Manchester School District update for Jan. 15: Return to hybrid learning

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Handwriting on the wall inside the Manchester School District offices. Photo/Carol Robidoux

MANCHESTER, NH – COVID-19 update: Manchester School District remains in remote status, except for some specialized programs, however schools can return to hybrid learning starting Jan. 25. You can read more about that below. We continue to track cases both on-campus and remote. You can find that data on our dashboard – we will be updating our dashboard in the coming week.

Priority testing for COVID-19: Students and school staff with symptoms of COVID-19 can get priority in scheduling tests for the illness. The priority appointments are available within 24 hours, and are available at numerous locations. You can find a full listing with this map.

COVID-19 vaccinations: The state has made changes to Phase 1B of COVID-19 vaccinations. Starting Friday, Jan. 22, adults 65 and older are eligible to sign up for a COVID-19 vaccination. In addition, anyone with two or more chronic conditions will be eligible to sign up beginning next Friday. You can find more information on the vaccination process at www.vaccines.nh.gov.


Return to hybrid learning

Manchester School District will return to hybrid learning beginning on Jan. 25. Schools have begun contacting families directly about whether they want to return to hybrid learning. You can choose to keep your student remote.

The school district has adopted a new metric to determine when students can learn in person. Learn more about this metric. This change allows us to decide whether to be in-person or remote on a school-by-school basis. As we approach Jan. 25, we will look at each school to determine whether we can return to hybrid learning there. Some schools may need to wait, however.

  • When grades would return: Grades Kindergarten through 8, as well as Grade 12, can return starting Jan. 25. The remaining high school grades would return in subsequent weeks. We understand that there is some uncertainty in this, but this plan allows us to get as many students as possible safely back in school buildings as soon as possible. We ask for your patience and understanding.
  • Other important changes: As we return to hybrid, we will resume bus service for students. We will likely stop bus meal deliveries at that time, however, we will continue to offer meal pickup at school sites. We will be putting a new COVID-19 reporting phone system in place – we will follow up with instructions in the next week.

Monday holiday

There is no school on Monday, Jan. 18, in recognition of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.

Due to the holiday, there will be no meal deliveries or pick-ups available on Monday. School sites that usually offer meals for pick-up WILL have meals available on Tuesday of next week as well as Wednesday and Friday. This change is for next week only. There will not be bus delivery meals on Tuesday, only onsite pick up.


Food assistance

Manchester School District offers meals free of charge to learners in remote status on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. As noted above, this is different next week due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. You can find the bus schedules and school pickup locations at www.mansd.org/covid-19-resources/food-resources.

Community partners also provide the following meal options:

  • Weekend meal bags: Thanks to our partnership with the Granite YMCA, Granite United Way and SNHU, we continue to offer weekend meal bags. You can pick up these bags on Fridays from buses or at school pickup sites. In addition, you can pick up a bag at the YMCA on Fridays (see info below).

  • YMCA grab-and-go meals: The YMCA of Downtown Manchester continues to offer grab-and-go meals for youths 18 and younger. Meals are available Monday through Friday. You can pick up meals on the Stark Street side of the building between the hours of 4:30 and 5:30 pm.

About this Author

Andrew Tolanc

Director of Communications and Community RelationsManchester School District