We are pleased to share that on Wednesday evening, the Somerville School Committee unanimously voted to approve the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Somerville Educators Union (SEU) to begin our phased in-person learning. The SEU overwhelmingly approved the MOA last Thursday. With the Certificate of Occupancy for Somerville High School scheduled to be received before the end of February and air quality work on other school buildings progressing as anticipated, we are moving forward with plans to begin our transition to in-person learning starting the first week in March.

To provide families and staff with important information about the transition to in-person learning, we have created a new section on the district website: www.somerville.k12.ma.us/transition. These pages will be updated regularly with updates and resources, and we welcome your feedback. Please see also these fact sheets for information at a glance:
 Transition to In-Person Learning: Schedule of Phases
 Building Assignments
 Health and Safety Protocols

As we mentioned last week, our plan prioritizes students in High Needs Special Education programs, English Learner programs, and Pre-K and Kindergarten, with grades 1-8 to follow, as long as specific conditions are met, including building readiness. We will contact families as they become eligible to return to gauge their interest in returning to in-person learning and to address any questions. Any family who prefers their child to remain in remote learning may do so.

In partnership with the City, we have instituted a comprehensive set of health and safety measures to minimize the risks to all students and staff upon their return to our classrooms. These include an extensive coronavirus testing program for students and staff.

In addition, we will monitor a number of public and school health indicators (visit the SPS COVID-19 Dashboard) to ensure that it is safe to keep school buildings open.

We will keep you informed as we continue to finalize the details of these reopening plans. Our phased approach enables us to bring students back gradually, while making necessary adjustments and corrections along the way. Please note that we continue to work with the SEU on the Hybrid Learning Plan and will share information as details are finalized. We are also working on a plan to continue to offer Community Schools afterschool programming as we transition to hybrid in-person learning. We will provide regular updates at School Committee meetings, including one next Monday, February 22, at 7:00 pm. Simultaneous interpretation will be available in Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole. Visit our website for details.

We ask for your continued patience and cooperation. We look forward to welcoming many of our students and staff back into our schools for in-person teaching and learning!

Respectfully,
Mary Skipper, Superintendent of Schools