AMHERST — Students in the Amherst, Pelham and Amherst-Pelham Regional schools could have the opportunity to return to school buildings for classes beginning March 1.
But how many will be able to move from remote instruction to in-person learning, for the first time in almost a full year, will depend on the number of teachers and paraprofessionals willing to voluntarily go back, Superintendent Michael Morris said at a joint meeting of the school committees on Feb. 2.
Morris said surveys were due back from members of the Amherst Pelham Education Association that gauges their interest and ability to return.
The survey is an important piece of the return-to-school plans being developed by Morris and his administrative team after the school committees instructed Morris last month to find a way to bring students back to classrooms. The effort at having schools reopen comes despite a provision in an agreement between the union and district that triggers remote learning when there are at least 28 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the region, on a rolling average, a figure that has been exceeded since late October. For a short period in October, the youngest students and highest-needs students in Amherst and Pelham schools were back in classrooms.
Precise models for in-person instruction won’t be known until next week, Morris said, when he has final confirmation about which teachers and paraprofessionals are voluntarily coming back. He is assuring them that the planning that took place last summer, improvements to school buildings and various requirements, such as only using classrooms that meet rigorous ventilation standards, that everyone wear masks, and that people keep at least six feet apart, will remain intact.
The effort to have classes in schools comes on the heels of reaching separate arrangements with the union for bringing back teachers to buildings for teaching high needs students and preschoolers.
When survey data is reviewed, Morris will reach out to families to apprise them of what is available. He said if he informed families in advance, that would lead to disappointment because it’s likely the schools would be unable to accommodate everyone. School leaders will have to spend time figuring out the structure, with an additional challenge at the middle school and high school where students don’t have the same classroom teacher throughout the day.
School Committee member Peter Demling, who crafted the proposal to have teachers volunteer to return to schools, said he always knew this would be logistically difficult, but worth pursuing. Both Demling and Morris said they are grateful to the union leadership for its partnership.
Although no specific details of the surveys are available, Morris said the vaccine piece appears to be a significant consideration for many members, who would be comfortable returning if they qualified for shots. Morris told the committees he is frustrated that both New York and Connecticut are providing vaccine to teachers, while Massachusetts, already facing a slower rollout of vaccinations than neighboring states, has put them in a lower priority group.
