On Tuesday, state officials issued guidance that requires a return to full-time, in-person learning by April 5 for elementary schools and April 28 for middle schools.
But Watertown Superintendent Deanne Galdston said there are a lot of logistics to work out before students can step back into classrooms. Right now, the school district is using a hybrid model.
"It's furniture and spacing and lunches and tents and all sorts of things that we've been thinking about all along, but it's just a matter of now operationalizing that," Galdston said. "Just like we did in August and September, that's a lot to do on a school system level in four weeks — now three weeks."
The guidance includes stipulations that students be spaced three feet apart while masked and six feet apart when not masked. Galdston said this may be an issue for some parents who are comfortable in the current hybrid model.
"Some parents are very comfortable with sending their children in with six feet of distance, but I think that there are other parents who are concerned about returning to three feet and would rather we stay in a hybrid [model]," Galdston said. "But that's not an option at this point in time, so I do feel that that's going to be a hard decision for parents to make that are, you know, really content with the model that we have currently."
School districts will still be required to provide remote learning options for families who choose that.
In the meantime, Gloucester's Cape Ann Museum is remembering the people in the Cape Ann area who have died from the pandemic this year with a temporary art installation. We heard from Museum President Oliver Barker.
Click on the audio player above to listen to the full episode.
Segments:
Deanne Galdston - 1:50
Oliver Barker - 15:58
