Dighton-Rehoboth Ponders Full Classroom Return
Members of the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional school committee were critical of Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Jeffrey Riley’s proposal to return elementary school students to classes five days a week in April. School committee chair Tom O’Connor said Riley’s surprise announcement Tuesday was “despicable.” Committee member Eliza Couture concurred, noting it was a “blindside.”
Superintendent Anthony Azar explained the district would return students to classes upon the recommendations of the Phase 4 committee, along with district nurses, and the local boards of health. The rate of Covid-19 infections has been declining in Dighton and Rehoboth the last few weeks. The district will also continue to listen to guidance from DESE and the CDC, Azar noted: “We were following guidelines and keeping everyone safe.”
The district has been operating under a hybrid model since October. “The quicker we can get our (children) into school, the better,” said member George Solas. O’Connor said a return to five days a week instruction would be complex. In order to maintain a minimum of three feet of space apart between students, classrooms would not be filled to capacity. In addition, some students would be moved from one cohort to another. Committee vice-chair Craig Chapman said the underlying factor was “the safety of our students and the safety of our faculty.”
The district will be surveying parents about their preferences for a return to full in-person instruction. The results will be shared with the public at a future school committee meeting.
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