The Associated Press
February 23, 2021 | 5:06 pm
BOSTON (AP) – Massachusetts is trying to bring students back to classrooms in the coming months, Governor Charlie Baker said on Tuesday.
“With COVID cases and hospitalizations continuing to decline and vaccines well underway, it’s time to set our goals for eliminating remote learning by April and start with primary schools,” said Baker at an afternoon news conference at the Statehouse.
While most districts have incorporated some classroom classroom learning for students – either entirely or adopting a hybrid model – about 20% of districts are still completely remote, Baker said.
These districts serve about 400,000 students, most of whom have not entered the classroom since last March, he added.
“The science is quite clear in this case. There are now dozens of reports from around the world that say it is safe to be in school, ”said the Republican. “Bringing children back to school should be a priority.”
The pandemic has been difficult for everyone, added Baker, “but it has been very difficult for children and their parents, who struggle to be outside the classroom and separated from their teachers and colleagues.”
Baker echoed comments made earlier in the day by state education commissioner Jeff Riley.
Riley said during the monthly Massachusetts Elementary and Secondary Education Council meeting that he would ask Baker next month to give him the authority to instruct districts across the state to open their classrooms full-time, five days a week.
Riley said the state’s pool test program – with 157 districts and schools opting for the program last week – will also keep students and teachers safe.
According to the grouped test program, 10 cotton swabs from a classroom or group of students and staff will go to a tube to be tested together. If the combined sample is negative, all individuals are considered negative. If the sample collected is positive, all individuals will be retested with the rapid test.
The head of the Massachusetts Teachers’ Association criticized the plan outlined by Baker and Riley, saying he would take control of local school committees – which should have the final say about returning to classrooms – while undermining children’s rights. collective bargaining by teacher unions.
“There are places where it is possible to return to personal learning, but the commissioner’s arrogance in creating top-down mandates will not get us there,” said MTA President Merrie Najimy. The Boston Globe.
Riley said that remote and hybrid learning models are having an adverse effect on students in the state.
“We continue to see problems with our children who are not in school or only partially in school and the mental health challenges they face,” he said. “We know that it is essential to have these connections between our teachers and their students.”
Parents would have the right to keep their children out of school and to learn remotely, he said.
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