Schools

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

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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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Schools

All Boston Public School Students Starting Remote; Will Return to School in Phases

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All Boston Public School students will begin remote learning for the school year on September 21, and report back to school in phases. On Friday, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, Boston Public Schools (BPS) Superintendent Brenda Cassellius, and Boston Chief of Health and Human Services Marty Martinez, announced BPS' plan for the year. “This plan was developed with the input of families, educators and public health experts, and every step will follow science and public health data," said Walsh. "For many of our students, school is not just a place to learn, but also a place for nutritious meals, care and mentoring, and social development. Throughout the school year and beyond, we will continue the work that began long before COVID-19: to close opportunity and achievement gaps, and give every single child the quality education that they deserve.”

Students with the highest need will start in a hybrid model on Oct.

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Boston Public Schools

Registration for Boston Public Schools Extended

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Boston Public Schools has extended the deadline for the Second Priority Registration Period due to closures from the Coronavirus. 

Students in K2, and all other grades, may register for the 2020-2021 school year by pre-registering online at https://sis.mybps.org, and scheduling an appointment to complete the process. You can also call and register via phone with one of our registration specialists. To schedule an appointment please visit https://booknow.appointment-plus.com or call the BPS Welcome Center at 617-635-9010. This information was provided by the Boston Public School district.

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Boston Public Schools

John F. Kennedy School Fundraiser at The Frogmore

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John F. Kennedy (JFK) Elementary School in Jamaica Plain is excited to host its first fundraising event at The Frogmore Restaurant on Tuesday, April 7. The school is inviting neighbors, families and friends to help support a new K-5 yoga program!  

A $5 suggested entry fee (which includes appetizers) can be given at the door or purchased online at: www.eventbrite.com/e/jfk-elementary-fundraiser-at-frogmore-recaudacion-de-fondos-en-frogmore-tickets-99223846195.  

At the JFK Fundraiser, guests will also enjoy craft beer and cocktails, a silent auction, and speeches by Principal Dr. Christine Copeland and special guest State Representative Nika Elugardo.  

All donations will go towards a new yoga program for JFK students in grades K-5 with a local non-profit facilitator.

Schools

BPS High Schoolers Learn From the Trees at Arnold Arboretum

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As David Mays walked through the snow-covered Central Woods of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University last month, gazing at the red oaks and the eastern white pines, the 17-year-old wondered if trees alone can save the planet. “Are trees the only thing that will stop global warming?” Mays asked. “How many should we plant before we graduate? I want to support humans, nature, and save the Earth.”

Mays was one of 25 high school students from the Boston Day and Evening Academy in Roxbury learning about forest ecology, carbon’s role in ecosystems, and how trees mitigate climate change at a special program at the Arboretum. Designed as part of Boston Public School’s biology curriculum, the two-day experience let students conduct hands-on fieldwork in the landscape and engage with Harvard researchers in interactive panel discussions about climate change.

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Boston Public Schools

Walsh: Welcome Back, BPS!

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Yellow buses, backpacks and excited kids are here: it’s back to school season. We’re lucky to live in Boston, a city with some of the smartest people in the world. I have a message for all our students heading into school this fall: nobody’s education is more important than yours, because nobody has the potential to change the world like you do. I’m proud of how hard you work and how brave you are in the face of all your different challenges. I know that this school year will be full of new opportunities, and new ways to learn and grow.

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Schools

Manning School Adding a Grade in 2020, Will Be K-6

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Ask and ye shall receive. At least that's the case for the Joseph P. Manning Elementary School. As the school will be adding a sixth grade starting in 2020, just as the school's administration wanted. The Manning School's grade expansion is one of many changes announced by the Boston Public Schools in regards to numerous school expansions and reconfigurations as part of the BuildBPS plan. The Manning School is one of 17 elementary schools transitioning from K-5 to K-6 in September 2020.

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Schools

BTU Unafraid Educators Help Undocumented Students Thru Workshops, Scholarships and More

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A group of Jamaica Plain educators are part of an organization that is fighting for the rights of undocumented Boston Public School students. Jamaica Plain residents Adriana Costache and Maya Taft-Morales have been working with BTU Unafraid Educators for more than two years, or as Maya Taft-Morales described it -- since Trump was elected. Both fielded questions about their involvement in the organization. Q: What school do you teach in, and what do you teach? Costache: I teach math and science to English learners at Fenway High School.

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Schools

School Committee Chair: Federal Government Must Maintain Funding for Boston Public Schools

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The last time I visited a Congressional office, I sat at the knee of the Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill. He gave me a Celtics pennant, which (rumor had it) was given to him by Red Auerbach following the Celtics championship run earlier that year. It was 1986, and I was eight years old. This past March, I returned to Capitol Hill with my Boston School Committee colleague, Jamaica Plain native Michael O’Neill, and representatives from the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and the city of Boston to ask our representatives and senators to preserve federal funding for our schools. Boston, like many other large urban districts around the country, has faced declining federal revenue streams during the last several years.

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Boston Public Schools

Dr. Brenda Cassellius Selected as Boston Public Schools Superintendent

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The Boston School Committee voted 5-2 on Wednesday night to offer the position of superintendent of the Boston Public Schools to Dr. Brenda Cassellius. Cassellius recently stepped down as Commissioner of Education for the state of Minnesota. She still must formally accept the offer for the position, then negotiate the conditions of her employment, including salary, and a starting date. The school committee voted during a meeting after publicly debating the three finalist candidates. The two other finalists were Dr. Oscar Santos, Head of School for Cathedral 7-12 High School in Boston; and Marie Izquierdo, Chief Academic Officer for Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida.

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