Watertown Schools Shift To Hybrid Classes After Possible Audit

WATERTOWN, MA — Some Watertown schools will transition to hybrid learning next week after the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced an audit into the district to take a closer look at its timeline for reopening.

Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston told parents about the transition on Thursday. In a letter to parents, Galdston said elementary students would transition to hybrid learning starting Tuesday.

"Our teachers and staff are working tirelessly to provide students with appropriate and engaging learning opportunities, remotely for the majority of our students, with our 330 students in specialized programs coming into schools for support services and learning, supported by over 180 teaches and staff members," Galdston wrote.

Education Commissioner Jeff Riley planned an audit for Watertown schools after the district remained in remote classes, despite the town's low COVID-19 transmission levels.

Watertown is considered a "moderate risk" or "yellow" community according to the state. In the last two weeks, 23 new COVID-19 cases were reported, bringing the town's total to 485 cases. Watertown's average daily incidence rate is 5 cases per every 100,000 residents in the last two weeks.

The state uses a color-coded metric system based on average daily COVID-19 incidence rates over a two-week period.

Red is for communities with an average daily case rate of more than eight per 100,000 residents, yellow is between four and eight, and green for less than four. Cities and towns with fewer than five cases in the two-week period, regardless of the rate, are in the "gray" or "unshaded" category.

The district is prepping to bring students back and Galdston told parents that when the district welcomed students back into the classroom with high needs, they learned about students' adaptability as well as teachers.

"Our teachers, staff, and administrators have been preparing for this day by setting up classrooms; labeling entrances, exits, and hallways; measuring distance among the desks; procuring PPE; and generally getting ready for teaching in a fundamentally different way," Galdston said.