Published in the August 17, 2020 edition.
The following information was sent to the families of Wakefield Public School students on Friday afternoon, August14 by Superintendent Doug Lyons and Assistant Superintendent Kara Mauro.
WAKEFIELD — We hope that you are all doing well and staying safe. We are reaching out to provide the latest update related to our WPS reopening. On Wednesday night, the School Committee unanimously approved our Wakefield Public Schools Reopening Plan. This plan includes a hybrid instructional model at all levels, with a phased reopening. The timeline of the phased reopening is as follows:
Phase 1: Teacher Preparation and Professional Learning
September 2 – 16 (10 days) – September 2 will be the first day for faculty and staff. We will provide time for faculty and staff to set up their classrooms/learning environments and prioritize professional training focused on safety protocols, hybrid schedules, remote learning, teacher teaming, and technology.
Phase 2: Remote Learning Plus
September 17- September 28 (8 days) – During this time, all students will start in a remote learning model. We will work with principals and teachers to start the process of welcoming students back to school for the 20-21 school year. Teachers may begin to welcome back small groups of students in their assigned cohort or by grade to slowly acclimate students to their classroom. This will allow teachers and students to begin relationship building, as well as review safety protocols and guidelines for remote learning. This orientation will be differentiated to meet the needs of students, staff and parents at each level.
Phase 3: Begin Hybrid Instructional Model for All
September 29 – We will review public health data specific to Wakefield, including the Massachusetts DPH COVID-19 metrics. If the data indicates that we can move from Phase 2 to Phase 3, we will do so on September 29.
On Wednesday night, we presented adjustments that were made to the hybrid schedules based on additional feedback from families and staff. Please see the Updated Reopening Plan for more information. We also submitted our final Reopening Plan to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
In the coming weeks, you can expect additional communication regarding Zoom opportunities to learn more about our hybrid models at each level. We also plan to host a parent forum specific to special education supports and services in the hybrid model. Additionally, building principals will continue the process of grouping students so that we can get this information to families as soon as possible. Our Phase 2 Remote Learning Plus, has all of our students starting remotely, however, we will be building in opportunities for small groups of students to return at different points in this phase to begin the welcome back process. More information to come on this schedule as well.
Last, you can anticipate an additional survey coming out this week where we will ask families to inform us if your child/children will be coming back to school in the hybrid model or if your family will choose the full remote learning option, private school or homeschooling. This information will be critical as we continue to group and schedule students and staff accordingly.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to your building principals or to us directly at Central Office. We have received a high volume of emails lately and are doing our best to respond in a timely manner.