Boston school officials reopen 4 schools to special education students
Discussions of having in-person learning for all students are continuing.
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Boston school leaders reopened four schools on Monday to help support students in special education.
In a letter to the community dated Thursday, district Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said Carter, McKinley, Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Henderson were all planned to reopen for in-person learning.
The reopening plan was a joint effort among school leaders, teachers, and public health experts, and was approved by the Boston Public Health Commission.
According to a news release from the Boston Teachers Union, the effort to open the four schools “most immediately provides safety and quality-of-learning provisions for students, educators, and families.”
“This framework that reflects the common sense solutions advocated for by union educators will make the in-person learning experience safer and higher quality for our students with the greatest needs,” Jessica Tang, president of the union, said in a statement. She noted that Boston Mayor Marty Walsh helped with devising the guidelines for reopening the schools.
“We are thankful to Mayor Walsh for understanding and helping to implement these common sense and concrete provisions with regard to PPE, ventilation and filtration, testing, room temperature, handwashing, in-person status notification, contact tracing notification, staffing, and more,” she wrote. “We applaud all of the educators and families who continued to speak up and speak out throughout this process in support of these provisions called for by the union, and we applaud the Mayor’s involvement as we worked together with City Hall to make these safety and quality learning protections become reality.”
Cassellius said in a separate statement included in the release that she is “excited” for in-person learning to begin again for these highest-needs students.
“Due to the global pandemic, many of our students have gone too long without the critical in-person services that they require for their continued health and well-being,” she said. “BPS has worked to provide additional safety measures to ensure our students and staff feel comfortable and safe in our buildings and are free to focus on teaching and learning,”
In her letter, Cassellius had said that the district is discussing with the union and school leaders on how best to restart in-person learning for more students.
“We have heard from many of you that while remote learning has greatly improved, for many students in-person learning is the best approach,” she said in the letter. “We are committed to reopening school buildings as soon as we can, in collaboration with the City and our partners. We have launched a Task Force — which includes school leaders, BTU, parent, student, and district representatives — that is advising on plans for safely reopening schools.
“We remain in close contact with BPHC as we continue working to ensure our health and safety readiness matches all emerging science and updated guidance,” she wrote.
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