Boston Public Schools will start the year remote

BOSTON — Schools in Boston will be using a fully remote learning model to start this school year, according to an announcement by the mayor and school officials Friday morning.

The district has opted to keep students out of classrooms in all schools to start the year. Students with high needs would eventually be the first to return to classrooms on Oct. 1, before a hybrid model would be put in to place for all other students starting Oct. 15 and running weekly into November.

The hybrid learning will be opt-in and will start with the youngest students and gradually move up through the grade levels.

Given the continued positive trend of pubic health data, officials say the following opt-in dates will allow some students to return to the classroom:

Sept. 21: Students begin school year with remote learning
Oct. 1: Optional hybrid learning begins for students with special needs
Oct. 15: Students K-0, K-1 & K-2
Oct. 22: Grades 1-3
Nov. 15: Grades 4-8
Nov. 16: Grades 9-12

The first day of school is slated for Sept. 21 after teachers unions negotiated a later start date with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to better accommodate COVID-19 precautions.

Brenda Cassellius, the Superintendent of Boston Public Schools, began a program earlier this week to get input from parents of more than 50,000 BPS students.

Notice that your child’s first day in school for hybrid learning will depend on which group they are placed in, the A or the B group, for their 2 days per week in school. pic.twitter.com/bMXqMtVfVB
— Mayor Marty Walsh (@marty_walsh) August 21, 2020

Superintendent Cassellius says the family will always have the final say and students can always be opted out of in-person learning.

Relief, frustration as parents learn BPS phased-in back-to-school plan

“Parents will always be able to choose remote,” Cassellius said previously.

I remain deeply concerned abt the hopscotch model—teachers having to simultaneously teach virtual & in-person students. BPS should map out alternative hybrid options that better meet families’ needs & recognize that virtual & in-person learning require distinct teaching methods.
— Michelle Wu 吳弭 (@wutrain) August 21, 2020

School buildings are also being prepared. Sam Depina addressed the facilities preparations currently underway. To that end, making sure schools have sufficient ventilation is a priority. The school department has ordered 3,000 fans and PPE will be provided. That includes 70,000 reusable masks donated by the Red Sox.

School facilities will be in full compliance with state public health guidelines from the first day anyone enters those buildings, staff or students. That work is happening now. It will be complete and ongoing, as teachers and school leaders help us identify additional steps.
— Mayor Marty Walsh, Twitter

Nurses too will play a vital role if students return to in-person learning. Suzanne Salter Bennett is the Nursing Program Director for the district. She says students will be monitored and have the ability to wash their hands which is crucial to stay healthy.

[With 5 weeks before school starts, BPS is gearing up for a very different fall semester]

Final plans for Boston schools still up in the air