Nashua Superintendent On COVID-19: Feeding Kids Is First Priority

NASHUA, NH — Due to worries about student food insecurity in Nashua, the school district will be providing lunches for students while buildings are closed next week due to the new coronavirus, officials announced Saturday. Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., March 16, to March 23, boxed lunches will be available for students at six schools: Amherst Street Elementary School; Dr. Norman W. Crisp Elementary School; Fairgrounds Elementary School; Ledge Street Elementary School; Mount Pleasant Elementary School; and the Pennichuck Middle School. The lunch will consist of a ham or turkey sandwich, milk, fruit, and a cookie, according to the district.

Any student from the city's 17 schools are welcome to stop by any of the schools to pick up lunch.

Jahmal Mosley, the superintendent of SAU 42, the state's second largest school district, said ensuring students were not hungry was his "first priority" and the district has come up with that part of the closure plan.

"If you're hungry, and you're a kid, please go to these locations," he said. "Right now, I just care about empty bellies. Come get a box lunch ... take an extra one home when you are hungry (later in the day) and grab one for a family member, too ... this important."

The decision to close the schools in Nashua was not an easy one made all the more difficult based on something Mosley said he saw in the school system during the last few weeks: Students who were exhibiting symptoms of the coronavirus. Some, he added, including high school students, appeared to be hiding the symptoms due to stigma or concern for being targeted for being sick.

Neither the city, state, nor the federal government has the ability to test thousands of students yet. Tests on the state level are being limited to patients who have traveled to high risk areas of the world or made contact with people who returned to New Hampshire from high risk areas of the world. So it truly is an unknown as to whether or not there is COVID-19 in the city or students have the flu, which exhibits similar symptoms or just colds — and Mosley is troubled and rightfully upset about the lack of preparation for testing.

"I have concerns about our kids having the ability to access testing … kids that are showing signs and concealing some of their symptoms," Mosley said. "They don't have access to a doctor …"

Currently, according to the state, there are seven confirmed and presumptive positives and none are in Hillsborough County — but hundreds of others have been tested and are being monitored and it's unknown where those people live or work. Mosley said, "the safety of our kids is our No. 1 priority," he had no choice by to close for a week.

While schools are closed, Mosley will be working with administrators to prepare for remote learning for the district. But there are concerns with that, too, he said. Not every student has a computer or iPad in the system. Students in Nashua, Mosley said, don't have one-to-one devices; they share Chromebooks, at rotating grade levels, on carts. Many students in the city leave school and return to homes without ability access technology, wi-fi, or even cellphones, making a local or statewide remote learning strategy useless. Those kids will fall behind — especially if schools are closed for long periods of time.

"We've had challenges with technology for years," Mosley said. "We've been advocating for it in our schools for years. But we don't have the infrastructure for 11,000 students. We don't have the resources ... we just don't."

The lack of technology in the home is just one concern with navigating the crisis. Teacher training is another. Union compliance and working around contracts is yet another. Other issues are also going to make remote learning difficult to ramp up in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, too. While Gov. Chris Sununu declaring a 21-day state of emergency allows state and municipal government to re-designate resources, remote learning doesn't replace the interaction between a teacher and a student in the classroom.

"We still have a lot of work to do," Mosley said, in preparing for the coming weeks.

Next week, Mosley will be meeting, probably by teleconference, with the district's administration team, union leadership, and others to "brainstorm" what to do next. It is unknown at post time what that next is or if the district will cancel school for more than a week.

"We can't make that decision in a vacuum … and I'm not going to do that," he said.

Mosley and city officials will also be discussing next steps as far as technology and infrastructure, too. After that, the district will be coordinating ways of "delivering academics and curriculum to students" — ensuring officials have "a good sense" of where students are and that they are not falling behind; that they have safety and security inside of their homes; making sure students with special needs, occupational therapy requirements, and even physical requirements, and those that are medically fragile, too, and need educational services, are taken care of, he said.

"There's a lot of moving parts," Mosley said. "And we still have a lot of work to do."

Parents and the community will be updated by the district online here.

What You Can Do

COVID-19, not unlike the flu and other respiratory illnesses, is spread through respiratory droplets, usually through coughing and sneezing, and exposure to others who are sick or might be showing symptoms. Take the same precautions as you would if you were sick:

• Stay home and avoid public places when sick (i.e. social distancing).
• Cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
• Wash hands frequently.
• Disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

More information from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services about coronavirus can be found here on the department's website.

• Guidance to schools can be found can be found here.
• Instructions for returning travelers to self-observe for symptoms of COVID-19 are available are available here.
• For more information on COVID-19 in NH, visit its site here.
• For the latest information from the CDC, visit its site here.

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