Jim Donchess

NASHUA – Optimism that the school district is moving toward the goal of “returning to normal” rose a notch this week following the unanimous vote by the Board of Education to approve the transitioning next week of more students to hybrid learning, coupled with Mayor Jim Donchess’s appeal to Gov. Chris Sununu to make the vaccination of teachers a priority.

Barring a sudden, unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 virus between now and then, the so-called hybrid model – a combination of in-person classroom learning and attending class via video conferencing from home – will take effect this coming Monday for all students in grades K-1 and 6-12.

Following winter vacation the week of Feb. 22, students in grades 2-3 will be offered the hybrid model beginning March 1.

And starting March 8, all Nashua public school students will have the hybrid option.

Meanwhile, Donchess, in a letter sent earlier this week, appealed to Sununu and the state Department of Health and Human Services to “prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for teachers” because, he said, “vaccinating teachers is the most effective way to get kids and teachers safely back into the classroom.”

City and school officials, as illustrated by the BOE’s 8-0 vote (board member Sandra Ziehm was absent), “all want our schools to open as soon as possible and we all want to keep our students and teachers safe from the pandemic,” Donchess wrote.

(The full text of Donchess’s letter accompanies this story).

The Board of Education, meanwhile, deliberated an amendment to the motion to approve hybrid learning before voting on it.

The amendment, proposed by board member Paula Johnson, would have added a provision stating hybrid learning would return on Monday regardless of any changes in the so-called 14-day metric, which is similar to a 14-day quarantine in the event of possible exposure.

But board members, noting that the current 14-day period was to expire Friday, defeated the amendment on a 5-3 vote.

Johnson said her proposal was based on her desire to “give it a chance … students have been waiting so long,” referring to taking the all-hybrid step.

Acting Superintendent of Schools Garth McKinney said a “freshman orientation” has been held for students entering their first year of high school.

“There is a collective desire to move forward” with the hybrid step, McKinney told BOE members.

He added that based on his conversations with school principals, “we’re at a place we can move forward with hybrid.”

In a letter to parents sent ahead of last week’s BOE meeting, McKinney expressed his hope “that we do not toggle between models as we reopen school buildings,” a scenario he describes as “distruptive to home life for both staff and families.”

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DONCHESS LETTER To GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU

Governor Sununu,

As the Mayor of the City of Nashua, I am writing to ask you and the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to prioritize COVID-19 vaccinations for teachers.

Vaccinating teachers is the most effective way to get kids and teachers safely back into the classroom. We all want our schools to open as soon as possible and we all want to keep our students and teachers safe from the pandemic.

The vaccines could be a powerful tool in helping to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. We should not let that tool go unused and should vaccinate teachers as soon as possible.

Even if schools are not the sites of large outbreaks, many of them have still faced clusters that resulted in building closures and teachers and students needing to enter quarantine.

Nashua’s school district is concerned about the ability of our schools to maintain appropriate staffing levels. Substitutes were hard to find even before the onset of the pandemic, so day-to-day staffing will remain a constant challenge.

Certain groups of teachers, like those who work with special education students, interact with students who could be at higher risk from COVID-19, but need in person services. These teachers are also at a higher risk of exposure from their students.

To ensure their safety, as well as that of other teachers and students, we need to vaccinate teachers as soon as possible. While other families have the opportunity to decide if their students will be in the building or not, most teachers will not have that same choice.

While COVID-19 disproportionately affects the elderly and those with other underlying health conditions, every day there are also stories in the news about a seemingly healthy, younger person tragically passing away from COVID-19.

Do not let one of those stories be about a New Hampshire teacher.

Jim Donchess

Mayor, city of Nashua

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