Braintree High School Will Be Fully Remote Until At Least October

BRAINTREE, MA — There will be no in-person classes at Braintree High School until at least Oct. 13.

Superintendent Frank Hackett told the school committee the delay is so school officials can explore improving ventilation in the 48-year-old school building. All high school students will start the year fully remote on Sept. 16.

The ventilation at Braintree High School has been an important factor throughout the school committee's reopening discussions. Last month, school committee chair Tom Devin said buildings built in the '50s, '60s and even '70 didn't account for air condition in their designs, so ventilation is a crucial factor when try to less the spread of the coronavirus.

Hackett told the school committee that 30 percent of the high school's classrooms are interior rooms with no windows, which creates a problem for allowing in fresh air. The rooms also lack individual ventilation controls.

Two consultants were hired to survey the high school to find ways to increase the amount of fresh air circulating in the building.

Hybrid learning is still slated to begin for other grade levels. School officials announced they will use the alphabet to determine which days students have in-person classes.

When the school year begins Sept. 16, students with last names which begin A through L will attend in-person classes on Mondays and Tuesdays, while the rest of the students will go to school on Thursday and Friday mornings. Remote learning was set up for the other three days of the school week.