Christopher Peak Pre-Pandeic File Photo
Kelly Inga with class at Quinnipiac STEM School.
New Haven does not plan to reopen either West Rock or Quinnipiac schools after the Covid-19 pandemic is over.
The decision follows advice from New Haven health and building departments not to reopen West Rock STREAM Academy and Quinnipiac Real World Math STEM School when elementary schoolers start in-person learning on Jan. 19.
“These schools are very old schools. I don’t know [how old without looking it up] but they’re old,” said Superintendent Iline Tracey.
Tracey has said publicly all fall that the MERV 13 air filters that can catch airborne viruses cannot be installed in West Rock, Quinnipiac or Riverside, because of the buildings’ ages. Instead, the district planned to crack open classroom windows, to the dismay of parents and teachers.
The health department and building inspectors have now decided that the Quinnipiac and West Rock buildings should be condemned, according to New Haven Health Director Maritza Bond.
For the Jan. 19 reopening date, students from the two schools who want to attend in-person classes will switch to other schools through a mini lottery process. Those who want to stay remote will continue to learn from their Quinnipiac and West Rock teachers.
Tracey would not comment yet on what happens after that for the two schools’ students, because she wants to convey that information directly to families on Tuesday evening. She has set up virtual meetings with families at Quinnipiac at 5:30 p.m. and West Rock at 6:30 p.m.
She emphasized that no one will lose their jobs through the closure. Teachers, paraprofessionals and other school staff members will be able to apply for vacancies at other schools this spring.
New Haven Federation of Teachers President Dave Cicarella said that the district and the union historically use this application-based process to give teachers and principals as much choice as possible. First-grade teachers do not want to be told suddenly to teach sixth grade, even if they are technically certified for that position, he explained.
“If anything, it is encouraging that they are closing the schools because of safety concerns. That indicates that they are taking this seriously,” Cicarella said.
It does mean some teachers have to take on more students after the mini-lottery, he noted. But at least long term, New Haven has many K‑8 schools near both West Rock and Quinnipiac with enough space for more students.
“No school system our size has 45 school buildings,” Cicarella said. “If you were in another town with three or four elementary schools, my god, where are you going to put 30 percent of your students?”
Cicarella listed Bishop Woods, Ross Woodward, Benjamin Jepson, John S. Martinez as close options for Quinnipiac students and Barack H. Obama, Davis Street and Edgewood as options for West Rock students.
“It’s still uprooting kids. At age 8, 9 or 10, that’s difficult, especially in the middle of the year. I don’t want to minimize that for a minute. But we have a pandemic. There’s no changing that and we have two buildings that cannot be retrofitted. This is our next best option,” Cicarella said.
Does the Board of Education need to sign off on these closures? Board member Matt Wilcox said he wants to hear more at the next board meeting about the rationale for the closures and whether there were other options before answering that question. He has no reason to question the decision so far, he said.
In the past, Wilcox has urged the district to plan well in advance before closing any schools for budget reasons, in contrast to previous closures that happened in April or May. These plans are early enough that students can use the existing lottery process to relocate to other schools.
“I hope these students would have some sort of weighting in the algorithms to ensure getting their choice because they are being displaced by aging facilities,” Wilcox said.
Board member Darnell Goldson said he wants the board to vote on the closure, because it is clearly within their responsibilities, he said. He also agrees with it.
“Those schools have been on the list [of schools to close] for a long time,” Goldson said.
He pointed to the costs of continuing to run West Rock, one of the district’s smallest elementary schools.
Goldson’s own grandson goes to West Rock and the family has been happy with the experience, especially the regular communication from his grandson’s teacher. Goldson can see the school from his house and can hear when its garbage gets collected; it only takes his grandson two minutes to walk to class.
“We’re certainly going to miss how close it is. It’s going to leave this neighborhood without a neighborhood school,” Goldson said.
Because the young West Rocker lives with his grandparents, he will continue to learn online only until the Covid-19 infection rate goes down. That means he will stay with his current virtual class for a little longer.