Tuesday night the Manchester Essex School Committee voted to amend the district social distancing standard of six feet to align with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s guidance.
“DESE recommends 6 feet of
distance where feasible and a minimum of 3 feet when all other mitigation
measures are in place, which is supported by the World Health Organization,
local public health experts, infectious disease physicians, the Massachusetts
Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Governor’s COVID-19
Medical Advisory Board.”
This policy change will allow us to
bring back grades K-5 to full in-person learning by the end of March and to
immediately begin work on a plan to return more Middle and High School students
to in-person learning this spring. More detailed information will be shared by
principals as plans develop. Last night’s presentation is available on the School Committee Presentations and Reports
page.
At the March 16th School
Committee Meeting, we will be presenting revisions to the remote learning model
at the elementary level as well as presenting preliminary plans for increased
in-person learning time at the Middle High School.
As with every transition throughout this process, the shift to expanded in-person learning requires flexibility on the part of students, families, and teachers. I recognize that in each phase there have been aspects of the plan that have not been optimal for all stakeholders. Please know that with each stage of our COVID learning model, we have and will continue to do our best to balance the needs of the entire community and provide a high quality education for our students.
