LYNN — The Lynn Public Schools hosted a virtual town hall on Monday night, where fall reopening plans, including a full return to in-person learning, were discussed.
Superintendent of Schools Dr. Patrick Tutwiler said making sure youth in the city have a safe and fulfilling learning experience is extremely important.
“Our first priority is the health and safety for all students and staff,” he said. “Once again, in the upcoming year, we will need to be close partners for the benefit of the city’s youth who need and deserve a fulfilling educational experience.”
Throughout all of last year, Tutwiler said district leadership had to make decisions in a quick fashion, which laid the foundation for this year’s decisions and planning.
Tutwiler said housing stability, creating optimal learning conditions, having clear communication, attending to the physical and mental health of each staff member and student and providing support to those in need will continue to be priorities in the upcoming school year.
In-person learning is now a mandate, meaning that remote and hybrid learning — which comprised the majority of last year’s instruction in Lynn — are no longer permitted.
Tutwiler said students at all levels will be learning in person on a full-time basis; he plans to recommend a universal mask-wearing mandate indoors for all students and staff on Thursday during a special School Committee meeting. Mask wearing outdoors will be optional, he said.
The district is also implementing mitigation strategies, dubbed “The FIVES,” to ensure safety and efficient learning. These strategies include full-time, in person learning; universal indoor mask-wearing; and a focus on health and hygiene, cleaning and sanitizing and ventilation.
“In-person learning by itself is a mental-health strategy,” Tutwiler said. “We’re thrilled to proceed with in-person learning full-time this year.”
In terms of health and hygiene, the district asks that anyone who doesn’t feel well stays home, and that students and staff practice regular hand washing and sanitizing; the district said it will continue to offer rapid tests and to adhere to contact-tracing protocols after exposure.
Tutwiler said that if someone is exposed to a positive COVID-19 case and has no symptoms, that person can continue to attend school as long as they maintain a negative rapid test for seven days after exposure.
If a student does have to stay home and quarantine, Tutwiler said the district is currently working on a plan to ensure that the student remains active in their learning and does not miss important structural lessons.
Rooms where someone has tested positive will be deep cleaned and the entire school will be sanitized. The district has also taken steps to ensure that there will be ventilation and fresh air flowing throughout all public schools.
Many programs and activities that were available before the pandemic will be offered again this year, Tutwiler said, explaining that the district will be making an effort to distance students at three feet or more where possible, leveraging outdoor spaces and holding lunch outdoors when possible.
Tutwiler said the district’s transportation company is committed to full service during the day for special-needs students and all after-school programs; he added that masks are required on buses at all times.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee, who chairs the School Committee, said he believes requiring indoor mask wearing for all students and staff is the right thing to do at this time.
With the city seeing an uptick in cases every day, McGee said it is critical for the community to continue to work together and take the current surge seriously to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
“We must remain vigilant in limiting the transmission of COVID-19,” McGee said. “I strongly encourage businesses and their patrons to follow this lead and the CDC guidelines to wear masks inside.”
McGee cited data from Mass General Brigham, which show that all vaccines appear to be highly protective against serious illness and death; 90 percent of hospitalized patients nationwide are unvaccinated, he said.
“Vaccinations have been a key factor in us moving forward,” McGee said. “Despite what some may think, and that’s why we’re here tonight, COVID-19 has not been eradicated even if you have the vaccine … because of the more transmittable Delta variant.”
McGee said more than 4 million COVID-19 cases have been seen in children, with children now representing 14.2 percent of all COVID-19 cases.
McGee is asking everyone to do their part so the city can continue to offer in-person instruction and community events.
“The only way that we’re going to get through this is that we really do remain in this together,” McGee said.
Some of the city’s vaccination locations include City Hall on Tuesdays from 2 to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 9 to 11:30 a.m.; and Lynn Community Health Center, on 269 Union St., on Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If those times are inconvenient, appointments can be made by calling a vaccine call center at 781-595-7747.
Lynn Public Health Director Michele Desmarais said she supports Tutwiler’s decision to require masks in schools, particularly now that Lynn and other communities are experiencing a surge in cases driven by the highly-contagious Delta variant.
Desmarais said she encourages residents to wear masks and get vaccinated.