Hundreds of Boston students left class this morning in protest against in-person learning. Some participants gathered virtually and aired their grievances in a webinar hosted by the Boston Student Advisory Council.
“How many cases do we need to reach in order for the district to remember that COVID still exists?” BSAC Member Matos Wellington asked the nearly 400-participant webinar.
On Thursday, the state logged more than 18,000 new infections.
BSAC student leaders led the Q and A based webinar. Boston parents, teachers and local activists joined the conversation, allying themselves with the student protestors.
Suleika Soto, a parent with two children enrolled in Boston public schools, said the district failed to develop an adequate plan before re-opening schools after winter break.
As cases continued to rise in both state-wide and in schools, Soto has chosen to keep her children home.
“To be threatened with court letters for keeping your child safe at home is crazy,” said Soto.
The Boston mother refuses to send her children back to school until the state’s taken “the proactive steps to stop the spread of COVID in our schools.”
BPS Teachers and faculty lamented their COVID-19 safety concerns. Mary Dibinga, a Boston Latin Academy teacher, said that she’s worried about the lack of KN95 and N95 availability for school staff and students.
Here’s a guide to buy the CDC recommended masks before they run out.
Boston Latin Academy student, William Hu, helped ignite the student-run movement on Jan 4. with his petition advocating for a momentary transition to remote learning.
The petition has reached nearly 10,000 signatures.
McKinley Middle School Nurse, Johnathon Haines, believes that keeping schools open is unsustainable for school medical workers.
“School nurses are doing way more than their job entail,” said Haines. The school nurse said that rise of cases and contact tracing procedures in schools are forcing many of his peers to work overtime —sometimes without pay.
BPS students went back and forth about how their voices are important and should be heard.
A BSAC member, Tiffany Luo, said “students shouldn’t have to die to learn.”
BSAC organized the Friday morning walkout, as well as a 16-point list of demands issued to the Department of Education and Secondary Education.
Within the list of demands, BSAC requested that the commonwealth grant them two full school weeks of remote learning.
The DESE and Gov. Charlie Baker have both stayed firm in their stance on in-person learning.
DESE officials said that no matter the situation, remote learning no longer counts toward a district’s minimum required structured learning time.
BSAC leaders said their fight to protect Boston students is not over. The coalition plan to further negotiate with state legislators and city officials.
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