Committee continues debate on hybrid start
Danielle Ray
Special to The Landmark
REGION Wachusett Regional School District school committee members held a special meeting Dec. 21 to discuss several key issues, including amending the school calendar, COVID-19 metrics, ensuring 6 feet of physical distancing for students and staff, elementary and middle school schedules, and data from the most recent parent/guardian remote learning survey.
The committee voted to amend the school calendar so that, going forward, Wednesdays will be a full day of school instead of a half day, with scheduled asynchronous coursework in the afternoons; Wednesday afternoons will continue to be professional development time for district staff. The committee also voted to adjust Jan. 4 to a full professional development day with no school for students.
Patricia Roy
Special to The Landmark
REGION The Wachusett Regional Education Association, the official organization of the district’s educators, released a strongly worded statement of “no confidence” in the leadership of Superintendent Darryll McCall at the Dec. 7 meeting of the regional school committee.
The statement was read by committee chair Megan Weeks during the public comment portion of the meeting, as has been standard procedure during virtually held meetings.
The letter cited “a longstanding lack of leadership and vision” on McCall’s part. After surveying WREA membership on his performance as superintendent, the group’s executive board unanimously endorsed the “no confidence” statement, according to WREA president Mary Shepherd.
COVID high-risk communities in Mass. had a mix of in-person and remote school models
Updated Dec 13, 2020;
Most schools in Massachusetts have been maintaining some form of in-person learning for students this fall, but some districts are making temporary changes as coronavirus cases surge.
Education officials have stressed that in-school spread of coronavirus is low, but there is transmission in classrooms. In Framingham, students are learning remotely until next month after Superintendent Robert Tremblay reported instances of in-schools transmission of the virus, as well as reports of parents sending symptomatic children to class.
With 158 Massachusetts communities now considered at high risk for spreading COVID-19 - up from 97 the previous week - some districts have decided to switch to remote education through the holidays.