LYNN — The majority of Lynn Public Schools students will continue to learn remotely until mid-April.
The Lynn School Committee approved the request from Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler Thursday night, which keeps most students learning from home for the third quarter that extends from February 8 to April 9.
Under Tutwiler’s third quarter proposal, certain groups of students that have the most difficulty with distance learning, such as high needs special education students, some English language learners, and pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students will be eligible to return for in-person instruction beginning March 1.
The School Committee also approved a separate, but related request from Tutwiler, which will allow Lynn Vocational Technical Institute seniors to begin to return for in-person instruction on February 8, Tutwiler said.
While Tutwiler noted the “noteworthy decrease” in Lynn’s positive test and daily incidence rates in this week’s update from the state Department of Public Health (DPH), he said the district is not at a point to bring students back for in-person learning, “given the context of the high percentage of positive cases in the city.”
“The decision that the vast majority of students remain in distance learning was incredibly difficult,” said Tutwiler. “Our community remains dangerously in the category of high risk for COVID-19 transmission. Therefore, right now, we still remain in a distance learning system for most students. A shift to a hybrid, in-person schedule for all students right now presents serious safety concerns for students and staff.”
The DPH reported Thursday that the city’s positive test rate is 10.7 percent, which is nearly twice the state average, and its daily incidence rate is 92.4 new cases per 100,000 residents. Lynn is still considered a red, or high-risk community for COVID-19 spread.
Tutwiler said the district will continue to plan on a quarter-by-quarter basis, in terms of how instruction will be conducted during the pandemic. The first groups of students eligible for an early return to in-person instruction will begin to report to their classes on February 1, as part of Tutwiler’s previous second quarter proposal.
Approximately half of the 230 special education students who were targeted for an early return on that date have chosen to return for in-person instruction. The remainder will continue with remote learning. Seventy-five students with limited or interrupted formal education (SLIFE), or English language learners, will also be learning in-person beginning next week, Tutwiler said.
Additional groups of high needs students will begin to return for in-person instruction on March 1. Approximately 370 students — those who have an intellectual disability, are developmentally delayed, are part of the Life Skills program, or are enrolled in integrated pre-kindergarten — will return on that date.
On March 15, all kindergarten students will begin to return on an a.m./p.m. schedule, which Tutwiler noted should not be a difficult transition as kindergarteners are already learning on that schedule remotely. The skill of reading is exceptionally difficult to learn remotely, he noted.
“The groups of students invited to begin in-person instruction on March 1 are those whose needs we struggle most to meet in the distance learning format,” said Tutwiler. “The selection of these groups is not intended to suggest that these are the only students for whom distance learning is difficult. Students invited to instruction (in)-person are those whose learning and growth needs simply cannot be met with distance learning.”
In addition, the district plans to bring back Lynn Tech students on a hybrid schedule beginning the week of February 8. The approximately 210 students who make up Tech’s senior class will be split into two groups, with half learning on-site from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays, and the other half on-site for that four-hour span on Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesday will be a remote day for everyone, Tutwiler said.
“Students learning in-person would have the opportunity to be assessed, as well as recapture the experience of working on machines, while students learning remotely would have the opportunity to observe and participate from home,” said Tutwiler.
Lynn Tech seniors will be learning on-site on a bi-weekly basis, as a hybrid week in their respective workshops will be followed by a remote week of core content instruction, said Tutwiler, noting that no more than nine students will be in a shop at any given time.
“We do recognize that students apply to Lynn Tech for a reason: to be a craftsperson in their trade,” said Tech Principal Carissa Karakaedos. “The point of this is to try to establish where they are, address that loss of learning, (and) make sure they’re safety assessed for all of the tools and machines they will be using in the field. (We) need to refresh them for the trades they will be doing when they leave us.”
In preparation for in-person learning, Tutwiler said the school district will begin to offer rapid COVID-19 testing for students and staff next week, and will be participating in the state-funded weekly pooled testing program later in the month, with February 22 targeted for a start date.
In April, district administration will begin to consider whether to bring back additional students for in-person instruction, Tutwiler said.
