Courtesy photo Toting signs and posters, parents and a handful of children lined up in front of the school district offices on Ledge Street Monday morning to promote a speedy return to in-person learning in Nashua schools.

NASHUA – Expressing their frustrations over their assertions that the School District has so far failed to put into place a solid timeline for the return to in-person learning for Nashua students of all grades, roughly 100 parents staged a support rally Monday in front of the district’s central office on Ledge Street.

Where most of the parents’ frustration lies, according to Kelly Dinoff, the parent of a high school sophomore, is in how the district is approaching the process of returning to in-person learning.

“Everything is based on what happens at each step,” Dinoff said, adding that the district seems to have adopted a “we’ll see how it goes” approach rather than setting a firm timeline that parents, students and teachers can follow.

“It’s not a plan … it’s not a model,” she said, referring to the district’s approach.

But Superintendent of Schools Jahmal Mosley vigorously defended the district’s approach, saying he “does not apologize for not putting the children and the staff at risk. A methodical, pragmatic rollout is something I’m doing and is something I’m going to do.”

Courtesy photo One of several youngsters who attended Monday morning's rally at school district offices on Ledge Street carries his message on his back. The group, mostly parents, rallied in favor of a speedy return to in-person learning in city schools.

Referring to the calendars on the district’s Website showing the current schedules for implementing various steps toward in-person learning for October, November and December, Mosley noted that the in-person hybrid began Monday as scheduled for special education grades Pre-K through 5 and Title I preschool.

Calling the “safety of the students and staff paramount,” Mosley said the current schedule will be reassessed every week.

He also noted that the city health department just upped Nashua’s community transmission rating from “moderate” to “substantial,” which could prompt changes or modifications in the current timelines listed on the calendars.

The city’s substantial rating, meanwhile, makes it the only community in the state with that rating. Much of the rest of Hillsborough County, along with most of Strafford County, are at the “moderate” level, while the vast majority of New Hampshire maintains a “minimal” rating.

Mosley said the city’s high rating is an example of the unpredictability of the spread of COVID-19, and is one of the reasons he supports the district’s approach to resuming in-person learning.

“I’m sticking to the timeline. Every step we take moving forward will be deliberate, and (will) keep the children and staff safe,” Mosley said.

Meanwhile, Dinoff, the parent who was among the roughly 100 parents who gathered for Monday morning’s rally calling for “an expedient return to in-person learning,” said it was “very heartening” for her to “be surrounded by other parents who also feel strongly” about the implementation of a concrete plan.

Many of the rally attendees are members of Nashua Parent Voice, a Facebook-based “collaborative group” that organized the event.

Most all of the attendees wore red shirts or jackets and toted signs and posters bearing their message Monday morning, lining up along Ledge Street in front of school district headquarters, which is next to Ledge Street Elementary School.

They targeted the district’s recent rollback of its original plans to implement a hybrid model for all grades by mid-October, and faulted the district for “not communicating nor implementing a unified, consistent and comprehensive plan to transition students back to in-person learning,” according to a statement that Nashua Parent Voice issued following the rally.

“It’s time to return to the classroom,” Amy Medling, a founding member of Nashua Parent Voice,” said in the statement.

“The risk to our children’s academic, mental and emotional well-being caused by the delay in return to in-person learning is quickly outweighing the risk posed by the virus itself,” Medling added.

In addition to circulating a petition, members of Nashua Parent Voice have filed an appeal with the Board of Education and have written letters to Mayor Jim Donchess and Gov. Chris Sununu.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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