BOSTON (WHDH) - Officials are busy readying classrooms for when Boston Public Schools students return to in-person learning next Thursday, despite the Bay State seeing a rise in coronavirus cases.
“It’s a mixed bag of feelings of excitement and looking forward to a new school year with new students, and also a lot of anxiety around the unknown,” said Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang.
School officials plans to keep students safe by implementing an indoor mask requirement. Additionally, Boston Public Schools plan to provide increased vaccine access, improved air quality, and frequent COVID-19 testing.
Only one in five families have signed a permission slip to receive regular COVID-19 testing so far.
“I am urging every family to put masks, testing, and vaccines on your back-to-school list,” said Acting Mayor Kim Janey.
Vaccination status has played a major role in Boston’s school bus driver shortage.
The district is down between 40 and 60 drivers of what they need to complete each scheduled route in September, officials announced. Administrators are telling parents to expect significant delays when school resumes.
“We will continue communicating to our parents over the next several days and weeks as we try to fill those positions,” said Superintendent Brenda Cassellius. “We will engage in some re-routing and we are asking parents if they will decline to ride the yellow bus. That will allow us to consolidate some routes.”
Cassellius said the district is also facing a shortage of food prep workers and is asking anyone looking for employment to apply.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)