Boston's Fourth Through Eighth Graders Return To In-Person School

BOSTON, MA — For the first time in a year, some of Boston’s fourth through eighth graders walked into their school buildings for a day of learning, rather than attending virtually. “Group A” is in-person Monday and Tuesday, Group B is in on Thursday and Friday, and all students learn remotely on Wednesday.

“Some of these kids I saw today in class have not been in class in over a year,” said Mayor Marty Walsh. He visited Roosevelt K-8 School Monday morning, and said he spoke to 17 teachers who had been vaccinated over the weekend, and another who planned to be vaccinated Monday afternoon.

“It's good to see that the vaccinations are happening now for the teachers and staff in our schools,” said Walsh.

Teachers became eligible for the vaccine last Thursday, though Gov. Charlie Baker they would not be prioritized over older and sicker residents. The Boston Teachers Union responded that Baker’s characterization of teachers wanting to take vaccines away from the “sick and elderly” was “defamatory and untrue.” The union said they have advocated for including teachers in the class of essential workers, and vaccinating them when that group becomes eligible.

“The Baker administration’s weaponization of the fact that most educators are under the age of 65 distorts several realities, including the presence of underlying health conditions,” a BTU statement said. “It ignores the fact that many educators live with and take care of sick or elderly family members, and worry about bringing the virus home with them. And it undermines our efforts for a timely and safe return to in-person learning.”

Teachers had to find appointments through vaccination sites that were already set up. The Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union then partnered to create a vaccination site just for teachers, bus drivers, administrators, and other BPS staff. The site opened Sunday at the Boston Centers for Youth and Families Gallivan Community Center in Mattapan and will be open through Thursday, and then again next Sunday through Thursday.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced last week that it would require a full time in-person learning option for students in kindergarten through fifth grade by April 5 and middle school students by April 28. Some teachers unions have said, though, that not enough teachers are being vaccinated for that to be done safely.