Published March 10, 2021

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — A year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shuttering of school buildings across the world, Lynnfield students in grades 1-12 will be headed back to school full-time by April 5.

In an email sent to parents on Monday morning, Superintendent Kristen Vogel explained that the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted on Friday, March 5 to give Education Commissioner Jeff Riley the authority to determine when hybrid and remote learning would no longer count as “time on learning.”

“As a result, both the hybrid and remote learning models will no longer count toward time on learning for the remainder of the school year,” Vogel stated. “This means that our current hybrid model will no longer count toward time on learning.”

In the wake of Riley’s announcement, Vogel said students in grades 1-12 will return to full in-person learning by Monday, April 5. First-graders will be returning to school full-time on Monday, March 15. Second-graders will be back in class full-time on Monday, March 22. Students in grades 3-12 will follow suit on Monday, April 5.

“We are thrilled to be welcoming all of our students back to full in-person learning on April 5,” Vogel stated. “We are continuing to work with our educators to ensure a safe transition for all.”

School Committee Chairman Jamie Hayman agreed.

“I am thrilled for our students, our families, our educators and our community as a whole that we are able to return to full in-person learning on April 5,” said Hayman. “I am also so appreciative of the leadership that Superintendent Vogel and the entire Administrative Leadership Team have demonstrated throughout this crisis, as they have constantly adjusted based on changing health public health metrics and changing guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the CDC. I also want to thank the Lynnfield Teachers Association, as they have been true partners as we think about how we open the schools in a safe and effective way.

“There have been so many other people who have stepped up over the last year, and I specifically want to recognize our teachers and our students for the resilience they have demonstrated and their hard work,” Hayman continued. “Returning to full in-person learning is just a first but significant step in a long process that will take us to our new ‘normal’ of what post-pandemic school will look like in Lynnfield and across the country. We are so fortunate to have leaders and educators in our district to help us navigate this path.”

Kindergartners started attending school for four-and-a-half days last week.

While Riley proposed staggering the return of middle and high school students, Vogel said the commissioner created that proposal for “districts that have been fully remote for this school year.”

“Since we have been in our hybrid model since September, we do not see a legitimate safety or educational reason for why we should stagger the return of our middle school and high school students,” stated Vogel. “Therefore, we will prepare for a full return of all students in grades 3-12 on April 5.”

Vogel said students and educators will continue following the CDC’s safety protocols that have been used in the district’s current hybrid model. She noted that students and staff will continue wearing masks and practice social distancing. She said that one-direction hallways will continue being utilized and outdoor spaces will be used as long as the weather cooperates. Students and staff will also be required to stay home if they are sick.

“In order for us to continue with full in-person, we still need to be diligent in the community with adhering to social gathering limits, mask-wearing and distancing,” said Vogel.

Vogel said parents will need to decide whether to commit their children to full in-person learning or remote learning for the remainder of the school year.

“We will provide details as to what the remote only option will look like soon,” Vogel stated. “We are still working with our teachers on this plan and it may look different depending on the grade level. For the remainder of the year, the first Wednesday of each month will continue to be an early release day for professional development. We will communicate in the next few weeks what Wednesdays will look like starting on April 14.”

In order to get the plan off the ground, Vogel said the School Department will need to hire additional remote only teachers, remove furniture, add desks to classrooms, rearrange classrooms, create new lunch schedules, adjust existing protocols and hire more cleaning staff.

“We have been working on getting all of these pieces in place so we can be ready for all of our students on April 5,” said Vogel.

Vogel said school principals will be providing more information about full in-person learning resuming in the near future.

“They will also communicate what learning will look like for full remote learners,” said Vogel.