Cummings will answer back-to-school questions in virtual parent sessions
Parents and guardians with questions about how Grafton will handle the return to school in the fall — while protecting students from COVID-19 — can Zoom into two virtual meetings this week for an update.
“We will provide an update on the status of our planning and our best thinking at this time,” Superintendent of Schools Jay Cummings wrote. “We will offer the same meeting twice to meet scheduling needs. We will cover the same information in both meetings. You are welcome to attend both, but you don’t need to. We will record the meetings and make the link available afterward in case neither day/time works for you.”
The link for Thursday, July 23, at 7 p.m.
The link for Friday, July 24 at 11 a.m.
Questions will be taken after a brief presentation. All questions submitted during the meeting will be answered after the meeting and posted on the GPS website.
“The safety and well-being of our students, staff, and families continues to be our primary focus as we plan how to re-open school for the 2020-21 school year,” Cummings wrote. “Our reopening committee, made up of staff, administration, parents, students, and community members, is working to develop a plan for reopening in September. Our plans will be dictated by the latest guidance from state officials. A central challenge to our planning efforts has been the lack of state guidance to this point. We are awaiting guidance on a host of issues including transportation, medical protocols to follow if there is a positive case, flexibility regarding our schedule, etc. The many unknowns have made planning exceedingly complex and difficult.”
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has asked districts to wait until August 10 to finalize its reopening plans, which Cummings roughly outlined at last week’s School Committee meeting. Districts were asked to submit a full in-school model, a full remote learning model, or a hybrid of the two.
Grafton will announce its final plan on August 12.
“My best thinking right now is that we will start the school year in some version of a hybrid model,” Cummings wrote.
General Safety and Health Protections:
- Face masks will be required from the time students get on the bus until the end of the school day, when students exit the bus. “Mask breaks” will be provided for students and staff in accordance with guidelines (PreK-1 students will be strongly encouraged to wear a mask, but they are not required to do so)
- Furniture and spaces will be re-organized so students and teachers will be within the recommended physical distancing requirements (3 foot minimum, 6 foot minimum while eating/masks off).
- Additional cleaning and sanitizing staff are being hired to conduct deep cleaning on a daily basis. This includes school buses.
- Students will be scheduled in cohorts to minimize intermingling of large groups. This will result in students remaining in their classroom areas for more than a single block/class.
- Each school will have a second, separate Health Office with medical staff to treat and isolate anyone exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.
- Any student or staff member exhibiting symptoms, or who may have been exposed to a person who tested positive for COVID-19, will be asked to quarantine at home per updated medical guidelines.
Full In-Person Model: To bring all students and staff back at once, schools would need to ensure a three-foot minimum distance between staff and students (wearing masks) at all times. When eating, this distance is a six-foot minimum. Space restrictions and transportation challenges make full in-person in September almost impossible.
Regardless, as directed by the state, school officials are assessing the accommodations and staffing that would be needed for full in-person instruction, and the associated costs.
Remote Learning Model: Remote learning at home would be a component of either a hybrid model or a full remote learning model. The school department has purchased several enhancements to IT infrastructure and learning systems that will provide greater support for a more structured and robust on-line learning experience. The state has not provided guidance as of yet as to what full remote would look like if utilized in the fall. However, the schools are planning on a full-day learning experience that includes increased interaction with staff and assessment.
Hybrid Model: The majority of reopening committee planning is focused on the development of a hybrid model. As a foundational model, the district plans to split the students into two groups. One group would attend school in-person for a week while the other half is home participating in remote learning. The two groups would switch every other week. Ideally, the content being taught weekly (no matter the format) will be connected to provide one continuous experience as opposed to an ongoing series of stops and starts.
Remote Learning Academy: The state has said that each district needs to provide a remote learning experience for any families who do not wish to send their children to school (full in-person or hybrid). To meet this mandate, the district is developing a Remote Learning Academy that will provide a full-remote platform for students. This Academy will run for at least the first semester of the school year and will be independent of any other model. Essentially, it will function as its own small school for a semester (if needed, a second semester will be offered). The learning standards will mirror those taught district-wide. If a parent chooses to have their child participate in the Remote Learning Academy, this commitment will be for the first semester and students will participate in the Remote Learning Academy no matter what model the rest of the district is utilizing.
“We are going to focus on developing the three model plans as much as possible over the coming weeks,” Cummings wrote. “Updates will be provided as we move forward, yet we remain dependent on the state guidance to finalize the majority of our planning.
“I realize the stress, paired with the unknowns and the health concerns, is very high,” he added. “While I don’t have all of the answers at this point, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me as needed. I am confident that we will be able to provide options for the GPS community that maximize both learning and safety.”
