The Wellesley Public Schools have been working on a reopening plan since June, but the fluctuating nature of the coronavirus makes a final decision on a reopening date a moving target.
Tentatively, the first day of school is Sept. 2, but committee chairman Linda Chow said that could change. “One idea that has been floated is for educators only to spend that first week of September getting acclimated to whichever model is selected for re-opening, and then have students return the day after Labor Day. Needless to say, the whole process remains very fluid given the many unknowns.”
A reopening advisory committee and various working groups have been gathering data through surveys and focus groups. Survey results, presented this week at the School Committee meeting, can be found at https://www.wellesleymedia.org/scom.html
The advisory committee is responsible for coming up with three possible models: “full in-person,” “full remote” and “hybrid.”
The present plan is for the advisory committee to present a summary of the reopening plans that have been developed at the School Committee’s Aug. 6 meeting. A decision on which three of the models to go with will likely come at the Aug. 13 meeting.
Social distancing
Although the state allows for a 3-foot minimum for social distancing within schools, “it was becoming clear that [Wellesley] families and staff alike would not be comfortable with anything less than 6-foot minimum,” according to Chow. This week, the Wellesley Board of Health voted to support the 6-foot minimum, and the School Committee voted to support planning with a 6-foot minimum as the social distancing guideline for initial reopening.
At the School Committee meeting, Superintendent of Schools David Lussier had noted that classroom spaces tend to be larger at the elementary schools and enrollment is smaller (and declining) so 100 percent of the students could likely be accommodated, using the state’s 3 foot minimum standard.
However, “at the middle school and high school the picture was decidedly different,” he said. Even if the schools used non-classroom spaces, such as the gyms and auditoriums, there would still not be enough room to accommodate all the students using the 3 foot minimum standard.
Even if all the students could be accommodated, is 3 feet safe enough? For now, in Wellesley, the official answer is no. That means the “full in- person” is not feasible at this point.
No field gathering for Class of 2020
One development announced at the School Committee meeting is likely to be a big disappointment for alums of the Class of 2020. The students received their diplomas at the end of a car parade, but were not allowed to leave their cars. They had already missed other senior activities, such as the prom, All-Night Party, and athletic award banquet, and many had hoped that they would be able to gather one last time as a class at the end of July on the high school field.
But Lussier said the Wellesley Board of Health, while sympathetic to the students’ desire for a final gathering, felt that even with restrictions in place, it probably would not a good idea. “We feel that we should honor that recommendation,” Lussier said.
