The coronavirus pandemic forced Boston Public Schools students out of the classroom and onto a computer screen, but nearly a quarter of them did not log into classes on any given day this fall and there was an increase in course failures across all four core subjects, according to school data presented during a Saturday meeting that hints at ongoing academic disengagement.
Moving to virtual and distance learning during the public health crisis raised a myriad of concerns last spring, from waning student performance, to deteriorating mental health, to widening gaps in educational inequality as nearly all students need access to technology, internet service, and parental support from home.
Boston joining other cities in again tightening virus restrictions
Richard Guarino center, Boston Medical Center supply chain operations associate director, is accompanied by Victor Ruiz, left, as they deliver the hospital s first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to the pharmacy at Boston Medical Center on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
William Senior, pharmacy technician at Boston Medical Center, unpacks two trays comprising the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine delivered to Boston Medical Center, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. Each tray contains 975 doses of the vaccine. (Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool)
Victor Mendoza, certified pharmacy technician at Boston Medical Center, places his thumb on the sensor of the package comprising the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine delivered to Boston Medical Center to determine if the shipment has maintained the correct temperature on Mond
Mass WWII vet among 1st VA patients in nation vaccinated myplainview.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from myplainview.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
December 14, 2020
On the eve of 28 additional schools reopening in Boston for students with the highest needs, the Boston Teachers Union passed a vote of no confidence in Superintendent Brenda Cassellius.
The vote, which was supported by 97.5 percent of members during an emergency meeting Sunday, came as city educators say Cassellius has not agreed to the same “equal and uniform safety provisions” for the newly reopened schools as the four that reopened to in-person learning back in November, according to a press release from the union.
That didn’t mean, however, that educators planned not to show up for work staff said they would be in the schools come Monday morning.
Photos: Boston reopens 28 more schools for high-needs students
By Felicia Gans and David L. Ryan Globe Staff,Updated December 14, 2020, 12:02 p.m.
Email to a Friend
School buses depart after dropping students off at Mattahunt Elementary School in Mattapan on Monday.David L. Ryan/Globe Staff
Boston Public Schools reopened 28 more schools on Monday to serve about 1,700 more high-needs students for in-person learning.
Prior to Monday, only four schools had been open for in-person classes, serving about 200 high-needs students. Students who have been invited back for in-person learning include those with significant disabilities and English language learners whose formal education has been limited or interrupted, according to a spokesman for the district.