(Updated September 4) 

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board voted 4-3 Thursday night to move grades 5-12 to a 50% hybrid method, which means students will be in the classroom 50% of the time over a 2-week period.  This goes into effect Thursday, September 17.

Sylvia Shepler, Amanda Shera, Brad Boyer and Clint Wilson voted yes…..Michelle Fullhart, Janet Pritchett and Julie Chambers voted no.

Board President Michelle Fullhart says she is in favor of moving students back into classrooms, but voted no because she wanted a September 14 start date for the 50% hybrid system for in-person classes.

Students up to grade 4 are scheduled to begin a similar program September 8.

An amendment to start school Monday, September 21st, was not approved by the board.

Administrators told board members there are 34 permanent substitute teachers on staff and 240 of the 297 regular subs answered a survey, with 56% saying they want to wait before returning to the classroom.  Some regular substitute teachers told the school district they would work, but no more than 1-2 days a week during the current pandemic.

The board was told there would be enough bus drivers to transport students, but staffing is very tight.

The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board will consider a recommendation from Superintendent Allen Bourff to begin bringing students grades 5-12 into classrooms 50% of the time beginning September 14.  Grades up to 4th are scheduled to begin a similar hybrid program September 8.

Below is the statement posted today to the HSE School Board meeting’s agenda tonight at 6pm:

In-person instruction will be provided for students in grades 5-12, beginning
Monday, September 14, in a hybrid format, with 50% of the students in
attendance on a 2 and 3 day rotation; further, that we continue with the
announced provision of in-person instruction for the preK-4 students in a hybrid
format, beginning Tuesday, September 8.

The HSE board is expected to vote on the superintendent’s proposal at tonight’s special meeting.

When Scott Fadness was first elected Mayor of Fishers in 2014, he was preparing to take office in 2015.  He was Town Manager and still involved in the day-to-day workings of Fishers while also mayor-elect.

It was at that time he let me know of his plans to start a mental health initiative as his first major project as the new mayor.  He wasted no time in moving that forward in 2015.

I had been in and out of journalism for years and had seen this before.  A new mayor starts a project, cites accomplishments, then moves on to the next project.

Scott Fadness did not do that with mental health.  In 2020, he continues to move forward on mental health with his staff and a group of community volunteers.  Scott Fadness knew combating mental health issues would be a heavy lift and would take time.  He is in his sixth year as mayor and continues that project.

When Scott Fadness began talking last year about an initiative on race relations in Fishers, his past record proved to me he was serious.  When I was asked to participate as a member of the community, I accepted.

The mayor brought-in Dustin Washington, an experienced consultant from out of state, to run a series of seminars for a group of local people, called “Interrupting Racism.”

The mayor’s next step now is to invite any member of the Fishers community to take this Interrupting Racism seminar at no cost to you.  As someone that has experienced this training, I would highly recommend it to anyone.

There are only 500 openings in this first wave of training, so I would recommend you sign-up soon.

“In the national narrative we find ourselves, it is clear the country is struggling with issues of race and our community is not immune to these challenges,” said Mayor Fadness in a city news release announcing the program. “In Fishers, we have the opportunity to change the course of this conversation through hard work, honesty, and humility. Today is a small step in that direction.”

It should be noted Mayor Fadness has been working on this Interrupting Racism program for many months, well before George Floyd’s death or the police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Sign-up for the Interrupting Racism training at this link and/or sign-up for updates at this link.

Christopher Nolan has graced the silver screen with a number of wonderful films, including Dunkirk.  Nolan has been working on a particular film he has been working on for years.  It has been delayed numerous times over the past months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Now that movie houses are opening around the nation, Nolan’s much anticipated film Tenet is now opening.

Here is my review of Tenet.

The Fishers Blues Fest has become a Labor Day weekend tradition locally.  For several weeks, it was not known how the COVID-19 pandemic would impact the event.  There will be a Blues Fest September 4th & 5th, but get there early – there will be a limit on how many people may attend.

I had the chance to speak with Matthew Socey of WFYI radio, as he returns for another year as the emcee of the Blues Fest.

The Fishers Health Department lowered the COVID-19 community risk rating from Significant to Moderate, and is recommending that local schools move to in-person classes.

“The Department recommends Fishers-based schools to reinstate or continue full in-person learning for elementary grades,” according to a health department news release. “Middle and high school grades may reinstate or continue full in-person learning if able to maintain cohorting. If unable to institute cohorting, the practice of keeping the same students together throughout the school day, the department advises a hybrid school model in order to decrease spread within schools and to minimize the number of quarantining students and staff that are expected to accompany school reopening. Additionally, schools should allow students with compelling needs to attend full-time in-person learning.”

Cohorting means forming groups of students, and sometimes teachers or staff, that stay together throughout the school day to minimize exposure for students, teachers, and staff across the school environment.

The department says the risk rating improvement is due to both case incidence and percent positivity rates in Fishers.

Health department officials continue to recommend that healthy people not at high risk for COVID-19 limit large gatherings of more than 30 people and continue frequent hand-washing.  If high-risk, it is recommended you avoid gatherings of more than 8 people outside your home.

The Hamilton Southeastern School Board is scheduled to meet Thursday at 6pm to consider next steps in virtual vs. in-person classes.

Below are factors the Fishers Health Department says were part of the decision to lower the local risk level: