2021-03-23-BOH-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

The team delayed working on a plan until after the Town's COVID case counts were trending down. The month of January saw the highest case count with 26 per 1000 cases. Cases trended down in February, so the team started to work on a plan to have students return to the classroom. The membership consists of 37 individuals comprising of parents, doctors, School Committee members, public health workers, union leaders and educators. The kindergarten through grade 5 will return to full classroom learning on April 5, 2021. The middle school students will return to the full classroom on April 28, 2021. These dates are in line with State's announcements for returning to the classroom. The State has not yet determined a return date for High School students. The one challenge will be maintaining the six-foot distance guidance during lunches. There is guidance that younger children do not need to maintain the six-foot distance, but DESE has stated that school staff, as adults should always maintain the six-foot guidance. Dr. Hackett pointed out that High School students are young adults. There will be the use of tents in April at the schools. All windows in the school buildings and school transportation will be opened without exception while in use. The principals at the K-5 schools are working on indoor and outdoor plans for lunches, to best meet the distance between individual guidelines. Dr. Hackett stated there is a PowerPoint presentation online from the last school committee meeting that outlines the return back to full in person learning in great detail. She will forward the presentation on to Chair Heiger-Bernays for her to share with the members. Dr. Hackett stated hybrid learning is being phased out. Families/students have been asked to communicate their preference of remote or full in person learning. The current breakdown is 75% choosing full in person and 25% choosing remote. Once a choice is made the School Department is asking for no changes be requested because of the staff scheduling challenges. DESE supports this practice. Dr. Hackett asked the Board to vote to support the new guidelines for the Performance Arts Programs from DESE. The new guidelines allow signing inside and instrument playing with 10 feet separation would be allowed. She would like to try the new guidelines, but will defer to the Board's recommendation. Dr. Hackett stated the staff have been getting vaccinated. There was a parent group that assisted the staff in securing vaccine appointments. Dr. Hackett stated even if a staff member is vaccinated maintaining all COVID-19 practices will be mandatory. Chair Heiser-Bernays asked members for thoughts and concerns: Dr. Perlmutter, thanked Dr. Hackett for update, and stated all his questions were answered during the recap. Mr. Flynn stated he was supportive of the new Performance Arts Programs guidelines from DESE for K-8 grade. And, agrees to discuss the high school Performance Arts Programs at an upcoming meeting. March 23, 2021 Minutes 2 Board of Health