Boston, Worcester and Lowell Public Schools closed Tuesday due to extreme cold

BOSTON — Tuesday morning’s frigid temperatures prompted at least a few school districts to close.

Boston, Worcester, and Lowell decided to keep the doors and windows shut, citing the cold in conjunction with COVID regulations.

Boston 25′s updated list of schools that have cancelled Tuesday is here:

SCHOOL CLOSINGS

Worcester public schools tweeted out the forecasted freezing temperatures along with “…COVID regulations state that school bus windows must remain open which would add to the possibility of frostbite..” The district also tweeted that there’s been an increase of COVID with transportation personnel, which would result in buses running up to 30 minutes late.

Boston and Lowell school districts also pointed to the fact that a lot of kids have long walks to school, and the concern of frostbite comes in when wind chills will feel like 20 below. Both districts are also experiencing bus driver shortages due to COVID, which could result in longer wait times at the bus stop. The two districts also said it’s too cold to open windows to help ventilate the schools.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu spoke about prioritizing student safety given the current staffing issues due to COVID.

“We want to make sure there’s no risk of students being either out in the cold on the way to school or having issues in school because the ventilation that’s needed with the pandemic and more windows being opened throughout each of our school buildings,” Mayor Wu said.

Mayor Wu added that with staffing issues, some schools are considering remote options again, but couldn’t offer any more details.

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