Delaying Falmouth's Grade 5 In-Person Learning Approved: Patch PM

MASSACHUSETTS — It's Wednesday, March 24. Here's what you should know this afternoon:

• Falmouth was one of 26 school districts to get a waiver delaying grade 5 students from a fully in-person return because of their inclusion in the middle school population.
• Barnstable Public Schools will go fully remote for at least Thursday and Friday because of a spike in coronavirus cases in both the schools and the community.
• Kim Janey was sworn in mayor of Boston on Wednesday afternoon, becoming the city's first Black mayor and first female mayor.
• Two people wielding pepper spray and a throwing star attacked and injured a juvenile in Marlborough.
• Another Massachusetts school committee voted to drop a Native American mascot for its high school's sports teams.

Scroll down for more on those and other stories Patch has been covering in Massachusetts today.

Today's Top Story

State education officials have approved a waiver request from the Falmouth Public Schools to push back the return to full in-person learning for grade 5, according to Superintendent Lori Duerr.

The district was one of 58 statewide to receive exemptions, Boston.com reported.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's timeline called for elementary schools to be in person five days a week by April 5. But in Falmouth, there are grade 5 students attending the Morse Pond School with middle school-aged students. By approving the waiver, those grade 5 students can begin full in-person learning on April 26, rather than April 5.

Read the full story.

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Wednesday's Other Top Stories

COVID-19 spike forces remote learning: Barnstable Public Schools will go fully remote for at least Thursday and Friday because of a spike in coronavirus cases in both the schools and the community. According to state data released last Thursday, Barnstable had the highest average daily rate of cases and the highest positive test rate in the state.

Cancerous Water?: A two-decade study found a link between Wilmington's 1990s water supply and a cluster of childhood cancer cases, the state said Wednesday. The state found a link between maternal, pre-natal exposure to carcinogens in the town's water and childhood cancers including leukemia and lymphoma during the 1990s.

Throwing star attack in "ongoing feud:" Two people wielding pepper spray and a throwing star attacked and injured a juvenile along the Assabet Rail Trail in Marlborough on Tuesday afternoon. According to police, the attack stemmed from an "ongoing feud." The two attackers were arrested and both charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

DNA links accused Waltham attacker to victim: The man police say is responsible for the 11 unprovoked attacks across Waltham last fall on unsuspecting men was arraigned Wednesday morning. During the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Dunigan said police found blood on boots in Clauvens Janvier's blue Saab. After having them tested against DNA swabs of the 11 victims, authorities said the DNA in the blood on the boots matched one of the victim's DNA.

Probe questions police conduct after protest arrest: An independent investigation into the arrest of a Black Lives Matter protester in Swampscott on Dec. 12 determined that while Swampscott police acted properly based on the immediate information they had at the time, some aspects of the post-arrest conduct and investigation were flawed. Police Chief Robert Madigan and town officials requested an independent investigation amid the conflicting reports of the incident and accusations the officers violated the civil rights of the man arrested.

Goodbye, Warrior: The school committee's 5-2 vote puts to rest — for the moment — a divisive issue that nearly ripped Wakefield in half. Some argued the logo was antiquated at best and racist and harmful at worst, while others contended the logo was a tradition-rich way to honor the town's past.

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They Said It

"To think that my teenage grandsons were born at a time when there had never even been a Black woman on our city council, and today my six-year-old granddaughter Rosie and other little girls can see themselves represented in Massachusetts' highest court, the halls of Congress, and now in the 55th mayor of Boston."

• Kim Janey, who was sworn in as mayor of Boston on Wednesday afternoon, becoming the city's first Black mayor and first female mayor.