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FRAMINGHAM – Framingham Public Schools Superintendent Bob Tremblay describes the “next two weeks” as a “significant step for the Framingham Public Schools.”
With Friday’s announcement to families today, February 26, about the return to the classroom for the final phase of students in the district, Tremblay said “it is the first time that we will now be offering an in-person experience for ALL students, with the exception of those families who have elected to continue remotely through the end of the school year.”
There are more than 9,000 students in the public school district between pre-K and the high school.
A survey down by the public school district in fall 2020 showed that about 50% of parents wanted in person learning. About 90 percent of the parents or guardians responded to the survey, according to the district.
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Tremblay told city leaders today there has been “incredible work and planning that has gone into our return-to-school efforts.”
This past week, students in Phase III, attended school physically every day for the first time since March 2020.
Starting March 3, students in Phase IV will start in=person learning in a hybrid model. It will be the first time for these students to physically be in classrooms since March 2020.
Framingham had plans to start hybrid learning in September 2020, but the coronavirus numbers and a recommendation from former Health Director Sam Wong meant remote learning.
The district started hybrid learning in October 2020 with Phase 1, or the highest needs students. In November Phase Ii students returned to the classroom. Between Phase 1 & II students, less than 600 students were physically in the classrooms.
In December, Phase III was scheduled to go to the classrooms, but the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Framingham after Thanksgiving, and the public school district went completely remote again.
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“Many urban districts continue to operate remotely because of the massively complicated puzzle that a return to school presents, but I am so proud of our relationship with City Division Heads, especially the Department of Public Health, our School Committee, City Council, our Legislative Team, our District COVID Team, the Framingham Teachers Association (FTA), our buildings and grounds and maintenance teams, our cafeteria staff, our nurses, our educational and support staff, and our administrators,” wrote Tremblay to City and FTA leaders on Friday.
“I am deeply appreciative of the patience and understanding of our thousands of Framingham families who continue to have faith and trust in our leadership as we finally bring our students back to school nearly a year after we closed our doors,” wrote Tremblay.
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