SPRINGFIELD – Within an hour, the Springfield School Committee decided to how to move forward with the upcoming school year: fully remote until the end of the first grading period when the committee and school officials will decide if students can return part-time to the classroom.

 The committee made its decision before Aug. 10, the date imposed by state officials for schools districts to tell them their plans: to go fully remote, to have students in school buildings part-time, or to have students and teachers return full-time to buildings.

 Chicopee delayed its decision until Aug. 12; Longmeadow decided for a phased-in hybrid; East Longmeadow voted for a full remote curriculum with reevaluation in December; and Holyoke will go with a hybrid model.

The committee authorized the city to move ahead on an evaluation of the air quality of all 57 school buildings. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) mandated the evaluation and although all buildings meet DESE requirements, the committee wanted to exceed those standards with an evaluation made by an industrial hygienist. That report should be completed in six weeks.

Vice Chair Christopher Collins said over the summer teachers have developed the remote curriculum. “It’s miles ahead of what we had in March,” he said.

He added the committee has received “lots of communication from teachers from the last meeting.”

 The initial name of the plan, “qualified hybrid,” caused discussion among committee members, as some believed it would confuse parents. Collins explained that with the federal government threatening to withhold funds to districts that did not send children back into the classroom, as well as DESE making threats of its own, he had hoped the name of the plan would pass scrutiny.

School Committee member Denise Hurst said, “To confuse parents, students and the community would be a huge disserve.”

Ultimately, the committee decided simply to call the plan “remote,” and will work to establish guidelines by which to make the decision to go back into schools with a hybrid plan.

Mayor Domenic Sarno said, “We’re not going to make any moves to jeopardize students and staff.”

In a written statement, School Superintendent Daniel Warwick said, “We’ve had time to write a plan that is much more streamlined, accountable and accessible for families and students. We were thrust into remote education in the spring, and we know the experience was more disjointed than we would have liked. We’ve worked hard to address that.”

He added, “We will make sure parents know what to expect and how to make sure their student is equipped with the technology they will need,” he said, adding that schools will reach out directly to families.”

School will resume Sept. 15 and Warwick said families would hear more details about the remote plan prior to that date.

“We will make sure parents know what to expect and how to make sure their student is equipped with the technology they will need,” he said, adding that schools will reach out directly to families.

He added, “The leadership of the school committee during the re-opening planning has been exceptional and I am pleased we have adopted a plan that places the highest premium on the health and safety of students and staff. We also fully understand the extremely difficult decisions and circumstances our families face during this global pandemic. Every family is different, and we understand that no solution is convenient for all families. However, we are working hard to establish remote education practices and allowances that are as amenable as permissible to the needs of working families.”