February 10, 2021
Dear Franklin Families,
I am writing today to share some information with you about where the District stands with respect to more in-person learning for students.
We are so proud of all that our educators have accomplished to teach our students whether in person, in a remote setting, or in the hybrid model.Each day, they are making meaningful connections with students, supporting social-emotional learning, and academic growth. All of us, however, are looking forward to a time when we can all be in person in our schools.
The Franklin Public Schools is in the process of developing a return to school plan for full and in-person instruction. It is premature to discuss a timeline, as we are just in the beginning phases of the pool testing pilot; however, we are exploring options that return students to school this spring.
As previously communicated, being full and in person is not feasible at 6 feet of social distancing. In order to bring more students into the school setting, we will need to explore utilizing social distancing with students at less than 6 feet of distance. While specific distances have not yet been determined and will depend on various factors, including student density, building and classroom availability, and specific program and school activities, distances of 3-6 feet have been supported by scientific data and are being applied at schools both locally and internationally in combination with other mitigation measures, including surveillance testing, masking, and hand hygiene.
We are optimistic that the advent of pool testing, which we anticipate will begin in FPS after February vacation, along with the mitigation measures already in place will assist us in assuring that COVID-19 is contained within the school environment and will facilitate more students returning to school. Vaccination of staff will provide added reassurances. An initial overview is being shared with you and more specific information will be available soon.
The Franklin Public Schools is in the process of developing a return to school plan for full and in-person instruction. It is premature to discuss a timeline, as we are just in the beginning phases of the pool testing pilot; however, we are exploring options that return students to school this spring. As with our initial reopening plan, we would seek to prioritize certain grade levels.
The district’s Reopening Monitoring Team, which includes administrators, faculty/staff, and parents, will involve not only monitoring of our current learning model but will also be contributing to planning for further school reopening. It is anticipated that discussions of further school reopening will also include a discussion about all appropriate mitigation measures.
In order to assist our planning, we are surveying families across the district.
Superintendent of Schools
The update from Dr. Sara Ahern was shared from here
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| Franklin Public Schools, MA: Return to School Plan Update and Survey Request |
