A Salem 'First Day Of School' Like No Other In History

SALEM, MA — With the knowledge there is no substitute for in-person learning, yet there are no perfect answers when it has come to navigating the unprecedented challenges of the coronavirus health crisis, Salem Superintendent of Schools Stephen Zrike is looking forward to Monday's reopening of buildings to select grades like it is the "first day of school" all over again.

"What a roller coaster ride we've been on," Zrike said in an interview with Patch Friday afternoon. "We are really excited about Monday. There has been a lot of discussion leading up to this."

Eight months after students last walked out of school buildings into the vast uncertainty of the pending pandemic, and two months after the school year started fully remotely for most Salem students, those in grades pre-kindergarten through second grade, sixth grade, ninth grade and some vocational students will return to a hybrid model Monday morning.

"We're thrilled," he said. "This is something I proposed and hoped to do back in August when I talked about the return to school. It is like a second first day of school even though it's November.

"There is also a lot of anxiety and apprehension from our staff and our parents. We are trying to balance that while realizing we are living through something nobody has ever experienced before."

While acknowledging that Salem is bringing students back amid a sharp surge of coronavirus cases in the region, Zrike said the city's experience with limited students in schools over the past two months has not shown outbreaks tied to formal learning.

"I think it's been very carefully thought out," the first-year superintendent said of the district's plan. "I want to commend our staff and give them credit for their flexibility. We've had to change some classes with the return to school and have had to have some staff move to different grade levels to accommodate in-person learning.

"I will say I've never experienced the type of flexibility and nimbleness that I've seen from our educators during this."

Zrike said he will submit a plan to the Salem School Committee on Monday to bring back additional grades to in-classroom learning.

"I am hoping it's sooner than later," he said. "It's heart-wrenching. Not everybody, but the majority of families want to be back in school. It's heart-wrenching to tell people that we want you back, but we are not ready yet.

"You can see kids thriving off their connection to school, their connection to teachers. And a lot of students are tired of the isolation (of remote learning)."

Zrike allowed that questions arise on either side at every step of the process. While he receives feedback from many parents wanting to know why more grades aren't coming back right away, others wonder if this is the time any grades should be coming back given coronavirus rates are the highest they have been since the end of the spring.

"I can see everybody's side," he said. "This is a hard one because people have such strong emotions around that. A lot of times when you make a decision you know it's the right thing to do even if people criticize it. But this is challenging to know what the right thing to do is. You have to go with the guidance."

Zrike said he is thankful to the teachers’ union for their cooperation amid changing schedules and metrics that determine if schools should be allowed in-person or switch to fully remote.

"We've worked closely with them," he said. "It's not an easy thing. We continue to be in dialogue with them. It's trying to balance the needs of our staff and the needs of our students. We do have staff with significant health conditions both for themselves and family members in their homes and we have to be understanding of that."

Zrike said one big request to parents and guardians of students returning to the classrooms on Monday is to keep children home who are showing any signs of illness. The schools will pass out laminated "checklist" cards to each student on Monday of symptoms families should check for each day.

"We had a big push around chronic absenteeism in recent years where we were pushing parents to send children to school if maybe it was just a little cold," he allowed. "Now it's the opposite of that."

The district has also posted videos on its Facebook page letting parents and students know what to expect when they walk through the doors on Monday.

While Zrike said the district will keep a close look on the data to determine how to proceed with in-classroom learning, he is hoping to provide that experience for as many students whose families want it as possible as quickly as possible.

"We think there is no substitute to in-person learning," he said. "We will continue to serve remote students to best of our abilities, but we are excited to have the children who are returning interact with their teachers in person.

"Even though it's November, and not September, we are going to make this special. We are going to make sure to make the most of every moment we have with our students because our children have lost so much."

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