Two of the communities newly ranked at the Department of Public Health’s highest risk level for COVID-19 spread — Dedham and Lynnfield — have put their plans to bring students back into the classroom on pause.
Lynnfield Superintendent Kristen Vogel said in a Wednesday message to parents that the school year there will start in a remote model, which will last at least through Sept. 30, when officials will reassess public health data.
“While we are disappointed with having to make this decision, it was about the safety and well-being of all of our students and staff,” she said.
Vogel said there were 17 new positive cases in Lynnfield in the past 11 days, “calling it the largest increase of new cases since late April.”
Dedham had been preparing for a remote start, and the planned Sept. 21 phase-in of students returning to school buildings has now been postponed.
School officials said the timing will depend on the virus’ trajectory. Dedham Board of Health Chairwoman Leanne Jasset said in a Thursday statement that the board believes the local uptick “is the result of two recent gatherings of young people in town, including a party attended by high school students, which have resulted in two clusters of positive cases.”
“This is a wake-up call for us as a community,” Dedham Superintendent Mike Welch said. “We all want to be back in school, in person but we are not gonna do it if the trajectory does not turn around and we get a handle on this.”
Gov. Chalie Baker mentioned Dedham cluster at his Thursday press conference, saying people in town “have acknowledged that that’s a function of some really irresponsible behavior on behalf of a bunch of young kids who got together to watch a bunch of Bruins playoff games.”
Teachers throughout the Bay State have protested returning to school while pushing for independent safety inspections of the buildings and COVID testing for both students and staff.
“We are not surprised at all. This is what we have been warning from the beginning,” Mass. Teachers Association President Merrie Najimy said.
Both schools are due to begin online learning on Sept. 16.
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