BOSTON (WHDH) - School districts will have to submit three re-opening plans to state officials Friday, but many teachers and officials are saying they only want remote learning while the coronavirus pandemic continues to course through Massachusetts.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley is requiring all re-opening plans to include options for face-to-face learning, online learning, or a hybrid model. Gov. Charlie Baker backed the plan for multiple models, saying districts should decide which model they’ll use based on infection numbers in their areas.
“[Riley] wanted, and I think this is the right thing, wanted to be sure that everybody had a general understanding of how they would handle each of these given their circumstances.”
Boston is planning to use a hybrid model, where students will come to school two days a week and stay home for three. But the Boston Teachers Union is calling for fully remote learning followed by a phased-in return only when all safety protocols are in place, and other districts are going the remote route for safety.
Somerville schools will be virtual for at least the start of the year, with Mayor Joe Curtatone saying he doubted any city could test enough for safe in-class learning.
“We do not have the testing capacity anywhere in the commonwealth as a whole to conduct what is needed,” Curtatone said.
Revere officials also said students will learn remotely for the time being until positive case rates go down.
“We are most concerned about out recent uptick in positive cases and increasing positive test rates that are much higher than the state’s average,” Mayor Brian Arrigo said.”
Over the weekend, 850 public school teachers took to the streets, calling for remote education now with the aim of phasing in hybrid learning. And hundreds of teachers and faculty members in Lawrence also demonstrated in support of remote learning, saying they wanted to eventually return to classrooms but safety came first.
“We love our kids and want to get back to the classrooms,” said Lawrence Teachers Union President Kimberly Barry. “We are in teaching because we love the kids and we need to do what is right for them.”
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