By Glenn Rolfe

SELBYVILLE — The Indian River School District is increasing in-person education opportunities for all hybrid students.

Amid concerns about unequal opportunity, starting next week, the district will offer half-day in-school instruction Wednesdays in an alternating weekly cohort format for grades pre-K-12.

This scheduling will continue the rest of the school year.

IRSD’s board of education, by an 8-0 vote, approved the plan at its Monday meeting, which was punctuated by public commentary about possible inequality.

The board’s action came two days before Lord Baltimore Elementary School, a pre-K-5 school in Ocean View, planned to begin its Wednesday cohort schedule.

Prior to the vote, school board members heard from Molli Carter and Dr. Linda O. Rhen, the appointed special master for the Carver consent order — an agreement reached in a 2016 lawsuit filed on behalf of students that alleged that the district used Carver Academy’s alternative-education program as a “dumping ground” for African Americans, violating their civil rights.

In her letter, read by Assistant Superintendent Karen Blannard, Dr. Rhen stated, “Recent collective decision making that enables each elementary school to determine whether they can bring in students each Wednesday raises concerns. Lord Baltimore Elementary, the school with the least racial diversity — 84% of students are white — is going to bring in elementary students every other Wednesday, group AA comes in one Wednesday and BB the next Wednesday. The other elementary schools are not doing the same. The other elementary schools have greater racial and ethnic diversity and are not providing this opportunity for their students.”

The letter continued: “The decision to allow collective decision making at each elementary school eliminates the level playing field, that is what is provided as the basic program in each school, the number of minutes of face to face instruction available to all students.

“The lack of a level playing field for all students in each school appears discriminatory when the school with the least racial and ethnic diversity has an opportunity that other elementary school students do not have.”
Dr. Rhen urged the district and board to adopt and implement the program to follow Lord Baltimore’s lead.

So did Ms. Carter, who spoke as a concerned parent on behalf of several members of the Community Advisory Board for the Carver consent order.

“Lord Baltimore is 84% White, which stands in stark contrast to all other elementary schools in the district. The Community Advisory Board, of which I am a part, was assembled because of the consent order put in place due to inequities,” she said. “What makes Lord Baltimore different from any other elementary school? This opportunity must be given to all students. Since the precedent has been set, there should be nothing stopping it from happening everywhere.

“I want to be clear: I am not suggesting that Lord Baltimore should not be doing this. They should be commended. What I am suggesting is that the board tonight take a stand that all elementary school students have the equal opportunity supported by Supreme Court decisions — to learn, grow and thrive,” said Ms. Carter.

She continued, “Never did I think I would have to stand in front of a board demanding equal opportunity for 15 additional hours of in-person education. To those union members who fought against this, to those listening without elementary-age children and to the school board, 15 additional hours is the equivalent of a half-marking period of Wednesday, Thursday and Friday work, as my children receive about an hour work each of those days.”

Superintendent Dr. Jay Owens called the district’s revised Wednesday cohort plan a “viable option to provide equal opportunities for all students.”

“You heard some concerns this evening,” said Dr. Owens. “We did learn that there are some variances between schools. We realize we need to provide increased instructional time for all students between now and the end of the school year, while also providing additional supports for students who need the most support through the targeted intervention process.”

Under the district’s amended schedule, hybrid cohorts will alternate with in-school learning two days one week and approximately 2½ days the following week. That is in addition to two remote-learning days each week.

There will be five hours of instruction on specified Wednesday dates and meal service will be provided to students. Schools will communicate starting and ending times to parents and work out transportation plans.

Wednesday in-school sessions for Cohort B are May 5 and 19 and June 9, while Cohort A students will be in school May 12 and June 2.

Wednesdays were previously virtual-learning days for all students.

Students in the cohort that is not attending in person on a particular Wednesday will participate in remote asynchronous (self-paced) learning at the elementary level and remote synchronous (in real time, following the school schedule) instruction at the middle and high school levels. The district continues to offer full-time remote instruction for parents who prefer that model.

School board President Rodney Layfield asked board member Dr. Heather Statler, who sat in on the meeting on the district’s plans, for her take.

“I think it certainly will provide access to all students in all buildings in all grade levels,” said Dr. Statler. “It certainly is the right thing to do.”

Mr. Layfield agreed.

“We need to do our best to do the same thing throughout the district to provide everyone the same opportunity,” he said.