Medford Testing Teachers For Free Before Return To Class

MEDFORD, MA — The Medford Public Schools will provide free coronavirus testing to teachers and staff before they return to class for in-person teaching, Superintendent Marice Edouard-Vincent said. In her weekly update Friday, Edouard-Vincent said teachers and staff will complete testing during the week before they are scheduled to return to school. Testing is being done through a partnership with Tufts University and Armstrong Ambulance.

High needs students returned to in-person learning Monday. Their teachers were tested at the McGlynn School Thursday.

District officials conducted walkthroughs of each Medford school last week as high needs students prepared to return. Edouard-Vincent said the MPS is also imposing a heightened standard of air quality in all school buildings, and classrooms that do not meet or exceed those standards will not be used.

As HVAC repairs and improvements are implemented, some learning spaces will be temporarily closed. This will be manageable under the phased-in hybrid learning plan, Edouard-Vincent said.

School buildings have been outfitted with "ample" hand sanitizer stations and signs promoting health and safety guidelines, Edouard-Vincent said.

"We are prepared to implement daily routines for our students that will provide for their safety, as well as, that of the school community," she continued.

The Medford Public Schools plans to phase in hybrid learning in early October. Kindergarten students are expected to start hybrid learning the week of Oct. 5, followed by first grade, second grade, sixth grade and 12th grade the week of Oct. 13, and grades 7, 8 and 9 the week of Oct. 19. Tenth and 11th grade will not return until November.