Important Information about School Reopening

  • Check out the latest information about COVID-19 cases at BPS here.

    October 21, 2020 - Boston Public Schools (BPS) announced that due to a rising COVID-19 infection rate in the city, and in support of efforts to contain the spread, all students will shift to remote learning effective tomorrow, Thursday, October 22. 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%. Students will remain in remote learning until there are two full weeks of falling infection rates.

    Once the citywide seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate is at 5% or below for two consecutive weeks, students with the highest needs will have the option to return to in-person learning. When the citywide seven-day COVID-19 positivity rate is at 4% or below for two consecutive weeks, BPS will restart the phased return of students for in-person learning, beginning with our youngest students. BPS will continue to respect family choice and will provide fully remote learning for all who choose it.

    BPS will provide updates to plans as soon as they develop. In addition, schools will work with families who may need to pick up technology or other personal items students may have left at school. The district is exploring options for providing services for our students with complex disabilities and will update families with more information in the coming days.

    Click below to read the October 21, 2020 letter from Supt. Brenda Cassellius 

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    Click below to read the October 8, 2020 letter from Supt. Brenda Cassellius 

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    Click below to read the October 7, 2020 letter from Supt. Brenda Cassellius 

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Family Change Request Form

Students prioritized for in-person learning

  • Students prioritized for in-person learning include:

    • English learners who have an ELD Level of 1 or 2 in high-intensity literacy training, or for whom graduation requirements and time to complete both English as a Second Language and content level classes are shorter than other grade levels.
    • Students with limited or interrupted formal education
    • Students with disabilities in inclusion classrooms with high needs, as defined by the PL3 in the student’s IEP
    • Students with disabilities who learn in substantially separate classrooms
    • Students who are experiencing homelessness
    • Students in the care of the Department of Children and Families
    • Students who attend special education public day schools (McKinley, Carter, Horace Mann)

  • Core Values Guiding Our Planning

    • Promote Equity 
    • Protect Public Health 
    • Build Community 
    • Increase the Quality of Student Learning
    • Support Parents/Guardians as Workers 
    • Align with Staff Experience and Abilities 

Guiding Principles for Today and the Future

    • Remain flexible: we are in a pandemic and the future is unpredictable. We will plan for the future but remain flexible to keep our community safe and healthy.
    • Monitor emerging scientific recommendations: we are guided by data and science and will review all updates
    • Adhere to the recommendations of Health Officials: we continuously receive recommendations from the Boston Public Health Commission, State officials, and the City of Boston on how to keep our students, staff, and families as healthy as possible. We will use these recommendations as guardrails for our planning.
    • Recognize that things will change: while we can plan for the future, emerging science, our local COVID-19 numbers, and changing recommendations from health officials will mean that we will need to make changes as we go.

Science-informed Decisions

    • The Boston Public Health Commission is closely monitoring:
      • The daily number of positive tests
      • The daily percent of positive tests
      • The daily visits to emergency rooms with COVID-19-like symptoms
    • BPS will pivot based on science and public health guidance

    The Boston Public Health Commission Recommends:

    • Social distancing (all 6 feet apart)
    • Masks on all students and staff
    • One student per row per bus
    • No food in cafeterias
    • Health protocols followed for bus & building sanitation and school nurse response to suspected exposure
    • No group gatherings if community infection rates are outside of acceptable range

Equity

  • Equity is a central focus of all BPS planning and work. We seek to clearly understand how decisions impact students and families and to make choices that do not marginalize our most-marginalized students.  

    The process we follow for bringing equity into every decision includes:

    1. Identify desired results and outcomes
    2. Gather the data
    3. Engage all stakeholders
    4. Review strategies for racial equity
    5. Develop an implementation plan guided by data and engagement
    6. Share measures of accountability and communicate to stakeholders