Revised Melrose School Return Plan Addresses Several Concerns

MELROSE, MA — The district's revised return to instruction plan addressed several key concerns while keeping the core structure of hybrid and remote learning options intact.

Among the notable changes are longer school days, a more robust remote learning plan and the option for families to reconsider their learning model after school year begins.

The revised draft will be publicly presented at Tuesday night's School Committee meeting, and will be preceded by public comment. The district will submit their comprehensive return plans to the state and share the finalized draft with the school community Friday.

"As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt our daily lives, our community, and our society, we are committed to creating learning model options and choices so that families may make decisions based on their own unique needs and context," Superintendent Julie Kukenberger said in the plan.

See the full revised return to instruction plan here

The changes came after more than 2,000 school community members and nearly 300 employees provided feedback on the initial draft, and after the district took an unofficial survey of how many families were leaning toward different learning models. An official form will be sent out at the end of the week.

Despite some changes, the district will not be transitioning to a fully remote model, something some parents and the Melrose Education Association have been advocating for.

Instead, the revised draft features a remote learning model offering primarily synchronous teaching, allaying fears of students spending an entire school year learning from home independently. The remote model is being dubbed the Melrose Distance Learning Academy.

The hybrid learning model (one week in class, one week at home) will still be mostly asynchronous learning during the home weeks.

Families still have to commit to a hybrid or remote option, but no longer for the entire school year. Students from kindergarten to grade 8 can request a change after the first trimester, which will be 57 days from the start of school. High school students can request a change after the first semester, which is 85 days from the start of school.

Changes are not guaranteed, however, and requests will be granted based on staffing and space — something that would likely impact students moving from remote to hybrid more than the other way around.

In-class school days will now have a lunch break and later dismissal times. Students in K-5 will have a staggered dismissal between 1-1:20, while students in 6-12 will have have a staggered dismissal between 1:45-2.

Families of preschool students will have the option to choose a five-day, full-day tuition-based program at the Franklin. Class sizes are being reduced from 18 to 10 and the day will be from 8:30 - 1:40. If enrollment numbers are too high, a lottery will determine eligibility. Families will need to commit for the full year.

Students in K-6 and incoming freshmen will be reintroduced to the classroom and their teachers starting Sept. 16. All other students will do so virtually during that time.

The hybrid learning schedule will fully begin Sept. 21, with an emphasis on continuing to build connections and establishing a learning routine. For the students who return to the buildings, it will have been six months since they abruptly were shut out due to the pandemic.