Greenfield Delays Return To In-Person School Instruction Until January 19th

By CHRIS COLLINS

(Greenfield, MA)  — Greenfield students won’t be heading back into the classroom next week as expected.

The Greenfield School Committee has voted to delay the return of in-person instruction from January 11th to January 19th. The committee in December approved the January 11th return date in the event of a potential post-Christmas spike in COVID 19 cases.

Greenfield School Superintendent Jordana Harper said new data is expected to be released Thursday regarding state and local post-holiday contagion rates, and board members agreed that it would make sense to see those numbers before deciding whether to open schools, largely for special education students who require in-person instruction and can’t take part in a remote curriculum.

Harper also said the district is required to give parents three days official notice of school reopening, and the school committee doesn’t meet again until next Wednesday, at which time it is expected to discuss the latest data and decide whether January 19th is a safe opening date or if another delay is necessary.