Live school updates: The latest on education and COVID-19 in Mass.
The latest on education in Massachusetts during the pandemic.
See last week’s live school updates here.
COVID-19 tests soon to be available in schools (Nov. 18)
Rapid-result COVID-19 tests are coming soon to just over 130 Massachusetts school districts, special education facilities, and charter schools.WHDH reports that the tests could be in school buildings next month and would be administered to students or staff who begin showing symptoms during a school day. The BinaxNOW test from Abbott uses a nasal swab and cart to render results in roughly 15 minutes. Gov. Charlie Baker noted that the tests only cost $5 and have been reliable with results. “By testing students and teachers and getting results within minutes we will be able to identify infected individuals and their close contacts more quickly, and to help stop any spread,” state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley said, according to WHDH.
Clark and Westfield State go remote due to upticks in COVID-19 cases (Nov. 17)
Both Clark and Westfield State are going remote after the universities saw increases in COVID-19 cases on campus.At Clark, there were five new cases discovered overnight Monday, and officials are worried about the virus trends in the region, President David Fitihian and Provost David Baird said in a letter to the university community.“While this is not an emergency situation, it is serious,” the letter said. “Our highest priority remains maintaining the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff and finishing the semester strong.”The university decided to suspend classes – remote and in person – for Monday through Wednesday of this week with remote learning starting on Thursday.“Students are strongly encouraged to utilize the next few days to make plans to depart campus as soon as possible,” the letter said. “We also highly recommend that you complete at least one COVID-19 test and receive results prior to leaving campus.”Plans for the spring semester have not changed, officials said.At Westfield State, the university plans to move all classes online with a “controlled move-out” of residence halls planned for between Thursday and Sunday, according to an announcement on its website. There will be no housing on campus until the spring semester starts on Jan. 19.The move came after the university saw “lessening capacity for isolation and quarantine cases and a continually increasing need for related staffing and other resources to manage COVID-19-specific and other campus operations,” the announcement said.“Even though enlisting our months-long contingency planning was always a possibility, this was a difficult decision that impacts our full campus community,” Interim President Roy Saigo said in the announcement “But, we are at a critical juncture as the health and safety of our campus community is our top priority.”
‘Zoom-bombing’ at Boston Latin School included racist content (Nov. 17)
A class at Boston Latin School faced a Zoom-bombing that included sexually explicit and racist content during a virtual class on Monday.The Boston Globe reports that the school is investigating what happened, and has had a meeting with parents.Rachel Skerrit, who leads the school, apologized for what happened in a letter to the community.“Frankly, I don’t have the words to communicate the disappointment and fury that we feel, particularly because students within our school community either committed this event themselves or shared the classroom link with others for the purpose of disruption and hate,” she wrote, according to the newspaper.The person who allegedly hijacked the meeting is not thought to be affiliated with the school, but had somehow gotten ahold of the link to the meeting.
Tufts imposes stricter guidelines for students learning on campus (Nov. 17)
Students staying on campus at Tufts will have to adhere to stricter COVID-19 protocols.The Tufts Daily, the school’s independent student newspaper, reports that students will now only be allowed to leave residence halls or off-campus apartments when they’re going to class, going to work, to get food, receive medical care, get outdoor exercise, or obtain a COVID-19 test. The university will also close the gym except for sports training.The new protocols come as the university released an email to the community stating that there were 10 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed over the weekend. The seven-day total as of Saturday was 21 positive tests of 15,171 administered overall, according to the university.
Cohasset Middle and High Schools go remote after underage party, educators protest increase in in-person learning days (Nov. 17)
A house party attended by middle and high school students in Cohasset has forced both schools to go completely remote for the next two weeks, if no further issues emerge, according to district officials.The house party was held on Friday, a copy of the letter sent to middle school families said. The party was on Jerusalem Road, WBZ reported. The homeowners were on scene, and issued a $500 fine for exceeding the 10-person indoor gathering limit.“This party was attended by a large, undetermined number of Cohasset students who gathered indoors without wearing masks and who failed to obey social distancing orders,” the letter said. Fully remote learning began on Monday, and is scheduled to run until Nov. 30 when both schools are planned to restart hybrid learning. Elementary schools are planned to continue with hybrid learning during this time.“We acknowledge that the pandemic has necessitated unwelcomed adjustments to our lifestyle, and that those adjustments have been particularly hard on children and teens,” the letter said. “We must, however, remain cognizant of the fact that, regardless of the pandemic, actions we take may have adverse consequences for others – even if that is not the intended outcome.”Educators in the district, meanwhile, are protesting the proposal to change Wednesdays from an all-remote learning day to in-person learning. A demonstration was scheduled for between 7:30 and 8 a.m. Tuesday in front of the Superintendent’s office, according to a news release from the Cohasset Teachers Association.“While educators want a full return to in-person learning as soon as possible, we do not see the district as being ready to do that now or even to move to more in-person learning,” a statement from the CTA said. “Many rooms still need portable air purifiers installed, and we anticipate many families will take part in holiday gatherings that present heightened risk for exposure to the coronavirus. “Also, trying to change student schedules now will undermine the stability of the program that we have in place and that educators believe is working as well as can be expected,” the statement read. “For these reasons, the educators of Cohasset are advocating for the current hybrid scheduling to remain in place and be reassessed after the winter break.”
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