LYNN — Students at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute returned to in-person learning Monday for the first time since March 12. About 100 students have committed to coming back in person for half days, while others opted to continue partaking in remote studies.
Lynn Tech seniors are the second group of students to return to in-person learning. Certain high needs students in the school district, including some special education students and English language learners, started to return to their respective schools last Thursday, according to Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler.
Lynn Tech Principal Carissa Karakaedos said the students were so excited to be back in the building.
“The big thing is that it’s hard in the vocational trade to effectively and accurately assess students’ skills when they’re not here to show us,” said Karakaedos, noting that she is very grateful that her students have been given the opportunity to “go back to some structure and sense of normalcy.”
Lynn Tech has implemented several precautions to ensure the safety of students and teachers as it gradually brings them back.
Multiple doors are being used throughout the school’s two buildings to minimize the clusters of students staggering in and out. Most of the shops and classrooms have their own doors, so this allows for 10 to 20 students to pass through as opposed to 150 or so.
Students must sanitize their hands upon entry before visiting the “safety station.” The safety station provides extra masks, hand sanitizer, face shields, safety goggles, wipes and plastic bags for personal belongings to students in need.
Students stay in their vocational programming, unless they need to use the restroom, from 8 a.m. to noon, when they are dismissed through different doors at staggered times. The rest of the day is allotted for office hours and virtual meetings.
There is no food service but there is still a grab-and-go lunch option on site through the city lunch program.
Students are also given mask breaks outside, while practicing social distancing, for a few minutes each day.
Karakaedos said that students met with their senior teachers on Monday and “the first part of them coming in was just to be.
“A lot has happened since they were last in the building and we wanted them to reanimate themselves to shop and the surroundings and safety,” she said.
Allowing for senior students to return to the building was a decision granted based on the predetermined small strategic environments that ensured everyone’s safety.
This was possible given that the senior class was split into two cohorts with no more than nine students in each classroom. Cohort A attends in-person learning on Mondays and Tuesdays, while Cohort B is in the building on Thursdays and Fridays. Wednesdays are remote for everyone.
The cohorts were designed by the students and their teachers, factoring in personal situations such as carpooling.
“One of the unsolicited effects of this is that they (the senior students) were so appreciative and thankful to get back into the building,” Karakaedos said. “There is a lot of anticipation that comes with coming back, asking students how it feels and telling them to take a deep breath is part of the welcome back.”
For students that chose not to return to the building, all teachers were given webcams so that remote students can follow along with the in-person learning on their laptops, given to them by the school.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected]
