BOSTON (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance is hosting a statewide Zoom conference Thursday with students and parents concerned about the possibility of unsafe school reopenings this fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Topics that are expected to be brought up during the call, which is slated to begin at 1 p.m., are aging school buildings, indoor air quality and access to rapid COVID-19 testing.
Bernadette Murphy, president of the Sharon Teachers Association, argues that students and educators should participate in full remote learning as opposed to the current plan to bring students back two days a week.
“We shouldn’t be working in the buildings,” she said. “These folks are very worried, very scared and upset.”
State Secretary of Education James Peyser says he wants most Massachusetts schools to reopen for in-classroom learning.
“It is best for students to be in school,” he said. “Many, if not most, communities have levels of the virus that are conducive to bringing students back to school.”
In Melrose, parents demonstrated for in-person learning.
“We believe that it’s safe to have it open for kids who are not at risk,” parent Lindsay Ware said. “We think that the teachers who are at risk could work with the people who are not to come in.”
In Woburn, Jena Howard, a mother of three, decided to enroll her children in private school because the city is considering hybrid learning.
“Double working parents, they can’t manage teaching their children during the day when they’re supposed to be working themselves,” she said.
Students and parents from Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Springfield and Worcester are expected to take part in the Massachusetts Education Justice Alliance’s Zoom call.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)