North Andover Schools Plan Full Return By End Of April

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — All hybrid North Andover students will be in school full time by the end of April, the Superintendent said in a letter to the community Friday.

The School Committee approved a district plan to bring the elementary students in full-time April 5, the middle school April 28 and the high school April 29.

The return calendar is available here.

Under updated state rules, beginning April 5 hybrid learning will not count toward state-mandated learning time requirements for elementary students. Hybrid learning will be out for middle school students April 28. The state has not yet announced a deadline for high schoolers to return.

Remote learning will continue to count for families that opt for it, meaning the On-Line Academy will remain open for the rest of the school year.

"As with our current hybrid model, the North Andover School District will continue to implement health and safety mitigation strategies designed to reduce the likelihood of COVID-19 transmission for in-person learning," Superintendent Gregg Gilligan said. "These mitigation strategies include mandatory mask-wearing, hand-washing, and cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, and contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine."

The one change is physical distancing, with the district following state guidance in moving from 6 feet to 3 feet distancing between students.

"As a result, we will be re-arranging our classroom spaces to meet this new standard," Gilligan said. "The exception to the 3-foot physical distance standard is when students are unmasked, such as during snack or lunch, where 6 feet of physical distancing will continue to be required."

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