Massachusetts school districts plan for continued in-person learning amid rising Covid-19 cases
By Ryan Trowbridge, Leon Purvis
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SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (WGGB, WSHM-LD) — During Governor Charlie Baker’s briefing on Tuesday, he made it clear that he will not take schools back to remote learning, so we checked in with districts to see what they are planning.
“My view on this one is really simple. Kids need to be in school, school is safe. It’s not only safe, it’s healthy,” Baker explained.
Baker doubled down on keeping kids in school today. Students were remote for most of last school year, which he said impacted many students across the country.
“Keeping kids out of school, keeping them away from one another, keeping them away from trained and caring adults did terrible damage to kids all over the country. It’s not going to happen in Massachusetts,” Baker explained.
We checked in with local school districts to see what their plans are. We saw that the R.H. Conwell Elementary School in Worthington had to close on Tuesday due to a positive case last week where they identified 33 close contacts between two classrooms. In all, they said three people tested positive. The school also said parents are testing positive or showing symptoms. The Worthington Board of Health recommended that the school stay closed until next year to prevent further spread.
Westfield Public Schools extended its winter recess by a day, so kids have off Thursday, December 23. Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski told Western Mass News in a statement:
“We have been averaging 70+ cases per week over the last few weeks. We are also doing over a hundred test and stays with students every day. The city is also seeing a significant increase in cases. This is also affecting our ability to staff some schools.”
Holyoke Public Schools is also doubling down on protocols. In a press conference last week, Superintendent Anthony Soto said the school district had over 400 cases for the school year, but spread in school has been very minimal.
In the Amherst-Pelham School District, Superintendent Dr. Michael Morris told Western Mass News that they average about a case a day as they require vaccines for those 16 and up and encourage eligible students to get their dose.
“We have a high vaccination rate even in our grade levels that do not have the mandate yet…I have full confidence that the high vaccination rate of our staff and students is contributing to a lower than the average number of positive cases in the district,” Morris explained.
Any decision to go remote would have to come from the state and each school district we reached out to did not indicate that was in their future.
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