Melrose Schools Are On Track In Reopening Process

MELROSE, MA — Superintendent Julie Kukenberger says it maybe 20 times a day.

Wear a mask, wash your hands, keep 6 feet or more of physical distance and stay home if you're feeling sick. That's what gotten Melrose to this point in the school reopening, and it's what will get more kids back in class the soonest.

It's been nearly three weeks since students started filtering back into school buildings. On Sept. 16, it was some 90 high-needs students. The next day it was kindergarten and first-graders using the hybrid model. And In a couple more weeks, the hope is they'll be joined by the rest of the students in the hybrid model.

"We ask parents to remain patient in the process," Kukenberger told Patch Sunday night. "We believe deeply in the 'go slow to go far' mantra."

So far, slow and steady has done the job.

Melrose Public Schools reported no cases for in-person or hybrid students or staff in the state's first weekly coronavirus report for Massachusetts school districts, ranging from Sept. 24-30. That's particularly encouraging since the city's coronavirus-risk ranking elevated from green to yellow.

It's a testament to the care and dedication families, students, staff and city workers have put into making this work, Kukenberger said. Everyone from the administrators to "the littles" — the youngest children who are keeping their masks on — got a shout out from the superintendent.

It's not a miracle, Kukenberger said. There's been far too much effort for it to be written off as luck.

"I think miracles sort of happen, where this is really strategic and intentional," she said, citing the partnership with the Department of Public Works, the IT department, instructional coaches, nurses and the Health Department.

That doesn't mean there won't be COVID-19 cases. "Let's just wrap our heads around that now," Kukenberger said.

But when they do occur, she thinks the district is set up in a way where close contacts should be limited — there aren't many instances where someone is close to another person for 15 minutes without a mask, she said. And even though people may be frustrated at the lack of precise information when a case arises, she's confident contact tracing will do the work.

"When there's a COVID positive case people will feel like they should have more information than what I know or what I can share," Kukenberger said. "It's on a need-to-know basis. The cold comfort we can give people is if you need to know you'll get a call from the Health Department."

Kukenberger also said the school district isn't necessarily going to revert to online-only if the city enters the red high-risk level, just as it won't necessarily go back to much fuller in-person learning if the city hits the gray, low-risk level. (Even if the district drops to the state-minimum 3 feet of separation between desks, they'll still need some students to stay online for space reasons.) Kukenberger, in consultation with the Health Department, has discretion over what next steps would be taken.

For now, the new superintendent is satisfied with the progress of the district's phased approach.

"My hope is that we'll continue to be really diligent and no one will get complacent in the protocols and we'll be able to be back in school for the whole year," she said.

And to answer the parents who ask every day what they can do to help kids get back in school, it's simple: Wear a mask, wash your hands, keep 6 feet or more of physical distance and stay home if you're feeling sick.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and subscribe to Melrose Patch for free daily newsletters and local news alerts.