Reading Opts For Hybrid Model To Start School Year
READING, MA — The Reading School Committee voted 6-0 Thursday night to adopt a phased-in hybrid approach to reopening schools. The plan calls for students to learn remotely until their assigned cohort is phased back into school. Families may also opt for fully remote learning for their children.
The school year begins Monday. Aug. 31 for teachers and Tuesday, Sept. 15 for students. All students will begin the school year online.
The hybrid model will be divided into cohorts A and B. Cohort A will be in person for Monday-Thursday for week 1 while Cohort B will be remote. The following week, Cohort A will be remote and Cohort B will be in person. Friday will be a half-day remote learning day for both cohorts.
All students at the RISE Preschool (including students who receive special education services and their typical peers), students with disabilities in special education programs, and others determined to be at risk, such as homeless students, EL students and foster students, will come to school in person both weeks, except for Fridays.
Health and Safety Guidelines
The following guidelines will be in place, according to Superintendent John Doherty:
Mask/Face Coverings-It is the expectation that all students and staff will be wearing mask/face covering properly throughout the school day, except during lunch, mask breaks, and when it is safe to take the mask off (i.e. outside with appropriate social distancing). The only exception to this requirement is for those for whom it is not possible due to medical conditions.
Physical Distancing-With the hybrid model, we will be able to maintain the CDC required 6 foot social distancing between individuals.
Cohorts-At the elementary and middle school, students will be arranged by cohorts that remain with each other throughout the day. Intergroup contact between cohorts will be as minimal as possible.
Capacity-We will use the square footage of the space, combined with the 6-foot physical distancing to determine the student/staff group size of each area.
Screening-It is important that both staff and families check for COVID-19 symptoms prior to entering school each morning. These symptoms are outlined in this document. We will not be performing temperature screening upon entry into school due to the high likelihood of false positive and false negative results.
Hand hygiene-Students and staff will be required to exercise hand hygiene (handwashing or sanitizing) upon arrival to school, before eating, before putting on/taking off masks, and before dismissal. Hand sanitizer dispensers are being installed in all classrooms and high traffic areas throughout the district.
Ventilation-Our facilities department has worked with the manufacturer of our HVAC equipment and our HVAC outside contractor to do a thorough review of all of our HVAC uni-ventilators, rooftop units, and exhaust ducts. All of our equipment meets or exceeds the manufacturer and state standards for the correct number of air exchanges with outside air. In addition, MERV-13 filters will be installed in all of our uni-ventilators and changed on a regular basis.
Cleaning and Disinfecting-We will be following CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting in our schools. We will be using a combination of existing staff and our contract cleaning company hiring additional staff and shifting current custodial hours for cleaning and disinfecting during the school day. Additional cleaning will be done on Fridays during the remote learning day.
Personalized Protective Equipment (PPE)-Staff will be equipped with DESE standard Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for their role. Using DESE recommended guidelines, we have purchased a significant amount of PPE for the start of the school year. Students are required to bring in their own masks/face coverings. If a student does not have appropriate face covering or their face covering gets soiled during the day, one will be provided for them.
This article originally appeared on the Reading Patch
