Swampscott elementary students will return to class five days a week in April
Leigh Blander / Correspondent
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Swampscott elementary school students will begin returning to class five days a week in April and the School Committee has approved a new distancing rule that allows students to be within 3 feet of each other. The original distance was 6 feet. Middle school and high school students will return later.
“It has to be phased in,” said Swampscott Superintendent Pamela Angelakis at a School Committee meeting on Feb. 24. “It’s not going to happen overnight.”
More than 100 people - including parents and teachers - joined into the Zoom meeting. Many parents expressed frustration and anger that students have not been back full time yet.
Wicked Local
Many North Shore School officials are requesting that educators be reclassified in the state’s vaccination plan, granting them access to COVID-19 vaccinations now, during Phase I.
Phase I includes COVID-19 facing health care providers, first responders, staff and residents at congregate care settings, among others at high-risk for contracting the vi.
As it stands now, educators are not eligible to receive vaccinations until Phase II of the plan, which begins in February.
The North Shore Superintendents’ Round Table, which represents 29 districts, made their request known in a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker.
“We cite the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in urging you to prioritize the health and well being of our educators so that Massachusetts school districts can operate at the fullest possible strength as our nation begins to emerge from this global pandemic,” the letter states.
Swampscott students will return to hybrid-learning plans
Leigh Blander / Correspondent
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After falling short of state education requirements, Swampscott Public Schools is anticipated to launch new hybrid-learning plans Jan.19, increasing the time that students are actively engaged with a teacher.
“A major feature of these new models will be an increase in the amount of time students are live with their teachers when they are learning from home,” Swampscott Superintendent Pamela Angelakis wrote to families.
“Major upgrades to our Internet cabling over the holiday break, as well as teacher’s learning over the past several weeks about best practices for simultaneously managing both in-person and at-home students tuning into the classroom via Zoom have enabled us to make these changes,” she said.