No Class Friday For Marblehead School Amid Coronavirus Concerns

MARBELEHEAD, MA—There will be no school Friday for students attending Marblehead Community Charter Public School following continued coronavirus concerns.

According to Peter Cohen, the school’s head, he will take part in a conference call Friday with the Department of Health, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education school leaders across the state to discuss the virus and a plan of action. Following the call, he says he will meet with faculty and staff to share details of the call.

“We will then spend the day Friday working on preparations for the potential of a more extended period of school cancellations,” he said in a statement to staff and parents.

Cohen said he and his staff are monitoring the situation closely and will update the community as the situation evolves.

To provide parents with up-to-date information, Cohen advises:

• Making sure the school has your most recent contact information (email, phone). If it has changed recently, contact the school via email (Katherine Koch: KKoch@marbleheadcharter.com) to update it.
• Checking your email and the MCCPS website (https://marbleheadcharter.org) daily for updates.
• Contacting the school regarding student absences.

Here are some additional important updates:

CANCELED EVENTS:

• Exhibition of student learning scheduled for the evening of Thursday, March 19 has been canceled. School officials planning for an alternative method for students to showcase their work.
• The 25th Anniversary Celebration Event scheduled for the evening of Saturday, April 4 has been canceled. School officials say they are planning an exciting online auction in April.
• The Destination Imagination competition that many of students were scheduled to participate in this weekend has been canceled.
• The Charter Cup basketball tournament has been canceled.

CHANGES IN PROCEDURES:

• If your child is experiencing any health-related symptoms, school officials warn parents to err on the side of caution and keep children home from school. These will be recorded as excused absences.
• Please notify the school if your child will be out and share the symptoms with the school, so that we may track this information.
• The school is requesting that parents limit their visits to school so that the school's learning environment is more contained in the short term to faculty, staff, and students.

KEEPING THE BUILDING CLEAN & HEALTHY:

• Staff/Faculty members have all been instructed to stay home if they have any flu-like symptoms. While they will utilize their allotted sick days, they will not be penalized for going over their number of days out during the month of March.
• The facilities department and cleaning crew have increased the frequency of sanitizing the school’s door handles, sink handles, toilets, tables and desktops.
• We have provided classrooms with hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes so that informal cleaning can take place throughout each day.
• We have urged students and staff to discontinue hugs, handshakes, and high-fives. While we are a tight-knit community, we will avoid these interactions.

HOPE FOR THE BEST, PLAN FOR THE WORST :

• On Friday, faculty will spend the day putting in place plans for learning should the school be mandated to close the school for an extended period of time.
• One component of a learning plan, if the school will be closed for an extended period of time, will include digital (distance) learning via a Google Classroom platform, school officials said. If you do not have access to a computer/laptop/tablet or wifi, school leaders say they will work with parents to access any lessons/activities students are asked to complete. You can let the school know if you do not have access by contacting Matt Cronin at mcronin@marbleheadcharter.com
• The school is currently assessing possible changes/cancellations to upcoming field trips including the 8th grade trip to Washington, DC, the 6th grade trip to Nature’s Classroom, and the 4th grade field trip to the Peabody Essex Museum. We will share decisions on these trips as soon as possible.