WEST NEWBURY – Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Principal Jonathan Seymour announce that Pentucket Regional High School will return to fully in-person learning through a phased plan later this month.
WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that the Pentucket Regional School District has been recently honored with the Best Communities for Music Education award from the NAMM Foundation.
AMESBURY — Some work in schools, others in hospitals. Some are retired, while others are just starting out in their careers. But the nurses of the Lower Merrimack Valley Regional Collaborative all have one thing in common: they are passionate about helping their friends and neighbors through this ongoing pandemic.
WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew, on behalf of the district and the 100% Pentucket Working Group, wishes to provide the community with an update following the School Committee’s vote tonight to initiate a return to fully in-person learning starting next week.
Pentucket Regional School District students in kindergarten through second grade will return in phases over the course of four days, from Tuesday, March 23 through Friday, March 26. Then, all students in kindergarten through sixth grade will attend school in-person beginning Monday, March 29, unless they have opted to continue learning remotely.
“This phased approach will enable us to evaluate and potentially modify our re-opening protocols in real-time to ensure that we’re doing everything possible to keep everyone safe while finally welcoming students back to school full-time,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “I want to thank everyone who has worked tirelessly over the course of the last year to make this day a reality by helping develop and execute plans for remote, hybrid and now fully in-person learning.”
Prior to welcoming back students, Pentucket will host a professional development day for teachers that will provide them with critical guidance on how to support the transition back to fully in-person learning. That guidance will place a heavy emphasis on strategies to provide students with a positive, supportive, engaging and celebratory classroom environment. Teachers will also be equipped with the tools they need in order to recognize when students may be struggling with social or emotional challenges.
Plans for a return to school for middle and high school students will be finalized and shared with the community in early April.
While 3 feet will be the minimum social distancing standard in schools, increased distances will be the norm for lunches and mask breaks.
DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley first shared his intent to transition elementary school students to fully in-person learning on Feb. 23. Superintendent Bartholomew has partnered with the public health and safety officials from Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury to form the 100% Pentucket initiative, a working group of professionals and representatives of the district and its member communities to prepare and plan for a return to five-day in-person instruction this spring. The working group advises the superintendent on the latest guidance from the state and federal authorities as well as decisions made by municipal public health officials.
Pentucket has been planning for a return to in-person learning since the start of the pandemic and has gradually brought more students into the classrooms for more hours as it was determined safe to do so.
Pre-Kindergarten students are already operating on a normal schedule and have been since the start of the school year. A limited number of students identified as having the highest need were also brought in for in-person learning four days a week this February.
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Amesbury Fire Chief Ken Berkenbush and West Newbury Health Agent Paul Sevigny, on behalf the nine-community Lower Merrimack Valley Regional Collaborative, are proud to report that the first weekend of the newly expanded COVID-19 vaccination clinic was a success, with 2,404 patients receiving a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
Superintendent Justin Bartholomew wishes to provide the community with an update regarding the 100% Pentucket Working Group, which has been reviewing guidance from state and federal authorities and has been keeping the Pentucket Regional School District’s administration updated with vital data on the feasibility of returning to fully in-person learning in the district’s elementary schools.
Elementary Schools Likely to Begin Fully In-Person Learning in April
WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew wishes to provide the community with an update following the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s decision yesterday to authorize Commissioner of Secondary and Elementary Education Jeffrey Riley to require districts to transition to fully in-person learning.
Following the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s meeting yesterday, Commissioner Riley is authorized to require districts to transition to fully in-person learning by no longer accepting hybrid and remote learning models towards the required number of student learning time hours for the school year.
Commissioner Riley indicated in a memo issued to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education prior to yesterday’s meeting that he intends to phase-in the return to fully in-person learning, beginning with elementary school students returning to classrooms in April. “Subsequent determinations” will be made for the transition of middle and high school students to fully in-person learning, he wrote in the memo.
Students who opt to continue learning through a fully remote model will still be able to do so, however, and their remote learning hours will still count toward the required total for the year. Additionally, districts will be able to seek waivers for modified transitions to fully in-person learning from DESE, should they demonstrate a need to do so.
To read the memo in full and learn more about yesterday’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting, click here.
Commissioner Riley first shared his intent to transition elementary school students to fully in-person learning on Feb. 23. Days after Commissioner Riley’s initial announcement, Pentucket Regional School District partnered with the towns of Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury to form the 100% Pentucket initiative, a working group of professionals and representatives of the district and its member communities to prepare and plan for a return to five-day in-person instruction this spring.
“Once Commissioner Riley announced this plan late last month, our district quickly sprang into action to begin planning for a safe transition back to fully in-person learning in anticipation that his plan would be approved,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “Our district has always sought to bring students back to a fully in-person learning model as soon as it was safe to do so, and we eagerly await further guidance on next steps from the state.”
Pentucket Regional School District has continually planned for various hybrid and in-person learning models throughout the school year as the state of the pandemic has evolved in the community and additional guidance has been shared by federal, state and local public health officials. Late this February, the district also began bringing in more students into the classroom for in-person learning four days a week based on those identified as having the highest levels of need.
Commissioner Riley stated in yesterday’s meeting that, if given the authority to pursue his plan, DESE will issue guidance for school districts early next week as they plan and prepare to transition to fully in-person learning.
He also stressed during the meeting yesterday that scientific research indicates the difference of three and six feet of distance is negligible in school settings for preventing the transmission of the disease, and that students and staff can and should return to in-person learning at that level of social distancing as long as other COVID-19 mitigation protocols are in place such as mask wearing, hand washing and so on.
The 100% Pentucket working group held its first virtual meeting on Monday, March 1, and a second meeting was held on Thursday.
At its meeting Thursday, 100% Pentucket members reviewed survey data from the parents and guardians of elementary school students districtwide pertaining to the potential return to fully in-person instruction. In all, 1,028 parents and guardians responded, and 88.5% of families of students in kindergarten through grade six support sending their students back with three foot social distancing, the overwhelming majority.
The group also discussed aspects of returning to fully in-person learning including lunch, mask breaks, building specific layouts, classroom functions, staff vaccinations and timing. The 100% Pentucket working group will meet next on Monday, March 8 to discuss yesterday’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting further.
While the district prepared a plan for returning to fully in-person learning in August 2020, the 100% Pentucket initiative eagerly awaits additional guidance from DESE.
ABOUT 100% PENTUCKET:
In February, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley announced his intent to pursue a plan to bring students in kindergarten through grade five back to school in April. For the Pentucket Regional School District, this immediately would impact grades K-6, because district elementary schools serve K-6.
The District has additionally created the 100% Pentucket Working Group to update its existing return to school documentation and review current and upcoming guidelines on school safety procedures, including social distancing and sanitation. Once this is determined, the district will be ready to move forward with plans to return to fully in-person learning. The Working Group also seeks to ensure the district and its three member communities are communicating with the public in a consistent manner.
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WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that the 100% Pentucket Working Group held a productive first meeting today as the Pentucket Regional School District aims for a return to fully in-person learning this spring.
The District is also announcing the finalized roster of professionals lending their time and expertise to the 100% Pentucket initiative:
In the Zoom session on Monday morning, the district discussed its existing Return to School Plan, created in August. The group is eagerly anticipating more specific guidance from Governor Charlie Baker’s office and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, expected as soon as Monday evening.
When students return to fully in-person learning, a strong emphasis will be maintained with regards to handwashing, appropriate social distancing and the importance of staying home if a person exhibits symptoms of COVID-19. Mask wearing is also expected to continue indefinitely, as per guidance from DESE. BinaxNOW COVID testing and contact tracing programs will also continue.
During the meeting, it was determined that the three town health agents will work with Dr. Beaudoin and Nurse Brady-Lozier to review all existing and upcoming state and federal public health guidelines. This review will inform the working group’s efforts to determine appropriate social distancing guidelines for a return to full in-person learning.
Social distancing is the single greatest barrier that must be addressed in order for Pentucket schools to return to fully in-person learning, as the physical buildings simply cannot accommodate all students at 6-foot increments. The working group will review all options and guidelines, including the possibility of 3-foot social distancing.
Chief Dwyer has agreed to serve as the lead organizer of the working group due to his experience in organizational leadership and managing operations. This organizational structure has recently been on display during the well-organized Lower Merrimack Valley Vaccine Clinic sessions, which Chief Dwyer and West Newbury Health Agent Paul Sevigny have played key roles in organizing and executing.
“This is a working group, tasked with facilitating our return to in-person learning and which has drawn some of the most experienced and well-trained professionals at our district’s disposal,” Superintendent Bartholomew said.
Since learning models changed amidst a statewide school building shutdown on March 13, 2020, Pentucket Regional School District leaders have been building plans and procedures for a return to in-person learning. This has been done concurrent with the creation of hybrid and remote-only learning models that were essential in finishing the last school year and running the majority of the 2020-2021 year.
The 100% Pentucket Working Group will be meet again on Thursday and further updates will be released as soon as they are available. The 100% Pentucket Working Group will also be discussed at Tuesday’s school committee meeting.
ABOUT 100% PENTUCKET:
In February, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley announced his intent to pursue a plan to bring students in kindergarten through grade five back to school in April. For the Pentucket Regional School District, this immediately would impact grades K-6, because district elementary schools serve K-6.
The District is waiting for DESE to officially approve Commissioner Riley’s plan this week, and is also waiting to hear the formal opinion of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
The District has additionally created the 100% Pentucket Working Group to update its existing return to school documentation and review current and upcoming guidelines on school safety procedures, including social distancing and sanitation. Once this is determined, the district will be ready to move forward with plans to return to fully in-person learning. The Working Group also seeks to ensure the district and its three member communities are communicating with the public in a consistent manner.
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WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that, in partnership with the towns of Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury, a working group has been formed of professionals and representatives of the district and its member communities to determine a path forward that results in a return to five-day in-person instruction this spring.
WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to share that the district held a beam signing this morning for the middle-high school building project.
