Barnstable Schools Going Fully Remote

BARNSTABLE, MA — Barnstable Public Schools will go fully remote until at least Dec. 11, Superintendent Meg Mayo Brown announced Wednesday.

Mayo-Brown said the decision to halt in-person classes was because of the town's recent spike in coronavirus cases. Barnstable has been designated as a high risk community in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's last two weekly updates.

From Nov. 13 to Nov. 27, Barnstable saw 288 new coronavirus cases with 7.81 percent of all tests coming back positive. The town also averaged 45.9 new daily cases per 100,000 residents.

"While being in the red category does not automatically require BPS to pivot to remote, it does warrant discussion as to how we can keep our schools as healthy and safe as possible when there is this type of community spread," Mayo-Brown said in a statement. "The rising case count, combined with the travel and gatherings that took place over break, gives us cause for concern."

Mayo-Brown said the plan is to resume in-person classes on Monday, Dec. 14.

"Our goal is to remain a school district that provides in-person learning to the greatest extent possible," Mayo-Brown said. "Our educators and staff want to be in-person with their students, safely. We believe our schools are safe places for all students and staff, given the adherence to the protocols we have created. There will be times during the school year, such as this, that despite our protocols the concern for what we see and know about the data outweighs our goal of in-person learning."

Mayo-brown encouraged students and their families to follow health and safety protocols out of school to limit the spread of the coronavirus and increase the likelihood in-person classes can continue throughout the year.