To Dean Cascadden, superintendent of Bow School District, the real toll of New Hampshire’s remote learning policy might not be known until students return to classrooms.
That will be the moment when districts across the state may be faced with a backlog of evidence of abuse and neglect in the homes, Cascadden warned Tuesday. For certain children, months without access to school services and classes could prove tragic and dangerous.
“We’re very concerned that when kids come back in school, we’re going to have a lot of needs,” Cascadden said. “The safest, best place kids can be is in a public school.”
The last two months of video calls and online assignments have been challenging for families in every situation.
For kids who normally struggle, however, there are unique challenges, Cascadden said.
“We’re concerned that we’ve got a lot of kids in bad places coming back to us,” he said. “We’re concerned that especially our special education kids, you know they’ve been in school with a one-on-one aide seven hours a day.”
Now, he said: “They’ve been home basically being cared for by their parents in bad situations.”
And there are children without special needs that nonetheless have been put in precarious spots: those who experience anxiety, practice self-harm, or live in abusive environments, the superintendent said.
“They had school anxiety, they were cutting, they were doing other dangerous behavior before they went home, and they’ve been home, possibly trapped with their abusers,” he said.
It’s a largely hidden problem, particularly as the state rushes to declare remote learning a success, Cascadden said.
“We hear about the kid who’s done better under remote instruction, but not the kid who’s really falling apart,” he said
Cascadden shared his concerns with a group of other New Hampshire school leaders on a conference call Tuesday, each of whom passed on unique areas of the impact of the virus to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
For some, the issues were budgetary – how the pandemic could affect property tax collection and alter financial situations. Others had more logistical problems.
Russell Holden, the superintendent for Sunapee School District, is worried about air filtration. With the spread of COVID-19 unlikely to be completely stopped by the time schools re-open, some buildings will need to be renovated for better ventilation through HVAC systems, he said.
Barrett Christina, executive director of the New Hampshire School Board Administration, pointed to still more challenges down the road.
Schools will need personal protective equipment, whenever they do open, and supplies for deep cleaning facilities. Expanding internet access for all students will remain a priority. And districts will likely need additional assistance if property taxes diminish.
The call came as Shaheen and other members of the Senate are locked in deep disagreements about the next round of stimulus money. One divide – which appeared during the CARES act negotiations – is over how much Congress should disperse through grants or direct aid.
“It seems like it will be also a challenge in the next package of legislation as we see what’s coming over from the House,” Shaheen said on the call.
In Cascadden’s case for Bow, his budgetary concerns are more long-term than immediate.
“I’m in a ‘have’ district, not a ‘have not,’” he said.
But like every district, Cascadden said, the biggest uncertainty comes later.