Schools, union release statement, ask parents to choose remote or hybrid
Aug 12, 2020
The Wareham Education Association, which is the teachers’ union, and school officials are deep in negotiations about how to safely return to school this fall, and are asking parents to share their plans for their students.
The union initially advocated for an all-remote approach, but the School Committee voted to start remote before incorporating in-person learning for students through two four hour days each week, either on Monday and Tuesday or on Thursday and Friday. All students will learn remotely on Wednesdays.
The union and school officials released the following joint statement on August 11:
“The Wareham Public Schools are committed to ensuring the health and safety of all who enter our buildings to return to in-person instruction as soon as is wise.
Both the district and union members acknowledge the desire for all of us to be back in our school buildings with our students, educating and learning together in person. We jointly acknowledge our most basic commitment to care for the health and welfare of our students, staff, families and community members. For these reasons, we commit to complete any and all recommended remediation of all buildings systems prior to any staff or students returning to our buildings.
There will be a follow up statement concerning community indicators such as prevalence and rate of transmission to ensure that conditions in the community are conducive to a safe return to in-person learning. We are continuing to monitor the COVID 19 situation and will provide updates on a regular basis."
School officials also sent out a letter to parents on August 11 asking them to choose whether they would like their child to participate in hybrid learning or learn entirely remotely this year, whether their child will be taking the school bus, and whether or not the student needs wireless internet to be provided to them by the schools. Parents are asked to complete the form at this link by August 17.
