North Attleboro school reopening plans get mostly positive reactions

Committee members unanimously backed the plan following the nearly three-hour presentation.

By Tuesday, social media postings about the planned return — which Holcomb said will be the first in the state aiming to bring back K-12 students — were full of “likes” and positive comments.

Nathan Bonneau has one daughter who is a high school freshman and another who is a fourth-grader. He told The Sun Chronicle he watched some of the virtual committee meeting online and was impressed by the efforts of Holcomb and the administration to get the schools closer to being fully reopened.

“The schools have done a very good job this whole year,” he said.

Bonneau added he has the same concerns about safety as before but on the whole, “I think it’s the right decision.”

Holcomb told the committee that he’s certain the schools can carry out the plans safely.

Classrooms and offices are now equipped with air filtration and ventilation systems, he said, and the schools will still be enforcing the use of personal protective equipment, including masks, frequent hand washing and social distancing.

In some cases where space is at a premium, schools will use the 3-foot spacing rule recommended by the state and the World Health Organization, rather than the 6-foot guideline from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That bothers Nicole Reminder, president of the North Attleboro Federation of Teachers, the union representing educators in local schools.

In an email Reminder said, “Now is not the time to abandon the proven public health measures that have allowed us to successfully bring students back into the classroom safely.”

She questioned why the district was not following the CDC guidelines.

“Currently, students are learning in person each day in a hybrid model that allows for 6-foot physical distancing, but the district is planning to begin to phase students in to full-time in-person learning beginning March 8,” Reminder said. “Educators and staff are asking to maintain the current hybrid model to allow for CDC guidelines to be met until educators have the opportunity to be vaccinated.”

And while she said the state’s move to give teachers priority for vaccinations is a positive step, “it is unrealistic to think that all of our staff are going to be vaccinated in time for schools to reopen within this month.”

After the kindergarten students are back full time next week, Holcomb’s plan is to bring middle and high schoolers back the following week with grades 1-5 returning the week after that.

However, Wednesdays would still be a remote learning day to allow teachers to plan for those parents who wish to keep their children learning online for now, Holcomb said.

While local schools can claim to be among the first to bring back the entire student body, other districts have begun the reopening process more gradually.

Mansfield kindergarten students returned to the classroom Monday with no reported problems.

“The first full day back for kindergarten was great. Students truly enjoyed the opportunity to finally meet their classmates in person,” Superintendent Teresa Murray said in a statement.

“An especially fun part of the day was that students got to dress up to show school spirit as part of Read Across America week. Teachers had excellent lessons planned for the students, and busing and lunch periods also ran smoothly,” she said.

In Seekonk, students in grades K-2 were back in class four out of five days a week earlier this month, and plans are to begin phasing in the younger grades in the middle and high school as well.

State officials, as well as the Biden administration, are pressing schools to reopen for in-person learning this semester. Mass. Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley has said the state may require schools to reopen by April.