Schools in Norfolk and Wrentham are taking different approaches to reopening this month. 

Elementary schools in Norfolk and Wrentham will begin the year with hybrid learning models, while the King Philip middle and high schools will start the year completely remote but with plans to transition to a hybrid model later in the fall.

Each plan will offer flexibility to pivot quickly to an all-distance learning model at any time if the health situation warrants. 

Norfolk Public Schools

Students will return to school on Monday, September 14, with a mix of in-person and remote instruction. Students in grades one through six will be divided into two groups (cohorts) that will rotate in and out of school.

On Mondays and Tuesday, students in Cohort A will have in-school instruction, while on Thursdays and Fridays, students in Cohort B will be in school. When not in school, each cohort will participate in remote learning. On Wednesdays, all students will learn remotely while the schools undergo deep cleaning.

Parents will also have the option to have their child learn remotely 100% of the time.

Kindergarten students will also be divided into two cohorts, with Cohort A attending in-person morning sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Thursdays, and Fridays. Cohort B will attend in-person afternoon sessions on the same days. Neither cohort will eat lunch at school. At midday, the kindergarten learning spaces will be cleaned.

Norfolk Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ingrid Allardi noted in a statement, “As we begin this unprecedented school year, we have decided that the hybrid learning model is the best option for our students and faculty.”

Wrentham Public Schools

Wrentham elementary school students from full-day kindergarten through grade 6 will return to school with a hybrid learning model, starting on September 14. 

Students will be separated into two groups, Cohort A and Cohort B. The two groups will alternate time in the school buildings, with Cohort A learning in person on Mondays and Tuesdays and Cohort B learning in person on Thursdays and Fridays. When not in school, the students will participate in robust remote lessons. On Wednesdays, the schools will be deep-cleaned.

There is also a half-day kindergarten option.

The district has also planned for fully remote and in-person learning models, options “the district may adopt this school year, depending on the virus and needs of our community,” said Dr. Allan Cameron, Superintendent of Wrentham Public Schools.

Complete information on all learning models is detailed in a 47-page plan and video, available on the district’s website.

King Philip Regional School System

King Philip High School and King Philip Middle School will begin the school year remotely on September 16 but transition into a hybrid model if health conditions remain stable. 

The continuum of learning model features four phases: purple, blue, yellow, and green. Students will be separated into Cohort A or Cohort B, regardless of the phase the district is in.

A smaller number of students needing daily in-person instruction will be assigned to Cohort C, while students fully remote will be in Cohort D.

The purple phase with all-remote learning begins on the first day of school and continues until October 15. If the district transitions to the blue phase on that date, Cohort A and Cohort B will alternate between in-person half-day sessions and remote learning. A “grab and go lunch” will be provided.

days. During this phase, students will be in the school buildings for about 20% of the time. 

On Wednesdays, all students will learn remotely while the schools are deep cleaned.

If public health metrics support it, the district will move to the yellow phase on November 9. Cohorts A and B will return to school for full-day, in-person instruction alternating with remote instruction. During the yellow phase, the students will be in the buildings for about 40% of the time.

The district will remain in the yellow phase until it either has to move back to blue or purple, or the state announces the district can transition to green days, thus bringing all students and staff back into the schools full-time, noted King Philip Superintendent Paul Zinni.

At Local Town Pages deadline, school reopening plans had yet to be approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).n the blue phase, Cohort A will participate in person on Mondays and Tuesdays with remote learning on Thursdays and Fridays. Cohort B will be remote Mondays and Tuesdays and in school on Thursdays and Fri