Superintendent’s Letter to Families

Dear Malden Families,

Late Friday afternoon, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to require all school districts in the Commonwealth to fully reopen for grades K-5 starting Monday, April 5.

At this time, the Malden Public Schools is examining the implications of the state’s action. There are a number of factors to consider, including how we set up our classrooms and schools to accommodate a greater number of students, how we can best meet the needs of students and staff with underlying health conditions, and how we can serve students who may choose to remain in all-virtual learning for the remainder of this school year.

We continue to urge state officials to prioritize opportunities for our teachers and staff to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. We see this as a critical step in reopening our schools safely. As always, the health and safety of our entire school community is our top priority.

In the meantime, we will continue to move forward with the plan the Malden School Committee approved last month. Per the plan, we will have our third- and fourth-grade students return to our buildings to begin learning via a hybrid model on Monday, March 15. Our Principals are setting up the cohorts for our third- and fourth-grade students.   You can read more about our timeline in our previous letter to families.

Additionally, I wanted to remind you of our Family Forum on School Reopening, which will take place on Tuesday, March 9 at 6:00 p.m. This virtual event is an opportunity for families to learn more about our reopening plans and to ask questions.

I hope to be able to share more information with you soon. Once again, thank you for your flexibility and patience now and throughout this school year. If you have any questions about next steps, please contact your child’s school principal.

 

Sincerely,

John Oteri, Superintendent