrad said.

    Many What Ifs

    Cape Cod has not seen a major increase in Covid-19-positive tests despite an influx of visitors, said state Sen. Julian Cyr of Truro, who is on the Cape Cod Reopening Task Force. Following a small bump after July 4, new positive cases have numbered between 3 and 10 per day throughout Barnstable County, Cyr said Aug. 6.

    But the Cape and Islands Educator Action Network, which includes Cape teachers’ unions, wrote a letter arguing that reopening should be phased in slowly.

    “I’m extremely sympathetic to families needing child care, but we also want all kids and staff brought back in the safest way possible,” network president Cheri Armstrong, a Monomoy middle school teacher, told the Independent. “For us, we have to be sure that it is safe. And that’s the MTA’s slogan, ‘Only when it’s safe.’ ”

    Students’ reactions reflect fear of reopening combined with extreme dislike of remote education.

    “Whatever measures they can take, there will be a lot of issues,” Will Mulholland of Chatham, president of the Nauset class of 2022, told the Independent. “My friends are concerned for their family members, so people are scared. On the other hand, a lot of people want to get back to being in contact with their friends. For me, remote learning was a struggle. It was not the same thing. But you have to weigh knowing that the community is safe and moving on with our lives.”

    School committee members asked how the schools would react to a positive case, and at what point the schools would be shut again. Conrad said he was awaiting further guidance on that, but reiterated that there are many unknowns.

    “The one thing we would all agreed on,” he said, “what we thought we knew today, will change tomorrow.” That’s something he says he’s getting used to. “We were taken aback by the number of families who wanted to go back to school,” Conrad said. “We have to be nimble and shift.”

    currents

    This Week in Eastham

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Meetings are held remotely. Go to eastham-ma.gov/calendar-by-event-type/16 and click on a particular meeting to read its agenda. That document will provide information about how to view and take part remotely.

    Tuesday, Aug. 11

    • Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.

    Wednesday, Aug. 12

    • Finance Committee, 5 p.m.

    Covid-19 Update

    As of July 30, the number of confirmed cases in Eastham was 14. The number of cases increased from 12 last week, according to the town’s website.

    Willy’s Protest

    A protest outside Willy’s Gym is planned to begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 7. Anne Sigsbee has organized the protest for the one-year anniversary of the death of Joe Abbott, a longtime tennis instructor at the gym.

    “It will be a year since Joe died and many of us are very aware that his family has not been paid what he was owed when he died,” Sigsbee told the Independent.

    The Independent reported in March that Francine Abbott of South Dennis, Joe Abbott’s widow, claims that Willy’s owner Barbara Niggel owed him more than $20,000 in unpaid wages and loans when he died last year. Niggel has denied this and has hired a lawyer to represent her in the dispute.

    “We felt to honor him and his family we would speak up,” Sigsbee said. “Some of us feel strongly and will not use the facilities until we learn that they’ve been paid what they’re owed.”

    The protest will be an all-day event with most people showing up around midday, Sigsbee said. She expects 20 or more people to attend, including Abbott’s family, and participants will be wearing masks and remain socially distanced.

    “Joe’s family is very supportive and will be there,” she said.

    Anyone planning to attend should wear a mask; signs are welcome.

    Nauset Schools to Reveal Opening Plan Aug. 6

    Nauset Regional School Supt. Tom Conrad will announce the district’s reopening plans for the fall at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 6.

    So far all that has been announced to parents is that the Nauset district, which spans Wellfleet to Brewster, will most likely open late, on Sept. 16, to give teachers time for training and to be ready for a school year guaranteed to include distance learning for families needing that option and a lot of hand sanitizer.

    Other than that, Conrad’s message will lay out details on whether all students go back to a brick-and-mortar school, continue “distant learning,” or a combination of both.

    To get on the Zoom call, follow these instructions: Go to nausetschools.org. Scroll down the Quick Links and select “Event Calendar” and then click on the event listed on Aug. 6. Click next on the “Description, 8-6-2020.” This will take you, finally, to the agenda and Zoom meeting link.

    Rock Harbor Open Again

    The Rock Harbor boat ramp is open again, according to Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe. She gave an update to the select board on Aug. 3 on the completion of the project to repave and replace the boat ramp in the area.

    Beebe said Harbormaster Scott Richards will be at the harbor assisting boats in and out of the area. The town waited to see what the weather was like earlier this week but planned on opening the boat ramp after Wednesday.

    “Our docks and floats are in the water and we have everything set up to receive boats at this point,” Beebe said. “The ramp portion is complete; the parking lot was repaved two days ago and is ready to be driven on.”

    The line markers for parking spaces will be drawn either this week or next week.

    Register to Vote

    The last day to register to vote in Eastham for the state primary election, to be held on Sept. 1, is Saturday, Aug. 22 at the police station. The deadline to request a mail-in AV or EV ballot is Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 5 p.m. and to request an AV or EV in person is Monday, Aug. 31 until noon.

    Early voting for the primary will be held at town hall on Saturday, Aug. 22 and Sunday, Aug. 23 from 9 to 11 a.m. and on Monday, Aug. 24 through Friday, Aug. 28 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    The last day to register to vote at the annual town meeting, to be held on Sept. 21, is Tuesday, Sept. 1 until 5 p.m.

    Kerry Steps Down from Strategic Planning

    In a letter to the select board, Scott Kerry announced he will be stepping down from the strategic planning committee but said he would still provide input as a resident.

    “I would like to offer my services and experiences as a business owner, father of an elementary school student, and long-time resident if needed and/or desired,” Kerry wrote. “I will plan to make future meetings when my schedule permits.”

    Kerry is the new town moderator and chair of the T-Time Development Committee. —Ryan Fitzgerald

    HOME SCHOOLING

    Distance Learning Doesn’t Inspire

    At all levels, students and teachers search for motivation

    By

    School’s out for at least a month and half. That news would normally be heralded by kids as manna from heaven. But distance learning is presenting plenty of frustrations for children and teachers. And the truth is, they miss each other terribly.

    If there is a silver lining to the March 15 to May 4 school closings — what’s been called for by the governor so far — Nauset Regional High School Principal Christopher Ellsasser may have found it. This is, he said, “a prioritizing opportunity,” a time to ask what makes kids want to learn.

    Students, parents, and teachers are finding rules need to be bent. Educators have cut back on expectations of hours spent staring at a screen. And grades will be just “credit or no credit” for the second and third terms of school, Ellsasser said. This year, he added, “we think everyone will have an asterisk on their transcripts.”

    MCAS exams will “go away,” for this spring, too, said Supt. Michael Gradone of Truro Central School. The federal government has granted a waiver to allow this, and the state legislature is expected to follow suit, he said. Gradone believes the upside is the chance to find ways to keep students engaged in learning for the sake of learning itself.

    School leaders agree the challenge of mastering online teaching platforms leaves much room for error. “We are building the airplane while we’re in the air,” said Paul Niles, executive director of the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School, which educates 243 sixth- through eighth-graders, about one fifth of them from the Nauset district.

    For the Youngest, ‘Not a Good Way to Teach’

    At the Provincetown Schools, even the youngest students are asked to sit before a screen for three hours a day on Zoom or Google Meet.

    “I’m saying the rules around screen time are off; this is a pandemic — let’s get through it,” said Suzanne Scallion, the Provincetown superintendent.

    That’s not all instructional time, she explained. She said her elementary teachers are moderating virtual lunch and recess, so the children can be together remotely, as well as checking in on students.

    Kindergarten art
    A Provincetown kindergartner’s artistic reflection on distance learning. (Photo courtesy Provincetown Schools)

    This approach differs from those in the other Outer Cape elementary schools. They are not holding long Zoom sessions, but mixing short teacher check-ins with a suggested list of resources students and parents can tap into.

    The youngest students are least likely to be able to handle virtual school without heavy parental involvement.

    “The teachers are doing an amazing job to provide resources, but little kids aren’t independent,” said Ariana Bradford, a part-time Wellfleet Elementary School computer teacher. “So it’s time-consuming for parents. The message from the school administration is ‘We understand this is a hard time, so your mental and physical health is the most important thing,’ ” Bradford said.

    Even so, “The kids generally do not like virtual school,” said Lisa Daunais, the Provincetown Schools kindergarten teacher. “They miss each other and me.”

    And learning gaps get wider when some kids lack internet access, devices, or supervision. For that reason, Truro’s Gradone says teachers there are not aiming to present new material.

    “To be candid, this is not a good way to teach,” Gradone said.

    Middle School Tightrope

    At the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School, educators are walking a “tightrope” as far as holding students accountable without grading them, Paul Niles said.

    The guidance from the state Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education is to have “accountability light,” he said.

    “We are not grading in the traditional sense,” said Julie Kobold, Nauset Regional Middle School principal. Instead, she said, “Teachers are giving feedback on submitted work.”

    In many cases, teachers are giving far more than that. Reva Blau, who teaches English as a second language (called ELL) at Nauset Middle School, said many immigrant families are headed by one or two parents who are essential workers — nurses, other health-care workers, or grocery clerks.

    “As ELL teachers, our relationship is more important than ever,” Blau wrote via email.

    She checks in on wi-fi connectedness, supplies books, and doles out emotional support — she has videotaped puppet shows and serenaded kids outside their windows.

    “A responsive teacher attuned to students’ needs is what helps the most,” Blau said.

    Empathy Motivates

    Nell Hamilton
    Nell Hamilton reviews the rules of exponents for Algebra II. (Photo courtesy Nell Hamilton)

    Sophomore Nell Hamilton, the 2022 class president at NRHS, is an honor student. But finding the inspiration to get her work done has been a struggle since March 15, she said by phone from her home in Eastham.

    She is reading Elie Wiesel’s Night in English and learning Algebra II.

    “Math is not my strongest subject, and we have not done any Zoom for that class,” she said.

    Empathy motivates her, Hamilton said, to pursue it anyway. Teachers are working hard to make assignments, so she feels obligated to do the work.

    Also, she realizes next year is looming, and she will need to understand grade 11 material.

    Ellsasser, Nauset High’s principal, said his staff realized quickly that trying to replicate classroom learning via computer doesn’t work. Evaluation has to shift at a time like this.

    He has told teachers, “Don’t think about how much work kids could do,” he said. “Think how much work you can provide useful and timely feedback on.”

    Staff reporter Ryan Fitzgerald contributed to this article.

    CURRENTS

    This Week in Nauset Schools

    By

    For an in-depth update on the schools, see story on page 6.

    Popular Meals to Go

    Grab and go meals are available at the district schools for families to pick up. This has been a very popular program. According to Eastham Elementary Principal William Crosby, the elementary school has been averaging 75 to 100 meals per day and double that on Friday and weekends. —Ryan Fitzgerald

     

     

    FOOD SECURITY

    Outer Cape Adapts to Coronavirus Crisis

    Schools, restaurants, and community members rise to the challenge

    By

    As the coronavirus pandemic increasingly disrupted everyday life here in the past week, Outer Cape schools, community organizations, and businesses began looking for ways to make sure children and neighbors would have enough to eat. The problem at present seems to be money, not the supply chain.

    Takeout From Schools

    All of the Nauset public schools — including Eastham Elementary, Wellfleet Elementary, and the Nauset regional middle and high schools — along with the Provincetown Schools began offering free grab-and-go meal services on Tuesday this week. Students and their families can drive up and stay in their cars as bagged food is delivered to them by volunteers, thereby limiting opportunities for the coronavirus to spread. Truro’s plans are being finalized now.

    Elementary School Cafeteria Manager Colleen Wallace and
    David Horton of the NRHS cafeteria staff set up to hand out breakfasts at Eastham Elementary. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    Truro School Supt. Michael Gradone told the Independent on Monday that with schools closed across the state, “feeding the kids is our first, most immediate priority.” He says the school is looking to get all students 10 meals a week. “We have a lot of kids who depend on us for a couple meals a day,” he said.

    Gradone estimated that 50 percent of Truro students receive free or reduced-price meals. Provincetown Schools Supt. Suzanne Scallion said about 35 percent of her students depend on school meals. But the schools’ meals programs are now available to all students whether or not they typically receive meals.

    The Provincetown Schools are providing food to cover 12 meals a week, with pickups on Tuesdays and Fridays. Nauset schools provide breakfast and lunch daily, and students can visit any school in the Nauset system, including Wellfleet Elementary School, to pick up their meals. As of Tuesday, Truro Central School was still finalizing its grab-and-go meal program.

    Community Steps Up

    In Wellfleet, Trudy Vermehren, owner of the Fox & Crow Café, and her friend Bruce Bierhans came up with the idea to offer free breakfasts to students and put together an online fundraising campaign to pay for it.

    Julie Norgeot, a volunteer from Brewster, gets breakfasts prepared by Trudy Vermehren at Fox & Crow in Wellfleet to deliver to families in Eastham. (Photo Nancy Bloom)

    “We were watching the news and thinking about ways we could help people in need,” Bierhans said. “We started with a goal of $3,000. By 10 that night, we had raised just short of $10,000. We are so overwhelmed and so grateful for the donations.”

    The 246 Community Kitchen in Wellfleet is on pause while logistics are reconsidered for safety’s sake, said Janet Drohan, who runs the program at the Methodist Church. In the meantime, the group donated 20 dozen eggs, 30 pounds of bacon, 50 pounds of potatoes, melons, apples, oranges, and grapefruit to support the Fox & Crow effort. “That fits our mission,” Drohan said.

    With such an outpouring of support from the community, the café is now offering meals for families or anyone in need. “If parents need a meal for their child, they might need one for themselves,” said Bierhans. He is looking at organizing delivery next.

    Shoppers at the Stop & Shop in Provincetown may have noticed a shopping cart near checkout dedicated to donations for the Provincetown Schools. Scallion maintains a wish list online for the schools so shoppers can buy a few extra items and put them in the cart. “The cart has only been empty once,” she said. “People have been so generous.”

    Friends Marketplace in Orleans is offering delivery or curbside pickup to minimize physical contact. A store employee told the Independent that customers can purchase their items online, and workers will pack the orders for delivery.

    Staying Safe

    To those who might be concerned about spreading the virus through food, Mac Hay, an owner of Mac’s Seafood, said physical distancing is really the biggest challenge.

    Restaurant employees already receive rigorous training in food hygiene, Hay said. “We know the basics of how to prevent transmission of disease when preparing food,” he said. “We’re being hypervigilant about it. There’s very little opportunity for transmission through food being infected.”

    As usual, employees are disinfecting surfaces, cleaning up dirty areas, washing their hands frequently, and cooking food to temperatures at which the coronavirus cannot survive.

    What’s harder to manage is what happens when customers come into a restaurant and interact with employees. “The risk is really from human to human contact,” Hay said.

    Economic Worries

    Both Hay and Bierhans are concerned about the long-term effects of the pandemic on the local economy, already being felt here. After Gov. Charlie Baker ordered restaurants closed, Hay laid off servers at his restaurants.

    “There’s no way to pay people,” he said. “We don’t have another alternative.” He is worried about the season ahead. “Can this business, or any business, survive a season without a summer?” Hay asked. “I have no idea about what that would do.”

    Bierhans pointed out that fishermen rely on restaurants to sell their catch. “If there are no restaurants open, they’re not buying shellfish,” he said. “The long-term ramifications of people without income are really significant.”

    Since, as Bierhans said, “food is the number one issue in a pandemic,” supporting families in need — whose sources of income may be cut off unexpectedly — is vital.

    Schools and other organizations providing meals:

    School/organization Address Instructions Hours
    Eddy Elementary 2298 Main Street, Brewster Drive around to the back parking lot; pick-up behind the school M-F, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
    Orleans Elementary 46 Eldredge Park Way, Orleans Pick up at the front of school M-F, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
    Eastham Elementary 200 Schoolhouse Road, Eastham Enter at the back parking lot (parent drop-off location) M-F, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
    Wellfleet Elementary 100 Lawrence Road, Wellfleet Drive into the first parking lot entrance; pick-up at the cafeteria door M-F, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
    Provincetown Schools 12 Winslow Street, Provincetown Drive to the gym door in the Grace Hall parking lot T & F, 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.

     
    Soup Kitchen in P’Town (SKIP) 20 Shank Painter Road, Provincetown 65 meals a day, first come first serve M-F, 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
    Fox & Crow 6 Commercial Street, Wellfleet Free meals for families M-F, 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

     

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