Salem Superintendent Recommends Age-Based School Reopening Plan

SALEM, MA — Salem Public Schools superintendent Stephen Zrike recommended the School Committee approve a reopening plan that would have older students completing school work remotely, while younger students would attend school in-person at the start of the school year.

"Districts all across the country are facing this dilemma," Zrike said. "There’s no choice I can feel great about, but I have to make the recommendation I feel is best for this city."

The School Committee will take a vote when it meets Monday night. Under Zrike’s proposal, students in grades 4-12 would mostly attend school remotely, with in-person labs for at-risk students and students who struggled when schools went fully remote in March. There would also be in-person, “connecting activities” held outdoors and open to all students.

"Social isolation remains a problem," Zrike said. "In my conversation with students, the biggest concern is that they want to be around their friends."

Younger students would have the option of attending classes remotely and receiving instruction from a Salem Public Schools teacher. Zrike said the decision to have younger students attend school in-person was driven by the difficulty in teaching students to learn how to read remotely, child care issues and evidence that younger children are less likely to spread the coronavirus.

Unlike the spring, remote learning will be more regimented under Zrike's plans, with a schedule more like a full school day. Attendance will be taken and students will be graded on their work. Administrators and teachers are developing curriculum plans, which will blend teacher instruction and small group work.

Zrike said the thinking on which plan to adopt shifted over the course of the past week as he received more input from different stakeholders. Parents and students placed an emphasis on equity and also raised concerns for the hybrid model, which combines in-person and remote learning.

"There’s not a strong appetite" for the hybrid model, he said, noting that it would create child care problems for many families. "More recently we’ve heard a lot of concern about the hybrid model."

The recommendation comes on the same day the union that represents Salem teachers sent a letter to the School Committee warning "there is no safe way to reopen Salem's school buildings at the beginning of the scheduled school year." During his presentation Thursday night, Zrike did address some issues in the letter, including worries about HVAC systems in school buildings.

Monday is the last day school districts can submit their plans to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. DESE in June charged school systems with developing three possible reopening plans: one that would involve full-time, in-person learning; one that would involve full-time, remote learning; and a third, hybrid model combining remote and in-person learning.

Dave Copeland covers Salem and other North Shore communities 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).