Hey, there! Log in / Register

Boston schools to shut next week after all

Mayor Walsh announced tonight he's ordering Boston Public Schools shut starting Tuesday. The closure will last through at least April 27, but Walsh said students could be called back earlier if things improve.

Walsh said schools will be open Monday so that students and teachers will have time to discuss how to keep up their education during the unscheduled break and to give parents more time to plan how to deal with the situation.

Walsh is planning a Sunday press conference to discuss such details as how teachers will work remotely with students on home learning.

He said school employees will continue to be paid during the shutdown.

Walsh said BPS's considerations were likely more complex than those in most other Massachusetts communities because so many students have distinct needs: Many rely on schools for two meals every school day, roughly 4,500 students are homeless and one third are not native English speakers.

He added that although the Eliot School was shut this week after somebody affiliated with the school tested positive for Covid-19, there is no evidence that any students, teachers or school staffers have yet to contract the illness. However, he said he and school officials decided to shut the schools to try to help stem its spread.

Neighborhoods: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

I get that there is a large population of kids with tremendous needs, but come on. One minute, there's school. The next minute, there's no school. All of this announced on Friday night, with none of the teachers given any advance notice about how to plan for absentee learning or any materials to work from on Monday, thereby wasting the opportunity to have teachers and kids plan early. Plus, a huge number of parents are already planning on keeping kids home Monday anyway.

My wife the teacher reports she is being told that teachers will have at least 3 days of mandatory professional development Wed-Fri to help them prepare for....something. What are teachers who have kids in school supposed to do about child care during those 3 days? Aren't teachers still at risk of contaminating each other by going in for large group meetings? Did the city really not plan anything out at all to plan for this eventuality?

We all knew schools were going to end up being canceled eventually at least 48 hours ago. They should have acknowledge the inevitable and planned much better. The rollout of this is a mess.

up
Voting closed 0

Planning for absentee learning really isn't a priority right now.

If teachers cant make it next week for pd days because of childcare they can just not come in.

up
Voting closed 0

Planning for absentee learning absolutely should be a priority right now. 5 weeks of instructional time is a lot!! When kids come back after the previously scheduled April Break, they will be 5 weeks behind on their learning. It’s not as if the expectations for their performance next year in the next grade level will be lower.

For a school district that is already struggling to effectively educate students, losing over 10% of the year’s instructional time is massive. Not even attempting to adequately plan for an effective remote learning program is incredibly negligent.

up
Voting closed 0

So trust me. I get it.

What I don't get is Walsh planning this out so poorly. By Wednesday, it was evident they we were likely to have to close schools. Instead of coming to terms with that and immediately making plans for it and trying to mitigate the effect on the kids and their families, he pretended it wouldn't happen.

Then when the political backlash hit him, he freaked out and went too far in the opposite direction. And the communication has still been awful.

He should have started on Wed or Thurs saying, "we are making plans to close if the situation gets worse, please prepare your families for a shutdown. Teachers, please start preparing for take home work."

And he should have been working then to figure out how (or if) the city would help the various types of kids who need help. And when he did announce the shutdown, it should have been for 2-3 weeks to start, with the possibility of extensions as warranted. Announcing 6 weeks but saying "maybe we'll change our minds" is crazy. Doing professional development in a national emergency is also crazy. There's no reason teachers can't receive info on what the game plan is without coming in for 3 days.

He made a series of poor decisions, then got called out on them, then panicked.

up
Voting closed 0

Having families replan every 2 weeks will be tough. I’m not sure what I’ll do when I have to go back in 2 weeks and my kids are still off but at least I now have time to plan for it and maybe start teaching them some of the rules for if I have to leave them alone.

Watching other places in the world makes it pretty likely that we’ll have to be out longer than 2 weeks. Why not start preparing for that worst case and then be delighted when we can return to our normal lives earlier. Colleges are planning through next September. Why have parents have to replan every 2 weeks?

up
Voting closed 0

But I think he did two things:

He looked at other large cities like NYC before he decided to close and he waited for someone like Ayanna Pressley to let him know that money will be coming to help him out if he did decide to close the schools.

Not saying that is right or wrong, just saying that is probably where his mind was.

up
Voting closed 0

Replied to wrong post.

up
Voting closed 0

I couldn't agree with you more.

up
Voting closed 0

with the Olympics and the Indy car race so why is anyone surprised?

up
Voting closed 0

closed school for two weeks I believe? When students came back after the break (third week), schools stayed open an extra hour to make up for the difference the rest of the year. This is what one of my older co workers told me anyway.

Anyway panicking about how to make up school shouldn't be the biggest priority right now because it isn't that difficult in the grand scheme of things to add one some time at the end of the day or extend school a week.

up
Voting closed 0

I don’t think you do get it.

up
Voting closed 0

silly mayor confusing teachers about their professional development. keep your shirt on

up
Voting closed 0

Any insight? He was adamant, almost defiant, about staying open in the morning press conference. The GOV at his noon press conference essentially backed him up. Something big time went down.

up
Voting closed 0

With Pressley probably telling them where and how that money is going to be used.

That's my guess.

up
Voting closed 0

It’s more likely that Mahty got manhandled by the MTA: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news-2/2020/03/14/massachusetts-teache...

up
Voting closed 0

They don’t represent BOSTON teachers, the BTU does.

up
Voting closed 0

Went by the pot shop in Brookline this afternoon and as usual they were packed in like sardines and lined up into the street. Guess they are not too worried about coronavirus because this was like the opposite of social distancing.

Or maybe when you smoke, you just don't care?

up
Voting closed 0

Any tired jokes to share about them?

Everyone is stocking up on supplies they want/need. This is no different.

up
Voting closed 0

Apparently pushed the wrong button about somebody's personal habits!

up
Voting closed 0

Just a bad joke. Keep trying though.

up
Voting closed 0

Panic buying marijuana does sound like a half-baked idea

up
Voting closed 0

"Drugs will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no drugs."

YMMV

up
Voting closed 0

Maybe the wavy gravy crowd is on to something. Shelton and Mavrides are still alive.

The comics did contain some medical wisdom, like cautionary tale of the time Fat Freddy only took one tetracycline pill to cure his clap and it came back worse than ever.

Then there is "red and yella kill a fella. Green and white, up all night"

Your mileage WILL vary on the last one.

up
Voting closed 0

Closing Boston Schools is more complicated then all of the schools in surrounding cities and towns?
Maybe we should study what they do better than we do.

Anyway I think he knew it was inevitable and has no choice

up
Voting closed 0

Have money and families with the flexibility to care for their children at the drop of a hat?

up
Voting closed 0

Why is shutting down BPS more complicated than, say, a Gateway Community like Lynn or Chelsea? According to the Boston Globe (the authoritative source on all "woke" things), those communities struggle even more than Boston in terms of socioeconomics...

And yes, given that BPS has just barely managed to escape state receivership with "negotiations", there is much to be learned, especially in light of BPS' high per student spending.

up
Voting closed 0

Well per The Globe today, the state sees BPS as a failure for teaching kids, so just make it worse by giving kids a six week vacation.

up
Voting closed 0