Back-To-School Plans Take Shape: Patch Week In Review

Happy Friday. Here's our recap of the top stories Patch covered on the North Shore this week:

It hasn't been a fun summer for superintendents and school committees across Massachusetts, as they try to develop school reopening plans that balance safety from the coronavirus, meeting learning outcomes and addressing parent concerns ranging from childcare to remote learning requirements.

The obstacles have also included fuzzy guidance from state and federal regulators, pressure from teachers' unions and parents' all-too-fresh memories of the abrupt school shutdown in March, when they had to juggle working from home with making sure their kids were logging in for remote lessons. There's also the tens f thousands of dollars they will need to spend on personal protective, cleaning and HVAC equipment.

With Monday's deadline for school districts to decide how they will reopen schools this fall, most area school board were meeting this week to finalize those plans. No North Shore school district is planning a full reopening of schools, but several have adopted hybrid models where at least some kids will attend school in person part of the time.

Here's where reopening plans currently stand in nearby towns:

Other Top Stories This Week

Salem Preps For Significantly Scaled-Back Halloween Season

The city offered its first guidance Tuesday on Haunted Happenings, Salem's month-long Halloween celebration that underpins the local tourism economy, saying it would scaled down with several events already canceled.

"Many people inside and outside of Salem will be disappointed that their favorite, fun and festive October activities cannot take place this year," Mayor Kim Driscoll said in a statement. "However, as a community we are committed to doing our part to help protect residents, visitors, and staff and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Salem."

Related story: Beverly Cancels Holiday Parade

North Shore Coronavirus Case Counts Head In Wrong Direction

Of the six North Shore communities analyzed by Patch, Beverly was the only place where both the active case rate and the positive test rate declined. The other five were among the more than 100 Massachusetts municipalities that saw increases over the past week.

No Foul Play Suspected In Drowning Death Of Danvers 4-Year-Old

Investigators do not suspect foul play in Sunday's drowning death of a 4-year-old Danvers girl, according to the Essex County District Attorney's Office.

The girl, whose name is not being released because she is a child, was reported missing at 12:16 p.m. Sunday after she wandered off from an apartment complex on River Drive in Danvers. She was found unresponsive at the Crane River after a search.

More crime news:

• SJC Sends Peabody Drug Surveillance Case Back To Lower Court
• Danvers Man Sentenced After Guilty Plea In Child Porn Case
• Peabody Police Arrest Man Who Left Child In Car After Hit-And-Run
• Saugus Man Charged In Four-Car Crash On Route 1

Election Season Heats Up

Seth Moulton's two challengers in next month's Democratic primary used debates on Sunday and Wednesday to attack the three-term U.S. Representative's record and his attempts to oust Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

"The women in this district did not feel represented," Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, of Topsfield, said of Moulton's 2018 bid to replace Pelosi during Wednesday's debate. "It was a white man calling out a woman who had put her blood, sweat and tears to get to the place where she was at."

Wednesday's debate was the second of four schedule debates and came on the heels of Sunday's debate in Nahant.

Dave Copeland covers the North Shore for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).