LYNN — Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler plans to present the school district’s recommended plan for reopening in the fall to the School Committee on Wednesday night.
Tutwiler plans to ask the School Committee to vote on his recommended reopening model following the presentation.
The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has tasked school districts with preparing plans for three reopening models: in-person learning, hybrid learning — a mix of in-person and remote learning — and fully remote learning.
Tutwiler would not disclose what model he plans to recommend for the start of the school year, but he did seek the input of the Lynn Community Health Center when making his decision.
Based on a recent spike in coronavirus cases not only in Lynn, but statewide, Lynn Community Health Center CEO Dr. Kiame Mahaniah said fully reopening the school is “completely out of the question.”
“I would say the only two considerations are hybrid or remote,” said Mahaniah. “Those are the only two options that I think are possible. As a healthcare provider, I would support either one of those options. If I were pushed hard, I would probably say we should start remote, if I were pushed really hard.”
Mahaniah said he would recommend a fully remote learning model to start the school year based on the city’s spike in its infection rate over the past 10 days.
For the entire month of July, he said the seven-day positivity rate was at about four to five percent at the health center, but the seven-day rate is now around nine percent.
Lynn’s positive rate is much higher than the state average, Mahaniah said, noting that the city is much more vulnerable to the infection given the makeup of its demographics.
“There is no one solution that addresses all the problems, whether you bring all the kids or you do hybrid or completely remote,” said Mahaniah. “There is no one solution to address all your needs or safety risks. It’s just a complicated issue.”
Mahaniah said a return to fully in-person learning could be possible at some point during the next school year in Lynn if the infection rate gets below a certain level and there is good contact tracing.
“You can definitely do it — not to mention, we will likely have a vaccine within a few months,” said Mahaniah.
Once the school board decides on their reopening model, Mahaniah said the health center will work with the school district to start planning what that would entail, in terms of virus testing for students and staff members.
Mahaniah said he cannot officially pinpoint a reason for why virus numbers have started spiking in the past 10 days, but he pointed to remarks from Gov. Charlie Baker, who attributed the rise to people letting their guard down in the summer months, in terms of attending house parties and other large gatherings.
He said the same recommendations from health officials remain in place, which are to avoid those types of activities, wear face masks, practice social distancing and be diligent about hand washing.
“All those are really important if we want to curb the spread of the disease,” said Mahaniah.
