Parents can also choose fully remote learning
By Madeline Hughes mhughes@andovertownsman.com May 2, 2021
4 hrs ago
Andover High will reopen to students for full-time classroom learning on May 17, school officials said.
Parents will decide whether their children will attend classes at the school five days per week or instead do remote learning from home the rest of the school year, officials said. The school district is sending a survey to parents asking about their choice between classroom and remote learning, and also their opinions on other school issues, said Superintendent Claudia Bach.
When the state ordered that students must return to classrooms full time by May 17 or choose full-time remote learning instead, Andover school officials said they would not seek a waiver to allow students to continue hybrid learning. During the pandemic, most Andover students used the hybrid program â a mix of days in classrooms and remote learning.
Pandemic issues make September new goal
By Madeline Hughes mhughes@andovertownsman.com Apr 22, 2021
5 hrs ago
Because of space issues at Andover High, it s unlikely students will return to classrooms full time this spring, school officials said.
They said the pandemic s social-distancing rules prevent the school s classrooms from providing the space needed for all students to return full time. Groups of students now attend the school on alternate days under the hybrid learning method. They learn remotely online from home on days they don t go to school.
Janet Nicosia, director of facilities for the school district, said officials are hoping social-distancing rules are relaxed by the start of the next school year. That would allow students desks to be placed closer together and classrooms to hold more children.
It s unlikely Andover High School students will return to full in-person learning this year.
Assistant Superintendent Sandra Trach told the School Committee Thursday that district officials were preparing a waiver to ask the state if high school students will be mandated to go back before the end of the year.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has mandated elementary students return five days a week starting Monday, April 5 and middle school students return Wednesday, April 28. Andover officials are on target to meet those deadlines, Superintendent Claudia Bach said.Â
The largest issue with returning all Andover students to classrooms full-time comes from the already overcrowded high school. The school was built in the 1960s with the intended maximum capacity of 1,500 students. However, there are about 1,800 students currently enrolled.