City & Boston Schools Discussing ‘A Reimagined White Stadium’ in July 13 Virtual Meeting

City officials are hosting a meeting to discuss revitalizing Franklin Park's White Stadium to be the "centerpiece of Boston Public Schools athletics" on July 13. White Stadium was constructed in 1945 in the Playstead area of Franklin Park, and since then it has held many sporting events -- football games, track meets, and a lot more. Sadly, the stadium is in disrepair, isn't up to code and doesn't meet accessibility requirements, said the city. But the city is planning a signifiant investment in the stadium and athletics facilities. After a recent assessment, desired improvements will include an expanded staff office, a modern press box, improved locker rooms, and an 8-lane track, according to the city's website.

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Free Meals for Kids and Teens This Summer

The Boston Public Schools is offering free summer meals to all young people 18 years old and younger at more than 100 locations across the city. Free meals will be available in Jamaica Plain in the following locations:

Curtis Hall Community Center (20 South St.) with breakfast at 8 am and lunch at 12 pm
English High School (144 McBride St.) with breakfast 8-9 am and lunch 11 am to 1 pm
Curley K-8 School (40 Pershing Road) with breakfast 8-9:30 am and lunch 11 am to 1 pm
City on a Hill Church (445 Arborway) on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday with lunch at 11:30 am
Hyde Square Task Force (30 Sunnyside St.) with lunch at 12 pm

Locations will offer breakfast and/or lunch services to students, and no identification or pre-registration is required. This year's free meal program began on July 6, and will be offered through late August. Locations aren't just in Boston, they are available throughout the state. Learn more about the program and find a meal site by visiting projectbread.org/summereats or by calling 1-800-645-8333.

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Boston Celebrates First Electric School Buses

Forty-two different schools have been selected to have some of their students ride the first electric schools buses in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) school bus fleet. Mayor Michelle Wu and other city personnel celebrated the arrival of the first two electric school buses on Feb. 6. Eighteen more buses will be coming to Boston in the coming weeks and are expected to be used following the February school vacation, according to a press release. “I’m grateful to the many people who have been instrumental in getting Boston to this point and helping us demonstrate the many overlapping benefits of moving to a green economy and ensuring that our kids and our workforce are at the center of that transition,” said Wu.

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BPS Asks Students and Staff to Please Wear Masks for Eight Days

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper sent a letter to the BPS community asking staff and students to wear masks to limit spreading COVID, RSV, and other illnesses, for the first eight days of school in January. "This is our ask and expectation of students and staff, not a mandate—which will be in effect during the school day on school premises and school buses," wrote Skipper. She emphasized that no one will be disciplined or sent home if they refuse to wear a mask. Skipper said the hope is to "maximize our ability to keep students healthy and minimize staff absences during this high-risk period," and that it's a temporary ask for students from Jan. 4 to Jan.

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Iron Workers Union Distributes School Supply Donations to Boston Teachers and Families

It's no secret that many teachers spend their own money on supplies to help students succeed. With that in mind, Iron Workers Local 7 recently donated supplies to hundreds of Boston teachers and families. Iron Workers Local 7 NEXT Committee host its 2nd Annual Mid-Year School Supply Drive on Feb. 26 to replenish school supplies for Boston students and teachers. Hundreds of Local 7 families and Boston area students and teachers stopped by the union hall in South Boston to pick up new supplies.

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Curley School Families and Community Not Happy with State’s Decision

State Education Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey Riley said the state will not accept all remote learning days as official days that Curley K-8 School will take while facing a COVID-19 outbreak. It's fair to say that the Curley School community and the general public is incensed by Riley and Boston Public School leaders. Curley School parent Jocelyn Stanton created a change.org petition to honor all of the remote learning days. The Twittersphere has been packed with opinions about Riley, BPS leadership, Curley School teachers, science, math, and more. People are really not happy with Riley.

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COVID-19 Outbreaks at Two Jamaica Plain Elementary Schools

The Curley K-8 School and the Joseph P. Manning Elementary School have both had outbreaks of COVID-19 this week. The Curley K-8 community received an email around 5:30 pm today saying "that 24 members of the Curley K-8 community recently accessed the building and tested positive for COVID-19." The email said school officials are working closely with the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC), and due to the advice of the BPHC "one or more individuals are now in quarantine and have been provided with specific next steps according to their situation..." The email did not provide information about whether those who tested positive are students, faculty, or staff. This news comes on top of the Manning School having 16 confirmed cases in a school of 175 students, according to WBUR.

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Boston Public Schools Suspend All In-Person Learning Due to Citywide COVID Test Rates

Effective Thursday, all Boston Public Schools are suspending in-person learning due to a jump in COVID-19 positive test results. The city’s seven-day average COVID-19 positive test rate was reported at 5.7%, an increase from last week’s rate of 4.5%, according to Boston Public Schools (BPS) press release. All students will receive remote education until there are two full weeks of falling infection rates. “We have said all along that we will only provide in-person learning for students if the data and public health guidance supports it, and this new data shows that we are trending in the wrong direction,” said Mayor Martin Walsh. “We will continue to monitor the metrics and work towards our goal of welcoming students back into our classrooms, learning among their peers, supported and educated by our dedicated staff.”

BPS officials made the decision in consultation with public health officials, and reviewing data that showed two weeks of increased confirmed positive cases across all of Boston.

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