Published August 27, 2020
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — The hybrid plan roll out for North Reading Public School students continues to evolve as students and parents anticipate a school re-opening date of Thursday, September 17, more than six months after the statewide shutdown of in-classroom learning due to COVID-19.
The plan approved by the School Committee 5-0 August 7 and sent to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) remained subject to change based on the outcome of ongoing negotiations with the North Reading Teachers Association and other unions that represent faculty and staff at all five schools because the many changes required by public health officials in determining what is a safe space inside and outside a public building represents a change in their contractual agreements.
That being said, Superintendent Dr. Patrick Daly reported at Monday night’s School Committee meeting that these negotiations have been very productive, which he attributed in large part to the leadership provided by NREA President Peter Kane. Two members of the School Committee have been involved in these meetings as well, Chairman Scott Buckley and Rich McGowan.
All students have been sent their Cohort assignments for hybrid in-person and remote learning days (Cohort A or B), five days in-person for those needing supportive services (Cohort C) or full remote learning (Cohort D). Now, the teachers and principals are working on getting the class schedules sent to all students. At the present time, all pre-k and kindergarten students will attend school five days a week. First-graders will start with the hybrid plan and if space can be found to safely have them attend school all five days that change will be made later.
New schedules
In addition to mastering a hybrid schedule, one of the biggest changes to which students and their families, as well as teachers and staff, will need to adjust will be start times and dismissal times.
The town’s traditional schedule has had high school students starting the earliest (7:30 a.m.) and getting out the earliest (2 p.m.) followed by middle school students, with elementary students starting the latest (including the infamous elementary school early/late switch to accommodate the logistics of bus transportation).
This year, that schedule has been turned upside down. Now, the elementary students will begin the school day earliest, followed by high school students and then middle school students.
In practice, the Batchelder School will be the “early” elementary school for 2020-21, starting at 7:45 a.m. and being dismissed at 2 p.m. The two “late” elementary schools, the Hood and Little, will start at 8:05 a.m. and be dismissed at 2:20 p.m. High school students will start classes at 8:30 a.m. and be dismissed at 2:40 p.m., and middle school students will start at 8:55 a.m. and be dismissed at 3:05 p.m. This schedule will be followed on Mondays and Tuesdays for Cohort A and Thursdays and Fridays for Cohort B.
The Wednesday schedule for elementary students only will differ because that day will be a half day for them all year, whether in-person or remote. Daly said this decision was made to enable the elementary teachers to conduct all of their collaborative planning on Wednesdays. Elementary students will not have formal classes on Wednesday afternoons. Batchelder students will be dismissed at 11:15 a.m. and Little/Hood students will be dismissed at 11:35 a.m.
Teachers at the secondary level will conduct their collaborative planning every day rather than one day a week making the half day of planning unnecessary for them.
Daly stressed that bus pickup will be no earlier than 7 a.m. for elementary students on any day of the week.
There is still much to be done to make hybrid learning a reality and negotiations are ongoing. All teachers will report to school Sept. 1 to begin their 10 days of professional development with a focus on how to adapt their lesson plans to the realities of the hybrid model.
Additionally, students will be notified of small group orientations when they will get to walk around their buildings prior to the first day of school to explore the new layout for exits, entrances and hallways and classrooms. Parents will not be allowed to accompany their children as the schools want to limit the number of people in the buildings.
At the present time, North Reading is in a green zone for new COVID cases, which makes the town eligible to allow in-person learning.
The HVAC systems in all five school buildings have also been upgraded to optimize filtration and air exchange.
And even though all students will receive a Chromebook this year regardless of grade, Daly stressed that this does not mean all learning will take place via a screen.