Bessemer school district declares itself 'not a virtual school'

By CHARITY SMITH

csmith@yourdailyglobe.com

Bessemer - Bessemer school officials are declaring that the district is not a "virtual school." Niemi told the Daily Globe this week the move is part of a statewide push to get kids back in schools for face-to-face interaction by March 1.

"I understand it is frustrating for the parents, as well as the students at times, but we are not a virtual school. We are a normal brick-and-mortar-type school, so we want to get our best way of instructing and teaching the individual students back into play," Niemi said. "We are encouraging, heavy on the encouraging, all the students to come back face-to-face, unless there is a medical issue that is within the family or with the child."

Niemi said they will be keeping the virtual option for those who are "medically excused." He said an acceptable medical excuse would be somebody in the family is going through radiation.

Niemi said the students are not doing as well with the virtual learning platform as hoped. He said the virtual learning platform is something they can fall back on if they end up with a COVID-19 outbreak, but it should not be used as a full time learning platform.

He said teachers have spent the last two weeks going over stuff that was previously taught to help get kids caught up. Niemi said it was a "big undertaking" so that children are not failing any of their classes.

He said they've also had a bit of a problem with some kids going to school and then deciding to take a day off and "go virtual" the next, before returning the following day. He said besides the attendance nightmare, these kids can fall behind.

"Face-to-face interaction is the best for the kids education," he added.

At a special school board meeting on Tuesday, Niemi spoke about how the teachers were starting to get "burnt out" doing both virtual and regular school, because of the extra work involved. He said some of the kids who attend virtually are not actually attending, but look as though they are.

The board discussed three options: purchasing and using Odysseyware - an online teaching tool, switching the virtual students to Lake Superior Virtual Academy, or leaving the virtual and face-to-face programs the same as they have been. Niemi said the services of LSVA would be free for the district this year, but next year would cost the district 20% of its student aid.

"Our instructors do the best job, I believe, in teaching our kids, but in light of the teacher burn-out, (LSVA) is a tantalizing option," he said.

Mark Switzer, dean of students at Washington School, called the burn out "high and it is very real."

"I'm just afraid we're going to not only lose students, but staff," Switzer said.

He said teachers in the elementary building indicated to him they would like to use the Odysseyware.

Niemi said Odysseyware is a full service digital learning platform. It requires students to check in at a time with their instructor and then proceed with their work. If they have questions they can email the teacher. He likened it to an online college course. This would help the teachers out a lot, he said.

The district has the majority of students in school for face-to-face learning, Niemi said.

Switzer said they have 17 students who have indicated that they are medically excused and Niemi said they are working with those families.

He said they will be making a presentation to the board again during its formal meeting on Monday for the board to take action.

Boiler issues

The board also considered options for the replacement of a backup boiler at Washington School. The school periodically rotates the boilers, Niemi said. So although it is considered a backup boiler now, it could be used as the main boiler next year, he said.

The school is considering purchasing one of two boiler systems. One would be a similar boiler to what they have at a cost of $48,000. The other option would add the ability to fine tune the temperature down to a specific degree, said Niemi, at a total cost of $61,000.

He said there are a few complicating factors, including the possible removal of asbestos around the existing boiler, the need for a crane to deal with a 6,000 pound boiler, and it could take as long as eight weeks to receive a new boiler once it is ordered.

Jay Saari, head of maintenance for the district, said a company will be taking samples next week in order to provide the district with a quote as to the cost of the asbestos removal.

The board also:

-As part of re-organizing as a new board and with just five members instead of seven for the first time, they voted to keep their same officers, with Jim Partanen as president, Dick Matrella as vice president, Beth Steiger as secretary and Tara Graham as treasurer.

-Discussed how the board and its committees will operate now that it is a five-person board.

-Considered whether or not to lease or purchase buses to replace the district's older buses.