More Seekonk Students Return to the Classroom

More students are returning to in-person instruction as Covid-19 rates continue to drop in Seekonk. Kindergarten through Grade 2 students returned on Tuesday. On March 2, Grade 6 students at Hurley Middle School and Grade 9 students at Seekonk High School will return for four days a week instruction. Mondays are remote learning days.

An announcement about a return to classes for high school seniors will be made sometime in March. “We want to make safe and smart decisions,” Superintendent Rich Drolet said at Monday’s school committee meeting. “We appreciate everyone’s patience.”

The town’s daily positivity rate decreased from 6.84 percent the week of February 11 to 5.90 percent the week of February 18. The town’s average daily incidence rate dropped from a high of 84.1 percent on December 17 to 23.4 percent on February 18. Drolet said there were a total of 10 reported cases of Covid-19 in the last two weeks. Eight of those cases were reported at the high school over a three day period (February 16-18). However, those cases were not disclosed to school officials immediately because it was a school vacation week.

The school district will adhere to DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) guidelines by mandating at least three feet of space between students and staff at all times. Students will need to remain six feet apart during lunch and mask breaks. Drolet noted a return to remote learning for a one or two week period would be necessary if there are too many close contacts or if the schools are understaffed. The school district has been operating under a hybrid model since September. The model has applied to all grade levels.