The entryway at Fredonia Central Schools.

It appears sixth- to 12th-grade students in the Fredonia Central Schools may be returning to classes right before the Thanksgiving holiday.

In a letter to families, Dr. Colleen Taggerty said the hybrid model for these students will begin Nov. 23. Group two students will attend school on that first day.

Students with the last names from A-K will attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays and those L-Z — group two — will attend Wednesday and Friday. Monday is scheduled to remain a remote learning day on Nov. 30.

In a release earlier this month, the district had planned to have grades six to 12 return to the buildings on Nov. 12. Those dates, however, have been pushed back.

“Through much discussion with our Return to School Committee, we determined that there are a number of challenges which must be resolved,” Taggerty wrote. “The additional time will allow us to hire needed staff to make our hybrid schedule possible, as we solve a number of other logistical challenges relating to cleaing and transportation.”

Taggerty also warned in the letter that the hybrid model will “reduce instructional time for your child.”

A survey is being sent to parents to decide on how their children will learn under this model. They will need to decide, Taggerty said, by Nov. 6.

School officials’ decision to delay the opening for middle and high school students will likely not go over well with parents. At the most recent school board meeting, the school board and superintendent were called out over athe lack of a plan to have students in the facilities.

“I still don’t understand how, although Fredonia has one of the highest tax bases in the county, that we were the last out of 18 districts in Chautauqua County to have all of the elementary kids in school for a minimum of two days a week,” Julie Mikula, a parent said, addressing the board on Oct. 20. “Dunkirk and Fredonia are the only two schools in the entire county that have their high schools on complete remote. … I am asking you please to help provide my child with the opportunities that I helped to provide your children.”

Fredonia’s intentions to reopen come during a week of havoc for area schools. Northern Chautauqua Catholic School in Dunkirk announced its first COVID-19 case while Dunkirk’s School 7 is remote due to COVID-19 concerns through Wednesday. Silver Creek Elementary also was in remote mode today while Bemus Point Elementary is facing staffing issues due to the virus. It is closed through Nov. 6.