BOSTON (WHDH) - With the school year fast approaching, state officials are taking a look at districts’ initial reopening plans to provide feedback to school committees so they can make the best decision for their students and staff amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Massachusetts’ School Reopening Panel spoke Tuesday about the uncertain future of the classroom after public school districts across the state submitted plans for in-person, hybrid and remote learning.
“We ask districts to be ready for all of these things because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, and we need to be ready to pivot maybe between or among these models depending on the circumstances,” Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley said.
Somerville announced that they will be starting the school year with online learning with the hopes of moving toward a hybrid model of in-person and remote classes depending on the spread of COVID-19.
The Baker administration is trying to curb the virus spread by putting in travel restrictions for people coming in from high-risk states.
“We all have a responsibility to help keep COVID out of Massachusetts, particularly after everybody worked so hard to drive down the public health trends,” he said.
Baker announced Tuesday that Rhode Island is now on the list of high-risk states.
The move is part of the administration’s policy that went into effect at the beginning of the month, requiring visitors from high-risk states to either quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative test result.
State health officials say they are uncomfortable with the state’s recent increase in positive cases.
Baker said he may roll back reopening if a slight jump in cases turns into a bigger spread.
“That could mean gathering sizes could be reduced or we could make some of our business regulations more strict,” he explained. “Reopening and staying open is obviously a big part of the goal, but obviously, we can’t do that if we don’t have everybody’s help to continue to move forward.”
The average positive test rate has increased from 1.7 to 2.2 percent in recent days.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)