DEARBORN — The Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education will meet on Monday, Oct. 12 to decide if local COVID-19 conditions have improved enough to reopen schools.

The administration is expected to make recommendations to the board regarding a plan to reopen schools safely and cautiously so students can begin to return to the classroom in the coming weeks and months. Those recommendations include returning preschool-third or fifth grade to in-person learning by the end of the month or early November.

The class sizes would be limited and school day schedules may be adjusted to accommodate all students with either every day as half days or students divided into groups for every other day classes.

If schools resume, buses would also resume, but masks would be required at all times on buses and in the schools.

Superintendent Glenn Maleyko said he is anxious to get students back to classrooms.

“While we are anxious to get students back in schools, we have to ensure we do so as safely as possible,” he said. “Returning with a blended model will allow us to teach students face-to-face while reducing the virus exposure for students and staff.”

The administration’s recommendations will be based on input from the Reopen Committee, current health conditions in Dearborn and Wayne County and the goal of eventually returning students to the classrooms. These recommendations will also discuss bringing sixth-12th grade students on a limited schedule.

The board will vote to determine how learning will look for the next month and reevaluate COVID conditions every month as required by the state. 

Maleyko said it’s important that the community help control the spread of the virus.

“Medical experts agree that wearing face masks greatly reduces the risk of COVID-19,” he said. “Failing to take this simple step will add unnecessary risk to our staff, students and families. We want our community to control the spread of this disease as much as possible so we can educate our students in school. We encourage residents to continue to be vigilant about safety precautions, even outside of our schools.”

The Oct. 12 Board of Education meeting starts at 7 p.m. and will be shown live on the district’s YouTube channel, Facebook page and cable channels. A limited number of public seats are available in the Board Room at the Administrative Services Center, 18700 Audette St. A link to an online public comment form can also be found on the Board of Education page on the website https://dearbornschools.org/district/board-of-education/ 

Maleyko told The Arab American News that he is optimistic.

“I know there are a lot of opinions on the subject,” he said. “But I am optimistic. We are in this together and we need to continue to mask up, social distance, sanitize and stay safe.”