Barrington High School To Continue In-Person Learning

BARRINGTON, RI—Barrington Public Schools announced on Thursday that the town’s high school will continue its current in-person learning model due to a low coronavirus infection rate.

According to a letter to parents from Barrington Superintendent Michael Messore, the school has only seen six positive cases among in-person students and staff members and four positive cases among remote students since September.

Messore said if the number of positive cases at Barrington High School increases to .5 percent or higher or if the district cannot safely operate due to the number of staff in quarantine, he will reconsider the situation.

On Thursday, Governor Gina Raimondo gave schools the option of switching to their limited in-person plans, which look different depending on the school district but involves a shift to mainly distanced learning.

The announcement followed a letter to superintendents from Deputy Education Commissioner Ana Riley sent out on Wednesday that said Rhode Island high schools should move to limited in-person plans after Thanksgiving.

"We know that our high school students function and live very differently than our younger students outside of school (i.e. jobs, sports, etc.) and want to make sure that we account for those factors," wrote Deputy Education Commissioner Ana Riley.

According to Riley's letter, moving to limited in-person plans at Rhode Island high schools would cap in-school learning at 25 percent.