Braintree Considers Expansion To Elementary In-Person Learning

BRAINTREE, MA — School officials are considering two options to expand the amount of in-person learning offered at Braintree elementary schools.

Assistant Superintendent James Lee presented the options at Thursday's Policy and Education Subcommittee meeting, one of which involved creating full days of school and the other adding two more half days to students' schedules.

The first option would have each cohort attend school in-person from 8:35 a.m. to 2:20 p.m., on their regularly scheduled in-person day. Lee said this would switch science and social studies classes to in-person, and students would no longer be combined with full remote students for these classes.

Lunches would switch from the grab-and-go program at the end of the day to indoor lunches with 6 feet of social distancing.

Lee said the advantages of this model include more in-person learning, more continuity in instruction and eliminating mid-day transitions for students and families. As for disadvantages, Lee said there would be a loss of synchronous learning with the whole class, a longer adherence for students to wear masks and a potential increased risk of coronavirus exposure during lunches.

The second option would have students attend in-person classes for four half days each week. On Mondays and Tuesdays, Cohort A would attend class from 8:35 a.m. to 11:05 a.m., while Cohort B would attend from 12:25 p.m. to 2:55 p.m. The cohorts would rotate their schedules for Thursdays and Fridays.

There would be a sanitation period between the cohorts' sessions, and the grab-and-go lunch program would stay the same. But Lee said this plan would require changes to the bus schedule.

Lee said benefits of this option include frequent and consistent teacher contact, learning momentum building from one day to the next and asynchronous work being more tied to in-person instruction.

He said this plan also reduces students' reliance on parents for remote learning and offers less screen time for students.

Disadvantages mentioned included shorter in-person days, student and classroom schedules being adjusted and disinfecting protocols having to be revised.

"Both are good, Superintendent Frank Hackett said. "Both work us closer to the goal of full in-person learning, but they're just different and it depends on how people think about the advantages and disadvantages."

Following the presentation, teachers and school officials discussed the options and said both have their benefits. But most favored the second option.

District math director Courtney Miller said half days being shorter in option B does present some challenges, but she likes the idea of being able to build on lessons from one day to the next in the four half-day option.

"I know we can make both of them happen," Miller said. "But having the students with more continuity would be really helpful."

"When our students are in front of us, we have more opportunities to assess performance and give feedback," teacher Michelle Gaffney added. "If we were to shift to option A, I wouldn’t see Cohort A on Thursday and Friday because I’d be with other cohort."

Jennifer Ormsby, the PTO president for Hollis Elementary School, said the full-day option has the advantage of kids not having to go home for online learning after class, and it avoids the challenge of cleaning in the middle of the cohorts' sessions.

But as a nurse, Ormsby said she was worried about the potential spread of COVID-19 from having lunches at the school. The plan would require 6 feet of social distance, but given that these are kids, she's concerned this will be hard to enforce during lunch.

"I just get worried personally with a bunch of kids in an indoor space taking off their mask even with 6 feet of distance," Ormsby said.

The two plans are expected to be discussed during Monday night's school committee meeting. The meeting will livestream on Youtube at 6:30 p.m.