ANDOVER — Superintendent Claudia Bach and Andover High School Principal Caitlin Brown are pleased to inform all families that students in grades 9-12 shall return to fully in-person learning, beginning on Monday, May 17.
“We have all made sacrifices over the past year, and we are continuing to closely monitor case counts and reviewing the latest state and federal guidelines,” Superintendent Bach said. “We are committed to offering the most effective learning models in the safest possible environment for all students.”
Andover High School will continue to follow all Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidelines for physical distancing of students in school, with students seated at least 3 feet apart when wearing masks and 6 feet apart when masks are removed for mask breaks or meals.
The AHS hybrid model will be discontinued on May 17, but the fully remote learning academy will continue as an option for high school students through the end of the school year in June.
In order to accommodate the projected influx of returning students while maintaining appropriate and safe physical distancing, high school leadership has been creative in utilizing the facilities and a combination of indoor and outdoor spaces, including the AHS field house and a variety of semi-permanent tents for some classes and programs. It is projected that up to one-third of classroom activities will be outdoors (weather permitting), in tents or in alternate locations within the high school besides the typical classrooms.
“We acknowledge that physically returning to AHS does not mean an immediate return to pre-2020 normalcy,” Principal Brown said. “As always, health and safety are our primary concerns, and while the school year will still feel different than prior years, we are proud of the progress that has been made to bring us to this point.”
A survey will go out to families shortly giving them the option of fully remote or fully in-person instruction for each of their students enrolled at AHS. Families are asked to fill out the survey no later than Friday, May 7.
Families will receive more information shortly regarding the option of fully remote or fully in-person instruction for each of their students enrolled at AHS, and also about the availability of busing transportation.
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