WORCESTER, Mass. — Worcester public schools will begin the year with complete remote learning for students. The decision was made Thursday evening during a special committee meeting with school and city officials via Zoom.
The school year will begin on Sept. 15 and teachers will have the option to report to the classroom or teach virtually from home.
“I think we’re all in this together, we all have to be accountable for the success of our students,” said Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty during a Zoom meeting.
The decision comes after hearing concerns from educators who said they did not feel safe entering a typical classroom settings.
“We just have to monitor this, I don’t want to lose kids. I know everyone’s hearts in the right place and we worked hard to get there but we need to be accountable and put measures in place,” said Petty.
There are plans to bring at least one group of students back on campus later in the fall. Students with divided into three groups. Group A will consist of students who are in general education classrooms who don’t have any specially designed instruction. Group B will be students who do receive special instruction or support within the classroom. Group C will be students requiring in-person instruction.
Parents of students in Group C will be the first who are phased into in-person learning after the first quarter and parents of those students will be notified and can decide if they want to return.
Hybrid learning will be introduced at the start of the second quarter in November, potentially bringing students back one day a week.
“The new school year can begin successfully only if everyone involved commits to working together for the benefit of all our students,” said Superintendent Maureen Binienda.
The decision to keep students at home was finalized after school officials learned the ventilation systems in many of the buildings needed to be upgraded, that work will likely be done in late fall.
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