By Richard Smith
Twitter: @rsmithYWV

Legacy Traditional School’s 16 Arizona K-8 campuses were not the first in the state to return to in-person instruction.

But the charter school district was among the first in Arizona to offer in-person classes since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March. And Legacy’s two Surprise campuses opened their doors on Aug. 24, before any other charter or public school campus in the city.

District spokesman Matthew Benson stated in an email interview Aug. 27 that Legacy schools continue to offer in-person and online instruction. He said approximately 60% of the district’s students statewide — and a little more than that in the Surprise and West Surprise campuses — have elected to join their classmates and teachers in the classroom.

ABC15, azfamily.com reported stories of a potential district-wide teacher walkout on Aug. 24 in the days leading up to that start date. Mr. Benson said 10 teachers notified the district on Aug. 24 they planned to use their leave time instead of returning to the classroom — and that he was not aware of any teachers from the Surprise schools opting out that week.

“There is teacher turnover every summer, regardless of COVID-19, and we’re proud that a high percentage of our teachers have returned to campus, and each of our schools have resumed in-person learning without interruption,” Mr. Benson stated.

While the walkout may have fizzled, one Legacy parent in Surprise noticed some attrition during the summer, if not in the days leading up to schools opening their doors.

Lisa Fowler has a first-grade and a fourth-grade student attending the original Legacy Traditional School campus in Surprise, 14506 W. Sweetwater Ave.

“Teachers had every right to be concerned about returning to campus before it was safe to do so. Many teachers resigned after the announcement. Others planned a sick out,” Ms. Fowler stated in an online interview. “Our campus was not disrupted by the Monday sick out, but we did lose several great teachers that had to resign for safety reasons, including my son’s first-grade teacher. We were hoping they would have been able to remain on staff and teach the online students, but Legacy decided that would not be an option.”

It was heartbreaking to have lost several great teachers because of Legacy’s decision to return to in person schooling before many felt it was safe to do so,” Mr. Fowler stated.

She said her family’s plan has been to participate in online school. Her husband works in the medical field and has daily interactions with Covid-19-positive patients so the family believed it was best to keep its chidlren home and reduce possible exposure to others.

“Our choice has been reinforced as we watch other schools start to go back in person and have positive cases on their campuses,” Ms. Fowler stated.

Another Legacy parent, in her first year with a third-grader at the new West Surprise campus, 17300 W. Cactus Road, said she and her husband also originally planned for her daughter to remain online until the second semester.

Laurie Cosper stated in an online interview that her family was afraid schools would open, then be forced to close again.

“When we were preparing for the in-person kids to return to school, one of the e-mails said that online students wouldn’t be receiving the art class. This was upsetting for my daughter so we talked about the pros and cons of in-person and decided we could deal with the school needing to be closed again, if that were to happen. I called and asked to be changed to in-person, so we were able to start the 24th,” Ms. Cosper stated.

She also said her daughter has not had any issues having enough teachers in her grade, and she has not heard from other parents about a teacher shortage in West Surprise.

“I think about 50% probably decided to come back to class. My daughter says there are about 15 kids in her classroom,” Ms. Cosper stated.

Mr. Benson stated the Legacy Traditional schools board considered many factors before deciding to return to in-person instruction, chief among them the health and safety of students, teachers and staff members.

All options were weighed and it was determined the best course was to implement a return to school plan and provide families the option of continuing remote instruction or returning to school, he said. The plan has been implemented district-wide, with no variations built in for different areas of the Valley Legacy schools are in.

“Exhaustive precautions have been put in place via our Safe Return to School Plan, which includes universal mask-wearing for students, teachers and staff members, physical distancing, enhanced sanitation protocols and more. Extra cleaning supplies were secured for every school and classroom,” Mr Benson stated.

Ms. Fowler said she is not easy to categorize as a “charter school parent” or “public school parent.” She also has a senior at Shadow Ridge High School, and a sophomore at Arizona State University who attended public schools.

She said she believes parents should have the right to choose the best fit for their children and their individual learning needs, and that Legacy and other charter schools provide another curriculum option.

She is an active proponent of the Dysart Unified School District bond and override. Ms. Fowler also said the Legacy Surprise teachers have been amazing with the new work load on top of juggling what it is like to be on campus during a pandemic.

“The online experience at Legacy has been great for my family, but it doesn’t work for everyone. Legacy provides the curriculum and the platform for my kids to learn at home with me,” Ms. Fowler stated. “My fourth-grader works through it by herself with some help from me with math and I teach my first-grader all of his lessons. We meet with the teacher once a week for a 30-minute lesson. Other parents are feeling a little left behind since we do not have dedicated teachers for the online students. They made Wednesdays half days on campus to give teachers time to provide an online lesson for those of us at home."

Ms. Cosper said her daughter’s online experience, which began on Aug. 5 — the first day of class for Legacy students — was quite smooth.

“Legacy uses Schoology. Our typical day was a live lesson at 8:30 a.m. through Google Meets, Schoology lessons through pre-recorded videos and questions or discussions. There would be some live special areas through Google Meets and then we would end with another live lesson with our teacher,” she stated. “I felt like the school has been very supportive and consistent with the parents from the start.”

Ms. Fowler said one parent at Legacy Surprise started a Facebook group for families who chose the online learning model. Together, these parents are able to provide support to each other as they navigate uncharted waters.

Still, in her view the uncertainty of distance learning pales in comparison to the worry of sending a kid back to campus with other children going basically on the honor system.

“The biggest concern I have heard from teachers and parents has to do with not understanding the protocol when dealing with positive cases. Much of the campus safety relies on parents self reporting positive cases within the home and not sending their children to school when sick or after having contact with sick household members,” Mr. Fowler stated.

Richard Smith
Associate Editor | Surprise & West Valley Preps
@rsmithYWV

rsmith@iniusa.org

Richard Smith has been with Independent Newsmedia since 2016, and worked at a Sun City-based news outfit covering the Northwest Valley for 22 consecutive years.

An NAU alum and lifelong Arizona resident, Richard began as a copy editor and page designer at Surprise Today and the Daily News-Sun, then rekindled his love of sports writing by taking the reins on West Valley Preps in 2008.

For most of the mid-2010s he was the Surprise editor and West Valley Preps reporter. Now he’s the West Valley Preps Editor and Surprise Associate Editor.

As COVID restrictions slowly lift, Richard is cautiously optimistic he will visit book stores, football fields and gyms again this fall.