While Boston Schools Discuss Reopening, Parents Must Decide If They Will Send Their Children
BOSTON (CBS) - With the school year a little more than a month away, the Boston School Committee held a meeting to discuss reopening plans Wednesday night. The talks come as a new poll shows many Americans think school should not return to normal this fall. The poll finds only one in 10 Americans say the school year should start as normal for day care centers, preschools and K-12 students.
Most consider mask requirements and other safety measures a necessity and roughly three-in-10 say that kids shouldn't return to the classroom at all.
Twelve-year-old Leiya Eliacin is keeping busy with online summer classes, and her classwork will stay that way for now.
"She's my only child. I'm not going to risk her life," said Fabienne Eliacin, Leiya's mother. "I'm doing the best I can at home with her."
A special needs student with asthma and dyslexia, Fabienne says she won't return to the classroom even if it's part of the Boston reopening plan. She is worried about a lack of social distancing in the buildings and on the bus with an extended family at home.
"We don't know what this virus is doing, we don't know the outcomes of it, and the transportation, and we don't have a plan," said Fabienne.
Boston School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius kicked off the virtual school committee meeting- providing an update on where the planning stands. Mayor Marty Walsh has already suggested it could be a mix of in classroom and online learning.
Parent Heidi Clinton said with proper safety precautions she wants her children, including sixth grader Robert, to return at the very least to get to meet their teachers in person.
Her husband, Ed, a custodian at a Boston Public Schools, says they are preparing and cleaning as if the classrooms will reopen.
"We're trying to give the push to get the buildings ready to go, see what we got to do in setting up classrooms, see what furniture has to be removed from buildings," Ed Clinton said.
School leaders are still reviewing classroom air filtration, and looking for safe remote learning locations when parents are working.
As plans take shape, Boston families are invited to an online meeting Saturday morning. To register, visit bostonpublicschools.org/reopening
Under state guidelines, school districts must submit their reopening plans by the end of next week.
