By Josh Margolis
HARLEM, Mont. (NMB) – The Harlem School Board held a special meeting on Monday afternoon and voted 4-0 to remain in in-person learning while allowing parents the option to have their children in remote learning during Fort Belknap’s ongoing shutdown.
Monday’s meeting was called following a request from the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council that Harlem temporarily shift to remote learning due to the increased spread of COVID-19 in the area.
At the end of the meeting, Tribal President Jeffrey Stiffarm said he respected the District’s decision and hopes that communication between both sides can be improved.
“You are ran by your board members, as I am by our Council members that sit here … So I know how tough it is and appreciate that. Communication is a big issue between both parties, us and the Harlem School. That needs to improve.”
The Board floated the idea in the meeting of going fully remote for the remainder of the week, but several Trustees said the decision to engage in remote learning should be made by the parents.
At the start of the meeting, Stiffarm noted that about 80 percent of students of Harlem Public Schools live within the Reservation boundaries. He expressed frustration that the School Board hadn’t been following the recommendations of Tribal Disaster and Emergency Services.
“We’ve had a huge spike in positives here on Fort Belknap. A lot of it is traced back to these ballgames. Whether it was at Hays or in Harlem. The decision was made (by Tribal Council) to shut down to try to make control the positive cases we have here. To protect our children, to protect our elders, and overall, to protect all our people here, to prevent them from getting sick … The decisions that (DES) has made, it’s to protect our people. We honored that. And then we get to the Harlem Schools that refuse to honor the tribes’ wishes to protect our children.”
Fort Belknap Councilperson Dominic Messerly has several sons in the District and said that the Fort Belknap Incident Command team was created at the start of the pandemic to de-politicize the issue. He requested more transparency about the status of COVID at the District.
“We hear things informally. My younger son came home and he said that there were a couple kids that were taken out of his class, and he’s only seven years old. He said ‘Well, I think they have COVID.’ They were coughing and pretty soon they were gone, and they didn’t return. And they didn’t return for a week. So it’s things like that that concern me as a parent. If my son or any other kid was sitting in the classroom and wasn’t maintaining six foot distance, and these are young kids…I know my son has a hard time wearing the mask at all times. But why aren’t we being notified as parents, and I know the guidance have changed, but it’s really been silent at Harlem Public Schools with where you all are. How many kids are infected with COVID right now? Things like that. And if my son (came) home and told me what he told me, which he did, it’s very concerning. And I feel like the school District should be making me aware of things like that.”
Superintendent Dr. Arlene Bigby said that as of last week, about eight percent of those associated with the District were dealing with active COVID cases, adding that students are also missing time due to influenza, strep throat and the common cold.
“We could run some numbers this week. We haven’t had a chance to do that because, of course, the nurses are working. But we could certainly do that,” said Bigby. “When I look at numbers today, I have fewer (COVID) cases in the elementary than I did last week. But again, if they aren’t testing in school, it’s all (based) on reporting from the parents.”
Tribal Council member Geno LeValdo is also the head coach of the Harlem boys basketball team and also asked for better communication between the two sides.
“We’re elected here to watch our youth, to make decisions on our behalf of the tribe. Like Councilman Messerly was saying, if we could have a better working relationship, keep it formal, keep in touch a lot more than we usually are. Being a Harlem coach and a parent of a student here, I’m here to find a solution. And I’m very concerned about our elders and about our babies. Because right now, our two-year old granddaughter has COVID, and I’m just getting over COVID. So yeah, it’s pretty dangerous out there, but like I’m saying, I’m looking forward to finding a solution for this moment, what’s going on right now.”
Fellow Council member Derek “Sam” Azure said he has been told that some classrooms are being covered by paraprofessionals and substitutes. He said he kept his child home for school last week because of concerns he had.
“I had a question brought to me from kids in the community. They said that some of their classes aren’t even being covered by teachers. They are being (taught) by subs and paras right now. And because of staff shortages. I had that approached on Saturday in Albertsons, they said they are being doubled and tripled up in their classes and not much work is being done. So my opinion on that is if you’re doing that, why keep kids in a salmon can? There’s no reason to do that. To me, that’s unacceptable.”
Board Chair Johnathan Walker said it is important that they improve communication and said a remote learning option is available for parents who would like to keep their children home.
“The big thing here is local control. Parents choice,” Walker said prior to the Board voting. “That for me is always at the forefront of giving parents that choice. I’m on the fence. I think that if we did do a four-day shutdown this week, shut it down, we may be able to get ahead of this from a staff-student prospective. Get the school community that break and try and stop this before it continues.”
Trustee Mike King reiterated the value of personal responsibility in their decision making.
“What else do we need to do? We have our mask mandate in place. We have our social distancing. We have now our option of getting the vaccine. Literally for every one of our students, they have the option. Whether they do or not, that’s again, parent choice, where we are with this education stuff. The people I’ve talked to, a majority say they prefer their students in school. There’s a few that wish not to. Again, parental choice. We all have lives.”
Trustee Valerie Blackcrow said she understands the seriousness of the ongoing pandemic and wants to do what’s best for the staff, students and parents.
“We should enforce our mask mandate. I think that we should continue to have our social distancing and do what we need to do to keep our children safe. We are responsible for them, we are. We’re not hear to fight against you guys on this issue. We want to work with you, I want to work with you. … I want to do what’s in the best interest of our children. But I also have to think about our staff, too. I don’t want our staff to have to lose time.”
Fort Belknap Public Health Nurse Kathleen Adams also recommended making their mask mandate more strict and asked for more transparency.
“Getting parents that are in the classrooms of the kids that could be potentially contact-traced, (the District should) say ‘Hey, there is a student in our class (with COVID), your child is in it. Monitor him for symptoms,’ so that they have a heads up about the kid (possibly getting) COVID.”
Before the meeting officially adjourned, Walker said that they will be working to try and improve that communication.
“I appreciate your input today. I share your concerns about safety. And we will continue to work better together moving forward. I will guarantee that.”
