The Stoneham School Committee reversed a recent decision to have students learn online, sticking to their original hybrid model despite an uptick in coronavirus cases.
"I will tell you, as superintendent, there's not one day I don't come in full of anxiety," Stoneham Superintendent John Macero said. "We want what’s best for kids. Our main goal is to get kids in the building. We're one of the few schools in the area with kids in building."
The superintendent recently announced that the district would go fully remote after the town's transmission risk designation shifted to the yellow category based on state public health data, averaging 5.4 cases per 100,000 people in the latest two weeks. The school committee reversed that decision during a meeting Thursday night.
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Some parents though thought the plan to switch to remote learning was an over-reaction.
"Where are these cases coming from? They could be form a nursing home, or one gathering, or college kids putting down their home address that aren't even in the town," Stoneham parent Terri Conway said. "Until we can extrapolate the data and know where these cases are, I think we’re jumping the gun on shutting down the schools. They’re working fine."
Students were scheduled to start remote learning on Monday, but since that has been scrapped, they will continue under a hybrid model for now.
