Feb 24, 2021
BOSTON (
WBZ NewsRadio) The state s plan to phase out remote learning by the spring is getting mixed reactions from some of Massachusetts mayors.
Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley announced on Tuesday that the department aims to start with younger groups, planning to have all elementary school students back in the classroom five days a week by April.
The Massachusetts Teacher s Association spoke out against the announcement, saying that the move shows callous disregard for school staff and students. Governor Charlie Baker and Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley should go back to the drawing board, MTA President Merrie Najimy said in a statement. This time they must actually talk to the educators, educators’ unions, parents, school committee members and other community leaders most impacted by their surprise and unwelcome announcement, which seems timed largely to distract public attention from the administration’s failed vaccine rollo
Wicked Local
KINGSTON – The Kingston Elementary and Intermediate schools are expected to return to school full time starting Monday, March 22.
Whether the children attend school five days a week at the start of the new term depends in large part on a commitment by parents and guardians to drive their children to school.
The Kingston School Committee voted unanimously, 5-0, Monday night to approve the full-time, in-person return with conditions attached. It’s approved as a short-term goal based on several contingencies.
School Committee Chairman Eric Crone said a survey will go out to families soon to determine whether a majority of parents prefer a full return and will commit to transporting their children for the remainder of the school year to limit school bus use.
Leominster Champion
The union representing Leominster’s public school teachers is part of a statewide effort expressing “no confidence” in how state elementary and secondary education leaders have handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Leominster Education Association joined 103 fellow teachers’ unions and three non-union teachers’ groups in signing a petition saying that they have “no confidence in the judgment or professional leadership capabilities” of state Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley and the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Eighty-seven percent of Leominster Education Association members who cast ballots electronically Nov. 20 voted to support the no-confidence effort, LEA President Leah Burns stated in an email to the