GREENFIELD — After receiving a petition signed by more than 500 people, the School Committee announced at its regular meeting Wednesday that it will begin looking at options for reopening schools to all students.
The committee received the petition earlier this week, which included signatures from parents, educators and others who want to see children return to in-person learning by April 26.
“I appreciate the folks who are asking for us to move to an in-person model by late April,” School Committee Chair Amy Proietti said. “It’s very important to get students back into school.”
Currently, the only students who have returned to in-person learning are students at high risk, including those in special education and those for whom English is a second language.
While committee member Katie Caron — also a member of the Greenfield Reopening Education Advisory Team, a group of more than 20 educators, parents, staff and community members — said she believes schools need to reopen in some form, she said she’s not sure how it should look.
Caron said she appreciates the civic engagement, but isn’t sure about the logistics of bringing all students back. Currently, the Greenfield School Department’s plans are to have “supervised remote learning” in Phase 4, which means students would return to school with their computers, but would continue to learn remotely — not necessarily with a teacher in the classroom, but with the help of an in-person paraprofessional, for instance.
“There’s lots of work to be done,” Caron said.
Member Susan Hollins noted that school districts all around Greenfield have figured out how to get students back to in-person learning, at least to some extent, so Greenfield should do the same.
“People are desperate for us to get back to in-person learning,” said Hollins, the Greenfield School Department’s former superintendent. “But whatever we do, it’s going to have to be hybrid. We’re going to have to keep the virtual program because some parents and teachers just aren’t going to feel comfortable with in-person learning.”
School Committee members said they will look into what other school districts are doing. They said getting back into the classroom will also depend on negotiations with unions, as well as decisions by the school administration.
Currently, Superintendent Jordana Harper is not “actively working,” Proietti has said, so two of the school district’s superintendent-licensed principals are taking turns serving as school administrator.
“I think right now the best we can do is make a goal for April and go from there,” Caron said.
Mayor and School Committee member Roxann Wedegartner said parents want their children in the classroom, and the kids want to be with each other.
“We have to do what we can to the extent we can make that happen,” she said. “Allowing children in class with other children is really, really important. We have to craft a reopening plan that reflects that and have a plan for all grades.”
Caron said she agrees that nothing should hold the committee back at this point.
“We should have done this faster,” she acknowledged.
Proietti said students’ needs must be prioritized and the school district needs to adapt. The original plan the state approved for reopening included getting all students back, she said, but when the pandemic worsened, the committee voted to go with the current plan, which never got all students back in school for in-person learning.
The committee voted to approve $200,000 for air purifiers to make the schools safer and help teachers, students and parents feel more comfortable about returning to in-person learning.
Committee members asked Wedegartner if she can prioritize getting teachers vaccinated as soon as possible, and she replied that she is working on that.
The School Committee plans to continue to discuss a hybrid model that will be in place by the end of April as the petitioners requested. Caron said the Greenfield Reopening Education Advisory Team will work on the issue as well.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-9591 or afritz@recorder.com.