Published August 12, 2020
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The School Committee unanimously approved the finalized hybrid reopening plan during an early morning meeting on Friday, Aug. 7.
Superintendent Kristen Vogel recommended implementing a hybrid plan in order to reopen all four schools when the 2020-2021 academic year begins on Wednesday, Sept. 16. She said the plan will be submitted to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) on Friday, Aug. 14.
As part of the plan, Vogel said students will be assigned to four different cohorts.
“Cohort A students will attend school in-person four days per week, with one day of remote learning,” said Vogel. “Cohorts B and C students will attend school in-person two days a week with three days of remote learning. Cohort D students will work remotely five days a week. Splitting students into the cohorts enables us to adhere to the six-foot spacing requirements in order to create a safe space in classrooms.”
Vogel said Cohort A will consist of identified special education students and English language learners. Cohort B students will attend school on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Cohort C students will be in school on Thursdays and Fridays. Students included in Cohort B and Cohort C will be grouped together by household.
Wednesdays will be a remote learning day, Vogel said. Wednesday mornings will feature synchronous live online teaching while Wednesday afternoons will feature asynchronous remote learning so that teachers can use the afternoon to plan lessons.
“The mid-week break of in-person instruction will allow the custodians to do a real deep cleaning of the schools after the teachers have left,” Vogel added.
Vogel said each school will be modifying student schedules by developing “clear procedures and multiple entry points regarding arrival, transitions and dismissal times to ensure physical distancing.”
If a family decides not to send their children back to school under the hybrid plan, Vogel said those students will participate in remote learning as part of Cohort D.
Vogel said both the hybrid and remote learning plans will require more parent and teacher check-ins in order to monitor student progress.
All four principals gave a preliminary overview of how the hybrid plan will work at each school. Summer Street School Principal Dr. Karen Dwyer said the hybrid plan for the elementary schools will mirror a traditional school day. Huckleberry Hill School Principal Melissa Wyland said students will be able to take specials.
In response to a question from School Committee Chairman Jamie Hayman, Dwyer said one way to avoid potential downtime for students on remote learning days is having students undertake project-based learning.
School Committee member Tim Doyle said it’s important for the Administrative Leadership Team to closely monitor whether students have too much downtime.
“If parents are experiencing the same downtime we experienced during the spring, what we have got is really busted,” said Doyle. “If we are really searching for stuff because kids are sitting around, then we have to self-reflect.”
Vogel agreed.
“What we are planning is going to be very different than the spring,” said Vogel. “We need to meet structured learning time with this model.”
Principal Stephen Ralston said Lynnfield Middle School’s schedule will be similar to the one LMS used before the COVID-19 virus pandemic forced schools to close in March.
“We would maintain our three-day cycle,” said Ralston.
Ralston said the core classes would be held every day while exploratory classes such as art or STEM would rotate over the three-day cycle.
“This will not be like the spring where assignments were given out at the beginning of the week and teachers would have office hours later in the week,” said Ralston. “We will be running our school day whether we are in the building or not in the building.”
School Committee member Stacy Dahlstedt asked if students will be allowed to change classes. Ralston said classes will be changing, but said the logistics have to be finalized in order to make sure students are practicing social distancing.
Principal Bob Cleary said Lynnfield High School is going to utilize its normal seven-day rotating schedule whether students are in school or undertaking remote learning.
“We have seven periods and one drops every day,” said Cleary. “Our kids are used to that, so we can adjust on the fly. We will be fully operational. Regardless of what the form is, school will be back in session.”
Vogel said students at each grade level will receive grades and report cards will be issued at the end of a term. She also said attendance will be taken.
“That is very different than the spring,” said Vogel.
School Committee member Phil McQueen expressed his support for the hybrid plan.
“It’s going to be different and kind of weird, but I think there is a lot of potential in this model,” said McQueen. “It’s important for parents and students to realize we need to hit the ground running when we get back to school because in one way or another, we have been out of school for five months.”
Dahlstedt concurred with McQueen’s viewpoint.
“It looks like a structured school day, which is what we want,” said Dahlstedt. “I want to applaud Kristen and her team for coming up with this plan.”
Dahlstedt noted there are some parents in town who want their children to be back in school full-time while there are other parents who only want their children to learn at home. She encouraged parents and staff to be “patient and flexible” as the plan continues to evolve.
“It’s a work in progress,” said Dahlstedt. “Everybody has put a lot of effort into a very difficult situation.”
After the discussion, the School Committee unanimously approved the plan. Vogel said school principals will be sending more information to parents in the next few weeks. She also said the district will be creating a reentry website for parents to access information about going back to school.
Vogel said school officials understand “how challenging this schedule is for working families.”
“That is very much on our minds,” said Vogel. “We are working with Lynnfield Community Schools to create a program that will run four days a week. It will have a cap. It will be similar to the Summer of Fun Activities program and would be for students in grades K-6.”
Vogel said school officials anticipate updating the hybrid plan as the academic year progresses. Teaching and Learning Director Kevin Cyr said there will be a checkpoint in mid-October in order to see how the plan is going.
Hayman noted that the plan is contingent on the Lynnfield Teachers Association approving the finalized plan during collective bargaining negotiations.
“Our teachers are a really valuable asset here,” said Hayman. “They are part of a union and that union has the right to negotiate. They will have to agree to anything that we discuss. We are not going to negotiate in public.”
LTA President Lorie Kelly emailed the Villager the following statement about the district’s proposed hybrid reopening plan.
“August is a time of anticipation and wonderment acknowledging a new school year is around the corner,” said Kelly. “Decision-making for the upcoming school year is tempered by the science and metrics of a global pandemic, and the shared emotional toll of the emergency closing of schools. Historical constants for reopening planning are updated protocols for public health and safety, planning for professional development to expand educational tool boxes to meet the needs of all learners, and integrating technology competency for the 21st century to name a few. The Lynnfield Teachers Association is actively engaging in collective bargaining, navigating the conditions of the global pandemic, adapting and balancing instructional practice as well as health and safety protocols and procedures.”
