Dear Members of the Maynard School Community,
Today, Governor Baker’s office and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released their initial guidance about reopening schools this fall. We understand the complexity of this situation and appreciate the work that went into this plan to meet both public health and academic needs of the communities in the Commonwealth. We share its goal of the safe return of as many students as possible to in-person school settings in order to best meet students’ academic, social, and emotional needs while implementing practices to help keep our community safe.
We acknowledge that these initial guidelines do not address every topic and that there will be additional guidance coming throughout the summer. The full document can be found here but here are some key components:
Current medical research supports a safe in-person return to school - with preventive measures in place - as infection and transmission rates are lower for children than adults.
Preventive measures include masks/face coverings, physical distancing, handwashing, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces
Masks/face coverings will be required for all students in Grade 2 and above and for all adults; they are recommended for students in Grade 1 and below
Based upon current medical research, and in conjunction with other preventive measures, a minimum physical distance of three feet has been established
Again, more details about each of these points can be found in the full guidance document.
Maynard began planning for reopening at the start of May, and have had over 70 faculty and staff members discussing possible scenarios. With this current guidance, members of those groups will work over the coming weeks to develop comprehensive reopening plans. We will send updates of the work of these groups throughout the summer, but wanted to ensure you had access to the state information today.
As directed by the state we will develop three separate plans They are as follows:
Return to full in-person instruction with embedded safety requirement
Full remote learning,
Hybrid Model
To ensure that we are able to meet the needs of our community, the district will be sending out surveys to families, faculty and staff regarding reopening considerations in the coming weeks. Based upon the current medical situation, the expectation today is that students will be able to return to full in-person instruction in September with additional safety precautions; however, that is subject to change based upon how the medical situation develops. Additionally, the reopening committees will be analyzing Maynard’s space and staffing resources to determine how best to return as many students to in-person instruction in the fall.
We acknowledge that there are likely to be more questions than answers at this time, and we will continue to communicate with you in the coming weeks and months. We also encourage you to read the full document here, and if you have questions to please send them to our dedicated email address: fall2020@maynard.k12.ma.us
Thank you for your patience and understanding,
Mary Jane Rickson
Interim Superintendent of Schools
Brian Haas
Incoming Superintendent of Schools