Dr. Baldwin: 'Parents Want Their Children to Come Back to School'

The Fairhaven School Committee will be voting on how their town will return to learning this fall. Dr. Robert Baldwin will make his recommendation to the school committee that Fairhaven provides "in-person" learning to as many students as possible while maintaining CDC guidelines as a minimum.

"It's all about safety with us," Baldwin told Michael and Maddie. "The safety of our children and educators are our top priority. We're doing six feet of distancing (as opposed to three), so how many kids can you safely fit into a room with that kind of distancing?"

Baldwin believes that in some cases they may be able to pull off "in-person" learning. In all cases, they will be able to implement a hybrid model, and in other cases, parents may make the choice to be fully remote.

We asked Baldwin about the results of a parental survey that was sent out asking how they felt about a return to school.

"I wasn't surprised at all. Our parents want to come back," said Dr. Baldwin. "Very minimal numbers are interested in remote learning. You're looking at 80 to 85 percent of the parents looking for some kind of hybrid or in-person learning happening for their children. Parents want their children to come back to school."

Baldwin lamented about the misinformation that often goes hand-in-hand with social media.

"Our decisions are based on facts, science, and data in Fairhaven," he said. "If I were in Georgia, I'd be telling you something different right now, but I'm not. I'm in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Our families have spoken. Our transmission rates are different than (other parts of the country)."

What is the plan for buses and school lunch? Listen to Dr. Baldwin's entire interview with Michael and Maddie above.