Burlington Schools Plan Full Elementary Return April 5, Or Sooner

BURLINGTON, MA — Burlington school officials are planning a full return for elementary students by April 5 at the latest, Superintendent Eric Conti said in a video message Friday.

Conti spoke after the state education chief was granted the authority to require in-person learning, with a goal of having younger kids in school full-time by April 5.

"We intend to comply by the deadline or sooner if possible," Conti said. "We will release those schedules as soon as possible."

District officials are working on new elementary schedules and plan to release them as soon as possible. They will also send out surveys on family preferences for in-person versus remote learning.

Initially, the district will not allow families to switch learning options and will not add additional riders to buses, while the logistics are worked out. The district will need more staff to keep running the remote academy because some teachers currently teach both in-person and remote students.

The district is also working on full-week, full-day schedules for older students, to be implemented sometime after April 5.

Conti closed the video by calling for teacher vaccinations and vaccine administration by local boards of health.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.