'School Is Safe': Gov. Baker Says Remote Learning Not An Option

MASSACHUSETTS — Public schools across the state are expected to return to full, in-classroom learning following the holiday break despite the recent surge in coronavirus cases.

Under the rules the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education imposed last spring to force districts out of remote and hybrid learning models a year into the pandemic, the state must approve any move to remote learning or those hours will not count toward the 180 learning days needed for a full school year.

Gov. Baker said during his Tuesday news conference on National Guard help for hospitals and a revised indoor mask "recommendation" for indoor public spaces that nothing is changing on the school front.

"My view on this is really simple," Baker declared. "Kids need to be in school. School is safe.

"It's not only safe, it's healthy. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence out there at this point in time that keeping kids out of school, keeping them away from one another, keeping them from trained and caring adults did terrible damage to kids all over the country.

"It's not going to happen (again) in Massachusetts."

(READ: Baker Issues Mask Advisory, Activates Guard To Help At Hospitals)

Murdock High School in the North Central Massachusetts town of Winchendon was granted a state exemption to switch to remote learning for the high school only starting Dec. 16 through the holiday break after 100 students were forced into quarantine and 100 were in the test-and-stay protocol.

Murdock Superintendent Thad King said that decision was made in conjunction with DESE "after extended consideration and concern due to the alarming increase in the number of COVID cases."

Because of the strict in-person learning requirements this winter, districts will also no longer have the option of a remote snow day in case of bad weather since even those would have to be made up with a full, in-person school day anyway.

Salem is one of many districts across the state that were already in remote or hybrid learning last winter and chose to make most snow days remote-learning days so they would not have to make them up in June.

"The state continues to be very clear that any move to remote learning has to be approved by the state," Salem Superintendent Steve Zrike said last week. "It is not a local decision. If classrooms close for any reason — COVID- or non-COVID-related — it must be in conjunction with the state (waiver).

"That includes snow days. They are not permitting remote days in lieu of snow days this year."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)