Beverly Parents Express Concern Over Hybrid-Learning Timetable

BEVERLY, MA — When the Beverly School Committee voted last week to have students in grades 7 through 12 begin the school year in a hybrid-learning model by the end of the month, instead of a fully remote-transition-to-hybrid model over the course of the fall, it was presented as a positive development given the lowering or steady rates of coronavirus in the city.

But not all parents of junior high school-age and high school students are celebrating what they feel is a step too soon without their full consent.

Parents were given the option of having their students participate in remote learning or the transition-to-hybrid model in early August, but parent Jennifer Donnelly said the impression she was given was that transition would be slow, and that not all those who chose the hybrid model are prepared to have their older students back in school buildings within two weeks.

"Their vote last week caught many, regardless of how they feel on the school topic, by surprise," Donnelly told Patch.

Donnelly started a petition to the Beverly School Committee title "Make Return To In-School Instruction Optional" that had 142 signatures as of Tuesday morning.

"We do not agree with the recent vote by the Beverly School Committee to move to a hybrid model for grades 7-12 by September 29th," Donnelly wrote in the petition, which she told Patch that she and her husband are circulating. "Comments made by school administrators in the most recent school committee meeting were that families at this time are unable to select the (remote) option for their children.

"We are asking for your support to allow students in grades 7-12 to participate in their scheduled (Beverly Middle School) and (Beverly High School) classes remotely on in-person hybrid days for those who at this time are not comfortable with a return to the classroom so soon."

Donnelly said the compromise would allow those students who want to be in person right away to remain in the hybrid model, while others who do not feel safe at this time to receive the same coursework as their peers.

"These students could then seamlessly rejoin in-person instruction at a time when they feel comfortable or when it is proven to be safe for all children to return full-time," the petition states. "We feel given the unprecedented times we are experiencing, and all that is yet to be learned about the long-term health impacts of COVID-19, it is unfair to force any child to return to the classroom when they may not be ready."

The Beverly Teachers Association also expressed concerned about the accelerated return to school for students in grades 7 through 12 — among other contractual issues — and planned a stand out in support of school staff Tuesday afternoon.

"Due to the multitude of unresolved issues on the reopening of schools and our expired contracts, Beverly educators are making our voices heard," the Beverly Teachers Association posted on social media. "We have been working for two weeks without a contract, in a pandemic. In addition, to numerous concerns about safe schools, ventilation, understaffing, and everything else related to COVID, we are also concerned about the move to bring grades 7-12 back into these buildings."

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