Wayland To Begin School Year Fully Remote

WAYLAND, MA — The Wayland School Committee on Monday voted unanimously to begin the 2020-21 school year fully remote, but left room for students to return in a hybrid model if coronavirus trends head in the right direction.

Under the back-to-school plan, Wayland's first day of school would be between Sept. 8 and 14. After two weeks, students would be invited to partake in some in-person activities, like athletics or extracurricular activities.

But students would likely not enter a hybrid model — where students attend a mix of in-person and remote classes — until the second quarter of the school year.

"Provided the scientific assessment supports a move from the remote model, the district anticipates full implementation of the hybrid model at the start of Quarter 2," the school committee resolution said. "An evaluation of the Quarter 1 Remote Learning experience will also be part of the process. The district will continue consideration for the acceleration of the hybrid model for some student populations, including populations for which remote learning is particularly difficult."

The decision came after hours of discussion on Monday, with many committee members acknowledging that a return to in-person learning will bring risks for students and staff. School Committee member Kim Reichelt calculated that there's a 99 percent chance that at least one Wayland student would bring the virus into the classroom this fall.

"The greatest likelihood is there will be an infected student on the first day of school," she said.

Like all school districts in the state, Wayland has been working on several back-to-school plans to submit to state officials. Wayland is not alone in ramping up to the hybrid model. Framingham is waiting until the end of October to decide if students will begin hybrid teaching, for example.

The Wayland School Committee will meet again on Wednesday to work through more issues related to the fall reopening, including finalizing the 2020-21 school year calendar. The Wayland Board of Health will also discuss the school reopening plan at a meeting set for Thursday evening.