ORANGE — The superintendent of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District opted to make Friday a remote learning day, citing the frigid temperatures awaiting students who walk to school or take a bus.
Elizabeth Teahan-Zielinski monitored weather forecasts Thursday and made the call at 2 p.m. She said sub-zero temperatures were expected and she refused to have students exposed to those elements. In-building learning is expected to return Monday.
In July, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released fall reopening transportation guidance that mandated school bus windows be kept open “at all times during operation, unless not possible due to extreme weather conditions. Even in cold or rainy weather, bus windows should be kept open at least partially (a couple of inches), if possible.”
The guidance states outdoor air ventilation mitigates airborne transmission.
“Opening windows can greatly increase the level of ventilation within a school bus and therefore reduce COVID-19 transmission risk,” it states.
The school district contracts with Swift River Bus Co. It was unclear at press time how many Mahar students take the bus to school.
Ralph C. Mahar Regional School entered a hybrid learning model on Jan. 21, following a 5-4 vote of the School Committee on Jan. 14. Half the students attend in-building classes on Thursdays and Fridays while the other 150 go into school on Mondays and Tuesdays. Wednesdays are fully remote days. Families can opt to keep their students home to learn remotely if they wish to do so.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.