ERVING — Erving Elementary School is set to switch to a fully remote education model after the holiday break. The school plans to stay remote for at least two weeks, and then assess whether it is safe to switch to some sort of in-person model.
Recently, Erving Elementary School has been in a hybrid model, as administrators and teachers discussed in a School Committee meeting on Tuesday. Students are physically at school in the morning, and then go home and have remote classes in the second half of the day.
In-person classes were easier in the fall, when the warm weather made it possible to hold classes outside, said Principal Lisa Candito.
But, as the weather has gotten colder, it has forced teachers to keep their classes indoors, where rules on social distancing and safety amid the COVID-19 pandemic must be stricter than outdoors.
Now, Candito said, students sit at their desks for almost the entire three hours that they are physically at school, and their desks are physically spaced apart in rows and columns — like an old-fashioned classroom, she said.
“Three hours at a desk is a lot for anyone, and it’s certainly a lot for children,” Candito said. “Our students have shown grace and patience as we’ve navigated this new world.”
Looking ahead to Christmas, administrators are concerned that rates of COVID-19 will increase like they did after Thanksgiving, making in-person classes more risky than they have been so far.
“I feel like the concern is only amplified with this time of year and the holiday celebrations that occur,” said Jennifer Culkeen, superintendent of the Union 28 school system.
Based on the Department of Public Health’s most recent data, reported Thursday, the town of Erving has seen eight new COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks. Across Franklin County, 351 new cases were reported during the same time frame.
Meeting with the Erving School Committee, Culkeen and Candito recommended that the school switch to fully remote classes after the holiday break, and stay in that model for at least two weeks.
The idea was also supported by Mackensey Bailey, who spoke in the meeting on behalf of the Erving Teachers Association, the school’s teachers’ union.
The School Committee had no objection.
“I’m totally in favor of this,” said Chair Erik Semb.
The committee plans to reconsider the situation at its Jan. 19 meeting.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.