WAKEFIELD — Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational High school is making the switch to a fully-remote learning plan amid reports of high COVID-19 caseloads in nearby communities.
Northeast Metro Tech’s district includes the Town of Saugus as well as the City of Revere.
The district had initially planned to hold a week of remote learning starting Monday, Sept. 14, before transitioning to a hybrid model on the following Monday.
“The last thing we wanted to do was to change our plan so close to the first day of school,” said Northeast Metro Tech Superintendent David DiBarri. “However, this is the reality our community faces, and nothing matters more than keeping students, faculty, and staff safe.”
DiBarri said the decision was made in accordance with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) guidelines, which advise regional school districts to use a key municipality — the city or town where the majority of a school’s students reside — as an indicator of whether classes should be held remotely or through a hybrid model.
Because the majority of Northeast Metro Tech’s students reside in Revere, a city currently experiencing a high risk of transmission rates for COVID-19, the administration announced Friday that the school would switch to fully remote learning until further notice.
Revere is currently marked as a “red” community on the state’s color-coded case map after having reported 158 positive cases of COVID-19 in the past two weeks.
Since Wednesday, the bordering community of Saugus — also in the Metro Tech district — has reported 666 confirmed cases of COVID-19, as well as 41 deaths. Saugus is currently classified by the state as “yellow,” or moderate risk.
District officials have remained in close contact with local public health officials as they monitor the situation, according to a statement from the school.
“The data surrounding this pandemic is ever-changing and we have been closely monitoring the situation in Revere,” DiBarri said. “Unfortunately, we feel this is the best decision for our district at this time, and we’d like to thank our students, families, faculty, and staff for their cooperation and patience.”
The district will consider a slow transition to a hybrid learning model once Revere sees a decrease in virus counts.
Parents can visit the district’s website, northeastmetrotech.com, as well as its Twitter and Facebook pages for more information.
