Update: CPS shifts from hybrid to ‘phased-in’ reopening

By Mike Berger

Update: The School Committee voted 3-2 on August 20 to adopt a phased-in approach to the reopening of schools with all students likely beginning the year in a remote model. The decision represents a departure from the previous recommendation of opening with a hybrid model (2 days in person and 3 days remote). CLICK HERE to view a live recording of the August 20 School Committee meeting. Additional details regarding the phased-in approach and remote start will be forthcoming.

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The full version of this story appears in the August 13 print edition of the Citizen.

Despite emotional pleas from Canton teachers to start the school year with a full remote learning model, School Committee members opted, for the time being at least, to stick with its preferred choice of a hybrid plan for the reopening of school in the fall.

The nearly four-hour meeting last Thursday evening — the School Committee’s fourth in as many weeks — included 75 minutes of public comments, mainly from CPS teachers, and over two hours of detailed plans from CPS administrators on various aspects of school operations, ranging from classroom configurations to technology to health and safety guidelines.

While sympathetic to the concerns voiced by teachers, committee members ultimately voted to move forward with its comprehensive reopening plan, which was due to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) by August 10. The plan includes a continuum of reopening models (in-person, hybrid, remote), along with a formal recommendation to open the school year with a hybrid “AA/BB” configuration. Also included is a separate remote learning pathway for families who choose not to have their child participate in any in-person learning.

Under the approved hybrid model, students will be divided into two cohorts by last name, with cohort A (last names A-L) attending school on Mondays and Tuesdays and cohort B (last names M-Z) attending on Thursdays and Fridays. Siblings with different last names will default to the youngest child’s last name. Wednesdays will function as a remote learning day for all students to allow for enhanced cleaning of school buildings and opportunities for staff collaboration and professional development.

Commenting on the committee’s task of recommending a reopening model for the district, member Kristian Merenda characterized it as an “impossible decision in impossible times.” While ultimately backing the hybrid model, she said she felt for the teachers who were concerned about health and safety and also sympathized with the many families who would prefer a full return to school.

“I want to acknowledge that no option outside of full return is convenient for parents in the slightest,” she said. “I know it’s going to be devastating economically for parents; I fear it for myself.”

At the same time, Merenda said administrators have done “incredible work” in their preparations for the hybrid model and she expressed her faith in local and state officials to pivot if health and safety conditions were to necessitate a closure.

Committee member Maureen Moran also supported the hybrid plan but said her decision could be swayed by changing public health data, either later this month or even into September. New committee member Charles Rae cast the only dissenting vote, noting that he preferred the full in-person model with all students back in the buildings.

Many of the staff members who spoke said they would opt for in-person teaching but are not yet convinced that the conditions are safe enough.

Patty Willis, vice president of the Canton Teachers Association (CTA), said she and others recognize the importance of face-to-face interactions with students. But she also noted that the requirements of social distancing would make the “communal nature of the physical classroom impossible,” adding that much time would be spent on hand washing, sanitizing belongings, and monitoring mask wearing.

“We believe that we can create an intimate remote learning environment that will allow for a more comfortable transition back to learning than the abrupt start that is required by on-site health and safety compliance,” said Willis. “We cannot allow our preferences to dictate this very large decision. Let science dictate when it is safe to return to school in person. It is our desire to be back in person as soon as it is safely possible to do so; we just do not believe that that time is now.”

In addition to finalizing its comprehensive reopening plan, school leaders also formally established September 16 as the first day of school for students. Teachers will report on September 1 and will have 10 days …

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