Salem Hopes High School Students Can Return In February

SALEM, MA — Salem Public Schools are hoping to bring back the majority of those students who would like to take part in in-classroom learning in grades kindergarten through eighth grade on Jan. 11.

High school students will be invited back at the start of the next semester on Feb. 4 as part of a plan presented to the Salem School Committee this week.

Salem Superintendent of Schools Stephen Zrike said this week the district will stay fully remote learning for all students in the week between winter break and Jan. 11 in hopes that all staff, and as many students set to return to in-person learning the next week as possible, get a test for coronavirus.

"Testing is not mandatory," Zrike said in a weekly video conference with families. "But we're really strongly encouraging people to take advantage of our testing."

Zrike said the testing will be through the school's own testing procedure and not through the "Stop the Spread" testing sites at the high school and Old Town Hall.

He said the decision to hold all students out of school the week of Jan. 4 is to account for any holiday impact on local coronavirus cases.

"We think it's a right decision to make after we saw the rise in cases after the Thanksgiving holiday," Zrike said. "Mitigate some of the potential spread that could occur following the holiday season for many folks."

While Salem was designated as a "high risk" city for community spread in this week's state report for the first time since state metrics for considering a community “high risk” were changed last month, Zrike said guidance still suggests virus spread within schools is relatively low.

He said he will continue to meet with an advisory team of health officials every other week to talk about health data.

The district did announce on Thursday the start of the winter sports season — which was to begin with tryouts on Monday — will be delayed until January so additional safety protocols can be developed for the indoor season that includes basketball, gymnastics and swimming.

Zrike is requesting that all families indicate whether they prefer hybrid or fully remote learning to the district by Monday.

"I am not sure everyone understands how involved it is for our planning and staff to bring more kids back to school," Zrike said. "We want to make sure it's done well and it's organized."

Salem previously returned kindergarten through second grade, some sixth graders, ninth graders, high school students in career and technical programs and specialty learning students this fall.

"We will still have a remote option," Zrike said. "That's a perfectly viable option for families. But we really do need to know a decision as soon as possible."

Zrike also reminded families that all students involved in in-person learning must have a flu vaccine shot by Dec. 31, per state guidelines, and must give proof of that information to the school nurse.

While the state also stipulates that fully remote students should have their flu shots as of Dec. 31, Zrike said the district is focusing primarily on students who will be returning to buildings for vaccine confirmation for now.

More Patch Coverage: No Salem High School Winter Sports Until 2021

Salem Enters State's 'High Risk' Category For Coronavirus Spread