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Remote Learning

Schools
COVID-19: School To Close After More Than Half Of Staffers Test Positive COVID-19: School To Close After More Than Half Of Staffers Test Positive
Covid-19: School To Close After More Than Half Of Staffers Test Positive A school in Connecticut will be closed for the rest of the week after being hit with a fresh wave of COVID-19 cases that knocked out more than half of its staff members. In Hartford County, the Henry Barnard Elementary School in Enfield will be closed on both Thursday, May 5, and Friday, May 6 after 40 of its 75 staff members tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Christopher Drezek announced. Related story - COVID-19: More Than 30 Staff Members Test Positive At School In Enfield “Although we have tried to cover the building with staff members from other schools, we have reached…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: More Than 30 Staff Members Test Positive At School In Region COVID-19: More Than 30 Staff Members Test Positive At School In Region
Covid-19: More Than 30 Staff Members Test Positive At School In Region School officials announced that more than 30 members of the staff at a Connecticut elementary school tested positive for COVID-19. Enfield Public Schools Superintendent Christopher Drezek said in a message on the Henry Barnard School website that the Hartford County school was "hit with a wave" of confirmed cases among staff members on the morning of Monday, May 2. "I commend the staff of Henry Barnard along with district staff for pulling together to keep the building operating today," he said. "However, with this amount of staff unable to come to work, and more awaiting test results, we a…

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by Nicole Valinote
Schools
COVID-19: School In Region Closes Due To Increase In Cases COVID-19: School In Region Closes Due To Increase In Cases
Covid-19: School In Region Closes Due To Increase In Cases A school in Western Massachusetts is the latest to go remote for the remainder of 2021 due to a rise in COVID-19 cases amid the arrival of the Omicron variant. In Hampshire County, school officials announced late on Monday, Dec. 20 that the R.H. Conwell Elementary School in Worthington will be closed for the rest of the week due to a spike in confirmed cases of the virus within the building. Schools Superintendent Gretchen Morse-Dobosz and Worthington School Nurse Samantha Pease issued the alert after the district identified 33 close contacts within the elementary school that spanned betwee…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
COVID-19: Harvard Business School Moves Courses Online After Surge In Breakthrough Cases COVID-19: Harvard Business School Moves Courses Online After Surge In Breakthrough Cases
Covid-19: Harvard Business School Moves Courses Online After Surge In Breakthrough Cases Some students at the Harvard Business School will temporarily be transitioning to remote learning this week as it contends with a surge in breakthrough COVID-19 cases on campus. The school in Boston will go remote for first-year MBA and some second-year students through Sunday, Oct. 3 due to a rise in newly confirmed cases, despite the majority of students and staff being vaccinated. According to the school, approximately 95 percent of students and more than 96 percent of staff are vaccinated against COVID-19. Students have been advised by school officials to avoid unmasked indoor events, …

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by Zak Failla
Schools
High School In Massachusetts Goes Remote After Substance Found On Walls High School In Massachusetts Goes Remote After Substance Found On Walls
High School In Massachusetts Goes Remote After Substance Found On Walls A high school was forced to alter its reopening plan after a suspicious substance was found growing on the walls and furniture inside the building in Western Massachusetts. South Hadley Schools Superintendent Jahmal Mosley issued a letter to the community in Hampshire County this week advising that “a black/white” substance was located inside the building, prompting them to open the year remotely. Mosely said that the district called in Fermata Home Services to assist, which took samples of the substance and sent them to a lab for testing. It is unclear when the test results will be avail…

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by Zak Failla
Schools
COVID-19: Yale To Require Students Get Vaccinated Before Fall Semester COVID-19: Yale To Require Students Get Vaccinated Before Fall Semester
Covid-19: Yale To Require Students Get Vaccinated Before Fall Semester Students returning to campus at Yale University next fall will be required to get vaccinated before heading back to the classroom. With its intention of fully reopening the college to full in-person learning in the fall, Yale, located in New Haven, announced that anyone returning to campus for the 2021-2022 school year must be vaccinated, barring specific religious or health concerns. Last week, Christine Chen, the Chief of Student Health at Yale announced that the university had procured enough doses to vaccinate all students before the current semester concludes. For students currently …

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by Zak Failla
Schools
COVID-19: College In New York Requiring All Students To Be Vaccinated COVID-19: College In New York Requiring All Students To Be Vaccinated
Covid-19: College In New York Requiring All Students To Be Vaccinated A college in New York will require students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 before they return to campus in the fall. The Hudson Valley institution, Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, announced this week that there will be no remote learning provided in the next academic year, and that all students will be required to receive vaccinations as the college reopens. The only exceptions will be made for medical or religious reasons, Vassar President Elizabeth Bradley said, noting that the college is “re-committing to our core educational model, and therefore we will no longer be offering a remot…

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by Zak Failla
News
Huh? Remote Education Programs Ending, But Will Still Be An Option For Students Huh? Remote Education Programs Ending, But Will Still Be An Option For Students
Huh? Remote Education Programs Ending, But Will Still Be An Option For Students Even though Massachusetts plans this April to end remote and hybrid learning programs created during the pandemic, learning this way will still be an option for students. Families will have the choice to keep their children in hybrid or remote-learning programs or enter their currently in-classroom learners in a remote program. However, the programs are likely to be different than what is being offered now. On Tuesday, March 9, Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley said that hybrid and remote-learning models will no longer count toward meeting the required student learning …

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: Deadline Set For MA Students' Return To In-Class Learning COVID-19: Deadline Set For MA Students' Return To In-Class Learning
Covid-19: Deadline Set For MA Students' Return To In-Class Learning Soon remote learning won’t be an option: Massachusetts has set deadlines for when students have to return to in-person education. On Tuesday, March 9, the Commissioner of Education Jeffrey C. Riley said that, for elementary school children (grades K-5), hybrid and remote learning models will no longer count toward meeting the required student learning time hours as of April 5. All Massachusetts public elementary schools must switch to full-time, in-person education, five days per week starting on Monday, April 5. Riley set deadlines for other grades to return to in-person, full-time educa…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
COVID-19: 1 In 6 US Counties Not Ready For In-School Education - Lookup Your County On Map COVID-19: 1 In 6 US Counties Not Ready For In-School Education - Lookup Your County On Map
Covid-19: 1 In 6 US Counties Not Ready For In-School Education - Lookup Your County On Map Is your county ready to return to full in-school education for elementary school students? According to new research by The New York Times, only 1 out of 6 counties in the U.S. have tamped down on the spread of COVID-19 enough to justify full-in person education. These counties tend to be sparsely populated in the Plains, West, and MidWest regions. This is concerning as President Biden and state governors have pushed for children to return to school within the next four months or so. The NYT has produced a new national map that shows, county-by-county, where cases of COVID-19 are low eno…

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by Kristin Palpini
Schools
COVID-19: All Elementary School Students May Be Back In The Classroom By April COVID-19: All Elementary School Students May Be Back In The Classroom By April
Covid-19: All Elementary School Students May Be Back In The Classroom By April All public Massachusetts elementary school students may be back in class this April. On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey Riley made the announcement during a morning meeting. In a week or two, Riley said he will seek to obtain the authority to remove remote and hybrid learning as options for Massachusetts public school districts, WesternMass News reported. Riley cited ongoing vaccinations and declining COVID-19 infections as reasons for having all students resume in-school education. Right now, Massachusetts school districts ar…

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by Kristin Palpini
Police & Fire
Staff Death At Massachusetts Elementary School Is Under Investigation Staff Death At Massachusetts Elementary School Is Under Investigation
Staff Death At Massachusetts Elementary School Is Under Investigation Police are investigating a death discovered at a small Central Massachusetts elementary school. On Thursday, Feb. 11, a member of the Templeton Elementary School’s psychology team was found dead at the school, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. News of the death was first circulated by Narragansett Regional School District Superintendent Chris Casavant in a letter home to the school community. No students were present or otherwise involved in the situation, the superintendent said. Friday, Feb. 12, was a remote learning day for all students. NRSD has five mental health sp…

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by Kristin Palpini
Schools
COVID-19: 'Live' Teaching and Check-In Requirements Go Into Effect For MA Schools COVID-19: 'Live' Teaching and Check-In Requirements Go Into Effect For MA Schools
Covid-19: 'Live' Teaching and Check-In Requirements Go Into Effect For MA Schools A new set of rules that requires "live" teaching time and daily check-ins in hybrid and remote learning Massachusetts school districts went into effect Tuesday, Jan. 19. The requirements set by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are an update to rules meant to stop the spread of COVID-19 by keeping students in high-risk communities learning from home. The rules establish a minimum level for live and synchronous instruction. Any district that does not comply with the new regulations will be required to make up learning time missed due to non-compliance by the end of t…

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by Kristin Palpini
Schools
COVID-19: Anger Roils Over Superintendent's Florida Trip As Students Do Remote-Learning COVID-19: Anger Roils Over Superintendent's Florida Trip As Students Do Remote-Learning
Covid-19: Anger Roils Over Superintendent's Florida Trip As Students Do Remote-Learning A school superintendent’s trip to Florida to see a football game has irked the school district community. During the week of Dec. 28, social media lit up when it was revealed that Paula Deacon, superintendent of Leominster schools had recently traveled to Tampa, Florida to see a Buccaneers game. Deacon didn’t violate any laws, but members of the community are calling her actions hypocritical, according to Boston10. While Leominster students attend school remotely, and the Massachusetts government continues to encourage people to stay home, by request as well as economic restrictions, Deac…

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by Kristin Palpini
Schools
COVID-19: First Details Of MCAS Test Changes For 2021 Surface COVID-19: First Details Of MCAS Test Changes For 2021 Surface
Covid-19: First Details Of Mcas Test Changes For 2021 Surface For many students, MCAS testing time will be shorter than usual due to COVID-19, said Massachusetts’ education commissioner, adding that for many students the pandemic likely led to a “learning loss.” On Tuesday, Jan. 5, Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley sent a memo to superintendents about what the MCAS testing process may be like during the pandemic. With considerations for things like interrupted classroom schedules and distance learning, MCAS will still be taken this spring, but Riley said he will recommend to the state board of education that the test be mod…

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by Kristin Palpini
Schools
Lawsuit: Springfield Student Challenges New Flu-Shot Requirement For Mass. Students Lawsuit: Springfield Student Challenges New Flu-Shot Requirement For Mass. Students
Lawsuit: Springfield Student Challenges New Flu-Shot Requirement For Mass. Students A Springfield graduate student and a Waltham mother are seeking to get the new flu vaccine requirement for all Massachusetts students thrown out by the courts. A lawsuit was recently filed by Madison Schiltz, 27, a Springfield College graduate student, and Tamar Massoyan-Artinian, both claiming that Massachusetts did not follow proper procedures to create a flu-vaccine mandate, according to the Boston Herald. Therefore, they said, the rule should be vacated. The new law, crafted to fight the spread of COVID-19, requires all children ages 6 months and older to receive the flu vaccine as a co…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
UPDATE Schools Declare Remote-Learning Day, Closings For Thursday, Dec. 17 UPDATE Schools Declare Remote-Learning Day, Closings For Thursday, Dec. 17
Update Schools Declare Remote-Learning Day, Closings For Thursday, Dec. 17 With up to 20 inches of snow predicted for Thursday, Dec. 17, many schools have already made decisions on whether to call it a snow day or schedule all-remote learning. The National Weather Service says areas of Central and Western Massachusetts, as well as the Berkshires, may see up to 20 inches of snow accumulation in some places as snow falls Wednesday, Dec. 16 evening through Thursday, Dec. 17. Temperatures will be in the low to mid-20s. The following school districts have announced plans to close or offer remote learning on Thursday, Dec. 17: Agawam School District - Closed Ashburnha…

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by Kristin Palpini
Business
Google Comes Back Online After Massive Worldwide Outage After Gmail, YouTube Google Comes Back Online After Massive Worldwide Outage After Gmail, YouTube
Google Comes Back Online After Massive Worldwide Outage After Gmail, YouTube 2020 strikes again. Google temporarily went down for approximately an hour early in the morning on Monday, Dec. 14, impacting its many services, including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Maps, and YouTube. The outages were reported on social media shortly before  7 a.m. on Monday, with most of Google’s services - including Google Classroom, which prevented some students around the world from remote learning temporarily - back shortly after 8 a.m., though it remained down longer for some. The outage impacted both mobile and desktop devices. It was reportedly caused by an authentication sy…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Fourth Grade Switches To Fully-Remote Learning COVID-19: Fourth Grade Switches To Fully-Remote Learning
Covid-19: Fourth Grade Switches To Fully-Remote Learning After the discovery of a COVID-19 infection, an entire grade has been put on remote-learning. On Wednesday, Nov. 18, in a letter to the community, Superintendent Mark Pellegrino said that the fourth-graders at Elm Street School in Gardner are switching to full-remote learning for the next two weeks. Pellegrino said that six COVID-19 incidents have been recorded in Gardner School District - 1 at Gardner High School, 1 at Gardner Middle School, 1 at Waterford Street School, and 3 at Elm Street School. “Fortunately, after extensive interviews with students and staff, our nurses have determine…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
Mayor Accuses State Of Politicizing Back-To-School, Defends Remote Education Mayor Accuses State Of Politicizing Back-To-School, Defends Remote Education
Mayor Accuses State Of Politicizing Back-To-School, Defends Remote Education A city mayor is accusing Massachusetts of politicizing back-to-school plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic. West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt was one of 16 municipal leaders that received a letter from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Sept. 18. The letter gave the school districts - all of which are “low risk” for the spread of COVID-19 - 10 days to defend their fully-remote back-to-school plans. In his response to the state, Tuesday, Sept. 29, Reichelt said that he was taken aback that the department of education didn’t reach out to the city before sendi…

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by Kristin Palpini
News
'Low Risk' Districts Have 10 Days To Justify Remote Back-To-School Plans 'Low Risk' Districts Have 10 Days To Justify Remote Back-To-School Plans
'Low Risk' Districts Have 10 Days To Justify Remote Back-To-School Plans Massachusetts is strongly encouraging about 15 school districts to put students back in the classroom. School districts in communities where the risk of COVID-19 infection is low should be offering in-class education, the state said. Low-risk districts that started the school year remotely, and do not have a firm date on when in-class education will begin received letters from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Friday, Sept. 18. The letters demand an explanation for the school district’s reopening plans within 10 days to justify full, or nearly full, remo…

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by Kristin Palpini