LYNN — Gov. Charlie Baker and other officials visited St. Mary’s High School Friday morning to tour the new STEM building that opened in October.
Baker, along with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Education Secretary James Peyser and Cardinal Sean O’Malley visited two biology classes and spoke with students about how they have enjoyed their school year of in-person classes so far.
“Our state was hit very early and very hard by a novel virus,” said Board of Trustees Chair Wililam Mosakowski. “Through science that will be taught in this very building and this magnificent new STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) facility, we can see that science leads the path to the end of the pandemic in our country and just as importantly onward throughout the world.”
The STEM building cost approximately $20 million and includes a gateway entrance to the school campus and two floors of classroom and lab space.
After touring the classrooms, Baker sat down with several St. Mary’s students, who said they appreciated having the chance to learn in-person when so many other students had been in remote classes for much of the school year.
Junior Madison Spencer of Lynn said that she had even gotten used to wearing a mask all day and during sports, and didn’t mind doing so if it meant she got to be at school.
“The school is really advocating to do the right thing in and outside of school,” Spencer said. “One bad decision could lead to a shutdown of the whole entire school, and nobody wants to be back at home.”
Senior Ava Benzan of Lynn agreed, saying that students were able to hold each other accountable to mask-wearing and social-distancing rules.
“It kind of boils down to what the students want for each other,” Benzan said. “We all want to stay in school. We all want to be here.”
Baker said he was impressed by the students’ dedication to safety protocols and education, and added that it echoed what he had heard from students in schools around the state.
“The kids are more than willing to do what it takes to make it work,” Baker said. “One of the things the lieutenant governor and I have heard from all the kids we’ve talked to … is, I’ll do anything to be able to make sure I go to school. Kids are absolutely fired up about the possibility and the opportunity to be in-person.”
Baker added that the work done by schools like St. Mary’s to ensure that they stayed open during the pandemic could serve as a model for other districts as they begin to open back up.
“I certainly hope that many of the lessons that have been learned over the course of the first two-thirds of the school year can be incorporated by others as well,” he said.
