Interim Superintendent of Schools Joseph Curtis delivered hope in his weekly update of plans to return all students to in-person hybrid learning after February break.

According to a story reported on by iBerkshires.com, this plan will be presented to the School Committee on Wednesday and, if approved, it will be provided to all families on Friday along with options for parents/guardians who want their children to continue in remote learning.

Two weeks ago, the School Committee voted that career and vocational students Grades 10-12 would return to classrooms on Feb. 1; certain special education classes including Stearns first and second-grade inclusions begin Monday, Feb. 8, and all other students return no sooner than the week of Feb. 22 "or as soon as realistically possible."

That week, the state Department of Public Health's weekly update on COVID-19 data for the previous 14-day period in the city showed a positivity rate of 3.32 percent and there were 29.4 cases of the virus per 100,000 people.

Interim Superintendent Curtis went on to say:

On an additional positive note, our daily local health data continues to improve. This demonstrates a continued gradual decline in our overall percent positivity.

On Feb.1, Mayor Linda Tyer in her State of the City address said current public health data is beginning to look promising.  At the time, the 14-day positivity rate rested at 3.5 percent, taking Pittsfield out of the high-risk red zone and into the yellow zone.

Curtis strongly urged Pittsfield residents to stay strong during the February break that runs from the 15th to the 19th, avoiding traveling over the vacation because of exposure to airports, public transit, hotels, and rest stops which are hot spots for COVID-19.

"We must continue to adhere to strict safety protocols," he said. "Including wearing a mask, hand washing/sanitizing, not participating in large gatherings, and not traveling during February vacation."

The last day of school is now Monday, June 21, because of snow days that the city has recently experienced.

There is much more information on this story. Please check out the original story at iBerkshires.com's website here.

LOOK: Answers to 30 common COVID-19 vaccine questions

While much is still unknown about the coronavirus and the future, what is known is that the currently available vaccines have gone through all three trial phases and are safe and effective. It will be necessary for as many Americans as possible to be vaccinated in order to finally return to some level of pre-pandemic normalcy, and hopefully these 30 answers provided here will help readers get vaccinated as soon they are able.

More From WUPE