SAUGUS — Saugus schools will remain remote instead of transitioning to a hybrid learning model on Jan. 19 as initially planned, Superintendent David DeRuosi announced Thursday.
Citing a record number of virus cases in the community in recent weeks, as well as concerns about disrupting students voiced by parents and educators, DeRuosi told the Saugus School Committee — which voted unanimously to approve the decision during Thursday’s meeting — that he felt the district would be better served remaining remote until a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available.
“Since we got back from vacation, there has been an increase in emails coming to my office from staff with health concerns questioning the rationale of opening in the face of what the virus is saying at this time,” DeRuosi said. “I’m also hearing (about) the success of a remote platform. I’m hearing teachers say ‘we’ve got this now. The product we have today that we’re delivering to students is not the product we had in March and September.’”
Tuesday would have been the first time the majority of Saugus students set foot in brick and mortar classrooms since the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools across the Commonwealth to close last March.
Since then, the town has remained consistently in the state’s high-risk category for virus transmission, which forced the district to remain completely remote even as surrounding communities made the tentative switch to hybrid learning plans at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.
Despite months of planning for a January reopening date, however, the School Committee largely agreed with DeRuosi that postponing students’ return was the best decision for the district.
“It’s tough for me,” board member John Hatch said. “As much as I want these children to go back — and I’ve been a staunch advocate for it — I can’t put anybody in harm’s way, either, and the numbers completely speak for themselves.
“I’m disappointed, but I think we all own some piece of this as a community … We all have to hunker down and do what’s right so we can control this virus.”
Between Sept. 20 and Jan. 14, health officials reported 2,147 cases of COVID-19 in Saugus, 258 of which were detected in children ages 4½ to 19 — a noticeable increase among the town’s younger residents.
In the last week alone, DeRuosi reported 95 school-aged children in the district have tested positive for COVID-19.
“Anybody who knows me knows this is difficult for me because I really want to get these kids back to class, I really do,” said Committee Chair Thomas Whittredge. “But the number that sticks out to me the most is this 95 school-aged kids just over the last week … that’s a huge number to me.
“Teachers’ health, children’s health, parents’ health, that all comes above and beyond everything else.”
DeRuosi noted that although the district had fully equipped all its school buildings according to state-mandated safety guidelines, recent data from local health officials was too glaring to overlook.
In recent weeks, Massachusetts has seen a 39 percent increase in virus cases. Essex County has seen an increase by 29 percent.
“We have record numbers of positive cases in town,” DeRuosi said. “The feeling right now, coming from the state level to the Board of Health on the city and town sites that we’re almost in the middle of a Phase 1 spike.”
DeRuosi added that more information about vaccine rollout plans will be distributed in the coming weeks. Until then, his concerns lie with the health and safety of students and faculty.
“I don’t want the impression to be that we’re not ready,” he said. “We’re ready. But I think when you’re looking at a decision like this, you have to look at all the data, because data must drive decisions.
“The ability to make a decision can’t just be ‘we’re going to throw a dart at a board and hope (it works out).’”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].