Cummings: Grafton hopes to return students up to 6th grade to classroom
School districts must bring students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 5 back to classrooms full time by April 5 after a vote Friday by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
But in Grafton, Superintendent of Schools Jay Cummings and school official have already been at work on returning students to the classroom. North and South Grafton elementary schools saw kindergarteners and first graders return full-time last month. Cummings is expected to update the School Committee on possible plans for North Street and Millbury Street elementary schools, which serve Grades 2-6.
“This afternoon the Massachusetts Board of Education granted the commissioner of education the ability to begin mandating the return of students to full in-person learning,” Cummings wrote in a message to parents Friday. “The state is focusing on the return of elementary students first. They have set April 5 as the return date for K-5 students.
“With that said, we plan to bring back all hybrid K-6 students, as we have our sixth graders attending Millbury Street Elementary and North Street Elementary,” he added. “We are currently in the process of coordinating transportation, staffing, lunches, schedules, etc., to make the return as safe and effective as possible. Next week we will begin sharing plans with the community. We will maintain our Remote Learning Academy for the remainder of the year, and we will grant any parent request for their child to join the Remote Learning Academy for the rest of the year.
“Once elementary students have returned to full in-person learning, we expect the state to focus on the possible return of students in grades 7-12. I will continue to provide updates as information becomes available,” Cummings said.
Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley initially made the surprise announcement last month and the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Friday gave him the power to force districts to obey.
“Now is the time to begin moving children back to school more robustly,” Riley said during the livestreamed session.
Earlier this week, Gov. Charlie Baker announced that school employees would join the list of those eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. Riley said medical experts also supported the move, noting the drop in Covid cases and the strain on children’s mental health.
Massachusetts schools were shut down due to the pandemic on March 17, 2020.
No timeline has been set for the return of middle and high school students.
While Grafton has used a hybrid model for students since opening in the fall, with students alternating in-person weeks with remote weeks, about 20 percent of Massachusetts schools provide remote-only learning.
None of the cases of Covid reported within the Grafton school system since the fall — 31 students and 14 staffers — have been linked into in-school transmission.
