Melrose Schools Will Look To COVID-19 Map For Learning Plans

MELROSE, MA — The School Committee and teachers' union signed an agreement that will have teachers back in class for a hybrid learning model by mid-October, pending public health circumstances.

The School Committee and Melrose Education Association last week signed a Memorandum of Agreement following extended negotiations that played a large part in delaying the classroom return of most students for at least a month. The two sides reached a tentative agreement at the end of August.

School will still start this week. Most students will be remote-only until at least Oct. 16 — those in the hybrid learning model will return to class the following Monday, Oct. 19. For that to happen, the city must be shaded white, green or yellow in the state's coronavirus map for the time period of Oct. 5 through Oct. 16.

For the district to be allowed to go back to full in-person learning, the city must be white or green for at least 14 days. Theoretically, maintaining the status quo would permit the district to be back fully in person by early November, but for now the two sides aren't believed to be aiming for that date.

The district will consider reverting to full remote learning if the city's positive test rate increases past 2 percent — Melrose's positive test rate was at .33 percent as of last Wednesday. Before making the decision, Superintendent Julie Kukenberger and the city's Department of Public Health will weigh other health metrics such as the recent case count and average daily incidence rate per 100,000 people.

If the district does move to full remote learning, it will decide whether students who cannot engage with the model will continue in-person learning.

The two sides acknowledged that not all issues would be solved in Friday's agreement, so a bargaining committee will continue to meet.

The state's coronavirus map is updated every week. A green designation means fewer than four confirmed coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents over a two-week span, while white means fewer than five overall confirmed coronavirus cases over the same time period.

Related

• With Teachers Hesitant To Return, Melrose Schools Starting Remote
• More Melrose Students Can Begin School In-Person In September