Schools
Salem High School Students To Return Full-Time April 26
After students in kindergarten through eighth grade returned full-day, in-classroom on Monday, Salem High students are due back in 3 weeks.
SALEM, MA — Salem High School students will be back in the building for full-time, in-classroom learning for the first time in more than 13 months when they make a scheduled return five days per week on April 26.
The plan was revealed at Monday night's School Committee meeting after students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade were back full-time on Monday for the first time since March 12, 2020.
Superintendent Stephen Zrike said in October the hope was to bring high school students back at some point before the end of the school year. The state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education released a directive last month that all elementary school students should be back in class full-time as of April 5, middle school students as of April 28 and that a mandatory return date for high school students would be determined sometime this month.
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Zrike has said the high school return date would be after April vacation, which lines up with the April 26 day.
Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, who is also chair of the Salem School Committee, said as of Monday 81 percent of Salem Public Schools students in grades kindergarten through eighth-grade students were back in school full-time with the remainder in remote-only learning.,
Find out what's happening in Salemfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
High school students are currently in hybrid learning two days per week, which has been the case since Feb. 4 when they transitioned from being fully remote the first five months of the school year. Hybrid-learning programs will be suspended as of April 26.
Driscoll also said 92 percent of Salem Public Schools staff has either received or has registered for a coronavirus vaccination appointment as of Monday — with 100 of those secured through a volunteer network to secure appointments for teachers and faculty while they worked during the school day.
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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
More Patch Coverage: Full School Return A Time To Reconnect In Salem: Superintendent
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