MELROSE, MASS. (WHDH) - Many parents and teachers are still at odds over how to get back to learning with the fall semester right around the corner in Melrose.
“When I go into school, one of the things that always makes me feel better is having a teacher who cares,” said 9-year-old Dakota who joined mom Lindsay Ware at a rally on Tuesday in support of getting students back into the classroom.
They were joined by about 50 others gathered who outside to call on the district to open for in person instruction — at least in some capacity — come September.
“We believe that it’s safe to have it open for kids who are not at risk and we think that the teachers who are at risk could work with the people who are not to come in and have some be remote and some be in school,” Ware said.
Dakota said she had a hard time with online learning over the summer.
“There is never really anyone to really tell it to you in a way you can understand and learn correctly,” she said.
“We talked to her pediatric therapist about the anxiety it was causing and she suggested that it was probably better for her not to engage in it if it was causing more anxiety than actual learning,” her mom said. “We went with that but now, here we are again.”
The district is allowing parents to choose between a hybrid model and a fully remote model for their children.
Some students with special needs who choose the hybrid model can be in a classroom as early as September.
Other students choosing to go the hybrid route will not be allowed on school premises until mid-October and they will only be allowed to return should COVID-19 numbers remain low.
“Our town is green right now,” parent Molly Babb said. “The incident is really low. Keeping the classes small is already doing a lot to keep it safe.”
Teachers’ unions have been calling for widespread testing, contact tracing and for air purification and new ventilation systems to be installed in the schools before they would feel safe returning.
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