PITTSFIELD â By the end of this week, Pittsfield Public Schools will have completed its transition back to hybrid learning.
Getting to this point has not been without its challenges. The School Committee has pressed ahead with reopening plans over the objections of the United Educators of Pittsfieldâs executive board, which went on to file an unfair labor practices charge against the committee.
With children in some special education and vocational programs already back in school part time, the remaining elementary and secondary students on Thursday and Friday will see the inside of a classroom again for the first time since November.
PITTSFIELD â With coronavirus metrics improving and attention turned to large-scale vaccination efforts, the medical adviser of the cityâs Coronavirus Task Force has decided the time is right to step down â or âre-retire,â as he put it.
âI gave it a lot of thought and I weighed various priorities in my life and compared that with what the needs are in the Health Department,â said Dr. Alan Kulberg. âI felt the Health Department and the city was in good shape, and I felt it was a good time; that I could step back.â
Kulberg told The Eagle on Friday that he was resigning from that post immediately, but that he would remain in his role as chairman of the cityâs Board of Health.
PITTSFIELD â All Pittsfield Public Schools students, except those enrolled in the virtual academy, should be back to classrooms on a part-time basis by Feb. 26.
Thatâs according to a schedule approved this week by the School Committee, which interim Superintendent Joseph Curtis expected would be shared sometime Friday with families.
âAs of [Feb. 26], all students will be participating in in-person hybrid learning,â Curtis said at Wednesdayâs School Committee meeting.
Some career, vocational and technical students, as well as some special education students, returned to classrooms this month; part time, in many cases.
Students whose families chose to enroll them in the full-year online school, the Pittsfield Public Virtual Academy, will continue learning remotely throughout the transition.
PITTSFIELD Union teachers in Pittsfield say a mandate from the School Committee to resume in-person instruction violates a labor agreement and should be scrapped.
PITTSFIELD â With COVID-19 infections trending favorably, Pittsfield students will begin a gradual transition back to the classroom next week.
The School Committee on Wednesday voted to begin the process with vocational, career and technical students returning to school Monday, followed by special education students in substantially separate programs Feb. 8. The rest of the student body will begin transitioning to hybrid learning the week of Feb. 22.
âTaking into consideration Pittsfieldâs distinct characteristics, the potential risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the potential damage associated with the educational, social, and emotional well-being of youngsters, the Pittsfield Public Schools anticipate a safe return to an in-person education model,â interim Superintendent Joe Curtis said in a statement.