Dear BFCCPS Community,
This week BFCCPS started to welcome back our Sixth Grade students who are participating in hybrid learning. Our Seventh and Eighth Grade students who are participating in hybrid learning will phase-in starting on December 3.
You may have recently read that the Governor and the DESE have encouraged schools to consider full-in person education. However, we have determined that at this time, BFCCPS can not maintain the outlined safety protocols and procedures for health and safety in a traditional full class size. The BFCCPS Administration has recommended, and the Board has agreed, that we will continue with our phased-in to hybrid learning plan. We will continue to monitor the local and state COVID trends as significant increases may lead us to consider full remote learning for all students. We are incredibly proud of the work that the BFCCPS Community has done to implement our phased in return, and believe that this plan is our best opportunity to provide an in person educational model while maintaining safety protocols and procedures. This plan is designed to keep our faculty, staff, students and families as safe as possible during this unprecedented pandemic.
We will plan to keep students in their current homeroom and hybrid/Remote Academy placements. If you are the parent or guardian of a student in Kindergarten through Grade Five and would like to request a change of instructional model starting in January through the end of the school year, please fill out this form. The deadline to place this request is Friday, December 4th. Please note that a change of instructional model may result in your child being assigned to a different homeroom teacher. We can not accept requests for specific in-person days for students moving from the Remote Academy into hybrid learning. Please also note that a transfer may take several weeks as any movement may have significant implications for staffing and transportation.
New Student Travel Policy & Upcoming Holidays: The Board of Trustees has voted at the November meeting to approve a new policy titled Student Travel Under Mass Travel Order 45 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The holiday season is rapidly approaching and we have been discussing implications with respect to the Massachusetts Travel Order. We recognize that it is likely that staff and families may be travelling out of state, or entertaining out of state guests.
It is important to recognize that in accordance with the Massachusetts Travel Order, and the BFCCPS Daily Attestation, any students, faculty or staff who are travelling outside of the U.S or to a state deemed high risk must quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result before returning to in-person education. Please note that if a student is enrolled in hybrid instruction and is required to quarantine as a result of travel, BFCCPS will not be able to accommodate requests for full remote learning during their self-quarantine. Students will be eligible to participate in their regularly scheduled remote learning and can complete available asynchronous learning opportunities.
Full Remote Learning Days Scheduled: In order to create an opportunity for staff, faculty and families to celebrate the holidays with their families; the Board of Trustees has voted to move November 30th, December 1st, January 4 and January 5th to full remote days. This adjustment to the calendar is designed to provide families and staff the opportunity to safely celebrate the holidays (if they so choose), travel home and secure a negative test result before returning to school.
We thank the entire BFCCPS Community for your continued cooperation and support.
Be kind and safe Ben Franklin,
BFCCPS
Executive Director
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| BFCCPS school sign at the entrance (taken day of ribbon cutting) |
