Jessica Kolat, front, and Shelly Kolat, right, asked school officials to better the quality of education

Jessica Kolat, front, and Shelly Kolat, right, asked school officials to better the quality of education

Brookfield school Supt. Toby Gibson’s plan to give students a little extra time in school starting Nov. 2, with a goal of starting a four-day school week on Jan. 18, was not enough for a handful of parents who lobbied for a traditional school week of five days in school.
Students – those that did not opt for only at-home learning – have been attending school two days a week and working from home the other three. Beginning Nov. 2, each of two student cohorts will alternate attending school in-person on Mondays. Students also will eat lunch in the cafeteria, with plastic dividers on the tables, instead of in their classrooms, and will be assigned seats in case a student tests positive for COVID-19 and authorities need to contact trace, said Gibson, who presented his plan to the school board Oct. 21.
The school is able to bring students into school more often, because students and school employees have done a good job of complying with social distancing, masking and other guidelines, he said. The school has only had one student test positive for COVID-19, and county officials determined that, due to the school’s compliance with guidelines, there were no contacts with other students or staff, Gibson said.
Parent Shelly Kolat argued for a traditional school week because what her children are being asked to do is “well under my expectations of what they should be doing. It took my son less than an hour to do his homework today, and my daughter, about the same.”
Kolat said she’s not disappointed with the teachers, she’s disappointed with the school curriculum.
Jessica Kolat said she has tried to supplement what her children are being assigned to help them better understand the lessons, but also to give them more to do.
Dennis Jervis said his son is falling below his grade level, even though he had hired tutors for him.
“He’s still trailing behind, because he’s not in class and learning from the teacher,” Jervis said.
Jervis noted that Mathews, Badger and Sharon school districts are all full time, and it would be worth it for Brookfield to give it a shot.
promo“I understand we’re kind of catering to the people that don’t want to come, but how are we going to take care of the people who do want to be here, who want our people to learn?” he said.
“There are plenty of schools out there that are doing it (five days in school), that are not experiencing COVID, that are just chugging along,” said Lauren Samios. “Try to see what happens, go full time, and then if something does arise, then we can go back to the hybrid at that point. Right now, we’re not even trying to get the kids in the classroom. The hybrid, in my humble opinion, is not cutting it. I’m a proponent of five days.”
Gibson said officials are constantly discussing the quality of education.
“I get the opposite as well,” he said, responding to Shelly Kolat’s assertion that the lessons are not rigorous enough. “We also get that ‘It’s too much.’ To find the balancing act is hard and it’s just a hard situation, period, which compounds it.”
Board member Melissa Sydlowski, who teaches at Trumbull Career and Technical Center, said teachers were never taught to teach online classes, and she believes they will get better at it. While Shelly Kolat said kids have been in school long enough that there should have been improvement, Sydlowski responded:
“I feel like we haven’t been doing this very long. On your end, maybe you feel like it’s time to see some differences. Personally, as a mother and a teacher, I think that it hasn’t been very long that we’re figuring this out, and we’re still trying to figure out how to make it better.”
Officials recommended that discontented parents contact their children’s teachers. If the teachers don’t respond sufficiently, call the principals.
“We know it’s not perfect,” said high school Principal Kristen Foster. “We really are trying to offer teacher support, professional development and anything else we can do to try to improve this. There are so many things that go into this. Please be patient. If you have input, I’d be more than happy to hear your input. We will try to work your suggestions in there. We’re all just trying to do this together.”
Gibson said he has to balance the educational needs of the students with the health challenges the pandemic presents to the community.
“There’s the ‘I want my child in five days a week,’ and there are those that are struggling with their kids even setting foot in a building,” he said. “There’s opposite ends of the spectrum, and to find the middle ground is almost impossible. I know that with every decision I make is the wrong one. But, as long as I make a decision that keeps people safe, mitigates the spread of this, it’s what’s allowing me to get whatever little sleep I get.”