by Marty Green ·
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
By a narrow vote Monday night, the School Committee chose a plan that partially reopens Harvard schools for in-person classes Sept. 8, instead of a plan that would have relied on remote online teaching for all classes.
The committee voted 3-2 to approve what is called a hybrid model, in which students can attend their morning classes at school, return home for lunch, and then take afternoon classes via computer. This plan will apply to both the Hildreth Elementary School and the Bromfield School, with some variations.
One or both schools would switch to fully remote learning if school administrators and the committee decide an uptick in local coronavirus cases warrants doing so. Remote learning also remains an option for families that choose to keep students at home.
More than 90 people attended the School Committee’s Zoom meeting to hear the decision. Those who spoke in the public comment periods strongly favored keeping students at home for all-remote learning, even as they praised the effort and planning the committee and school administrators had put into the hybrid model.
Note: This is a developing story and will be updated.