Brookline Students To Return To Fully In-Person School In March

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline is edging closer to reopening schools for full, in-person learning for most students. The district released a proposal Thursday that would have elementary grades return to in-person schooling five days a week by the end of March.

"We hear it all the way from President Biden to Gov. Baker and the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeff Riley, indicating we need to get kids back in schools," Interim Superintendent Jim Marini told the school committee during its regular meeting Thursday night.

A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Feb 23, to give families, staff and the community a chance to weigh in on the proposal.

"We don’t have all the details worked out in the proposal, and that will help us guide around in some of those details," School Committee Chair Suzanne Federspiel said in a phone interview. "The goal both for teachers and staff and the school committee is to get as many students in school for as much time as possible. We want to do that, as quickly and as safely as we can."

Marini pointed to a seven-page document authored by a panel of local medical experts for the district that outlined evidence of scientific consensus in support of reducing 6-foot distancing parameters. The science indicated that because of other mitigation measures in place in schools, desks could be less than 6 feet apart. That would give more space and allow students to return to school together rather than in cohorts.

Reducing the space between desks and distancing in schools triggers a memorandum of agreement that the district came to with the teachers union late last year. The agreement promised that the district would come up with a proposal, hold a public hearing and work with the teachers union before moving forward with such an action.

Marini told the school committee Feb. 18 that the district has already been working with the teachers union in preparing the plans to reopen. He also said upgrading ventilation issues in each building has been one of the biggest steps in preparing the district to get ready for the next step.

According to the proposal, first grade classes will return to schools first, beginning March 1. Students in second through fifth grade will return on March 29. Because sixth grade through high school classes are much larger than the younger grades, those will stay in the current hybrid model for now.

As the district is working on getting students in the younger grades back in school, the high school has been working on its own plan to return students, keeping the 6 feet distancing. High school officials said they have the room for the upper grades.

"We have capacity and the ability to methodically increase the number of students learning in person and that can begin this week into next week as we examine the requests and look at schedules and look at capacity we have space especially 10th through 12th grade. and we would like more students to be in person," Brookline High School head Anthony Meyer said. "If anything, we have been quite cautious in the midst of the surge and around the holidays. Now is the time to expand in-person learning at the high school."

The trick is that many families have opted to have their children fully remote.

So, since December, the high school has been slowly returning more students to in-person instruction four days per week. The high school has reached out to students who need more support and would benefit from more in-person instruction and interaction first.

On Feb. 22, the high school will turn to other students in 10-12 grade to ask if they are interested in return to school in person as space is available. The high school is planning to keep the 6-foot distance between desks, according to Anthony Meyer, the head of the school.

"It's a dynamic process, and it's time-consuming, but we think if we have space and can offer it, why not offer it sooner rather than later," he said.

The Old Lincoln campus, where students in ninth grade learn, is much smaller with only room enough for about 12 students per class, he said.

Meyer said the high school was budgeting and planning for a full return to in-person school next school year.

"The extended period of hybrid instruction, with reduced in-person school interactions, has had a profound impact on our students. In addition, we know our students of color, those on IEPs, English Learners, and students from lower income families have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic," said Marini.

From the district:

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.