Salem Public Schools Expects To Meet Full In-Classroom Directive

SALEM, MA — Salem Public Schools plans to meet the state's directive to open all elementary schools by April 5 — and middle schools by April 28 — even as plans of exactly how to do that are still being developed.

Superintendent of Schools Stephen Zrike said a final plan to return to full in-classroom learning five days per week for the first time in a year since the onset of the coronavirus health crisis will be announced at Monday's school committee meeting.

"This is exciting," Zrike said during his weekly Facebook Live session. "It's exciting to be able to offer more to the students and the families that want more. We have many teachers, while they have a lot of anxieties and concerns and questions, they also want more for their students as well. So I want to make sure we remain optimistic.

"I don't feel at all overwhelmed. It's a lot of information. But this is the right thing to do to be engaged in this planning."

Zrike said the message from the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education is a "clear directive" that essentially ends the district's hybrid learning model. Students in fully remote learning will be able to stay in that program through the end of the 2020-21 school year.

"Is your plan done right now?" Zrike said. "No, it's not done right now.

"We think we can meet the expectations set by the state, but the details will be shared on Monday. We are literally building the plan right now."

Zrike said that while he welcomes that educators are eligible for vaccination appointments through the state as of Thursday, he regrets that teachers were not prioritized before the return-to-full-classroom mandate.

He said transportation can support a normal school day — the length of the day pre-pandemic — and that the school day will be roughly the same length as a traditional school day.

Students will be required to stay in school throughout the day.

Many of the classrooms will be able to maintain 6 feet of social distancing while learning, Zrike said. While state guidelines allow easing to 3 feet of distancing while learning, 6 feet of distancing is required while unmasked for lunch, with Zrike saying that outdoor tents will be used this spring to accommodate that.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)

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