In Plymouth, over seven thousand students attend school only two days a week, under a hybrid plan, but that policy could change in April with a return to full time classes:
Bobbi Clark has more:
School Superintendent Chris Campbell says the ability to bring all students back for a full return depends on four conditions:
“The first being vaccination distribution to our educators. The second one is the test positivity rate in our community. The third has to do with transportation. This year transportation has been significantly challenging as we’ve had to revise our practices to only have one third of our buses occupied by students for social distancing purposes.”
The fourth requirement is the use of outdoor space…
“…April being warmer, utilizing outdoor space as much as possible, like we did in the fall.”
Students have been in school only two days a week since September, and the effect on their emotional well-being is an important factor in the return to full time learning:
“We know that mental health issues are up across the country but even here locally, anxiety and depression, the feelings of isolation. We’re getting as creative as we possibly can to support people socially and emotionally, through these times, even with this modified schedule, but certainly, the more connection we have with our students, we know when we have our eyes on kids, better things happen.”
School officials will continue to discuss the matter in the coming weeks.
