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Governor shuts down Massachusetts schools for the year
Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday that all state public and private schools and non-emergency child care programs will remain closed for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year.
“This will allow districts to plan through the end of the year,” Baker said during a press conference. “The Department of Education will be taking additional steps to boost remote learning through a new remote learning initiative and a new advisory group that will work on creating more resources for parents, students and staff.”
Baker had a special message for seniors and that was to keep their heads up high as “brighter days are still ahead.”
For teachers and other school workers missing the children they teach, the extension announcement was tough to bear even though many educators saw it coming.
“We miss our kids”
Jen Mageary, an English teacher at Lynn English High School, said she expected the decisions made this school year will have “long-lasting effects.”
“I think we all knew it was coming, (but) it was still difficult to hear,” Mageary said of Tuesday’s announcement. “As teachers we go into this profession because we care about kids, and to prepare them for the world. We’re still doing that, but it’s on a completely different level.
“We miss our kids. We miss the day-to-day teaching and laughing with them, comforting them. (It’s) not the same, even though we’re doing our best with what we have. (It’s) not like face-to-face interaction. It’s a really weird feeling to go from seeing your kids every day to then rely on technology to get in touch with them.”
Kristina Pezzulo, a preschool teacher/childcare provider at the Lynn YMCA, said the decision to extend the closure of non-emergency childcare facilities made her sad, especially for the kids who are transitioning to kindergarten and will have to miss their graduations.
“I miss my kids,” said Pezzulo. “I’m just ready to go back. I’m still able to provide lessons and worksheets for the kids, but it’s not the same. We’re doing our best to keep in touch with the families and helping to provide as much as we can.”
For Pezzulo, who just started her position in mid-March, the closures have had a profound impact on her as well.
“For me it’s not work, it’s what I love to do and not being able to do what I love is making a big impact on my days because I actually have to find things to keep myself busy,” said Pezzulo. “I just miss my kids and can’t wait to go back to the Y.”
A surreal switch
The switch to online platforms and communication with students has been “surreal,” and unlike anything Mageary has ever seen or expected, she said.
“Even just thinking about MCAS,” said Mageary. “It was waived this year, (but that) doesn’t mean students don’t have to take it. It just means we’ll have double the number next year. It’s not going to be done when everyone is done social distancing. It’s going to have long lasting effects.”
Christy Merryman, who has three kids in public and private schools in Lynn, said the decision to close came as a relief for her and other mothers who were scared to send their kids back this year.
“I’m not surprised,” said Merryman. “I had a feeling that this was going to happen so we’ve been trying to prepare for it from the very beginning. I’m sad for the seniors and fifth graders and eighth graders, but I think the right decision was made. Obviously, it’s a game changer for moms that are at home, but i think it was the right call.”
Merryman has a daughter and son who attend Sacred Heart School and a son who’s in his freshman year at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute. It’s been a crazy freshman year for her son, she said, as he transferred from St. Mary’s to Lynn Tech in January, just three months before schools were ordered closed.
However, Merryman said she’s happy with the remote learning materials the schools have provided, partly because they allow the family, which has had several virus scares, to stay home.
Her husband first got sick with flu-like symptoms in mid-March and just began to start feeling better last week. Merryman has also battled symptoms, including a fever and loss of smell and taste, and one of their sons, who has asthma, battled a fever and sore throat for days. However, none of them were able to get tested and will not know if they had COVID-19 until they’re able to take an antibody test.
“The scare that we had, I don’t want to see anyone as sick as my husband was because it was scary,” said Merryman. “I’m glad that hopefully we won’t have to worry about that for awhile.”
Lynn Superintendent Dr. Patrick Tutwiler has been saying for weeks that he expected schools to be closed for the remainder of the year so Tuesday’s decision did not come as a surprise. While he supports the decision, Tutwiler said it was “heartbreaking” for all parties involved, such as teachers, students, student athletes and coaches. Spring is typically an exciting time filled with concerts, awards ceremonies, graduations and other events celebrating student accomplishments, he said.
“I think that is a thoughtful and evidence-based decision, one that is clearly with the health and well-being of all front of mind (but) the sense of loss that all of our students must be feeling, that is front of mind for me and I feel that same sense of loss myself,” said Tutwiler. “I know what losing the spring means to students. The hope is we can come up with some creative ideas to have as many things happen as is possible.”
Saugus Superintendent Dr. David DeRuosi supported the decision and said he thought the district was ready, having already started working on moving forward in the event of a prolonged closure.
“My administrators, teachers, central office, we’ve been doing this very methodically, step-by-step, (and) we already put measures in place just in case,” DeRuosi said. “(It’s) a good decision because we just got to the point where the remote learning is coming together. If we had to shift gears right now to plan for an opening, it would just create turmoil and havoc.”
“Doing the only thing he can do”
St. Mary’s Head of School Dr. John Dolan also supported the decision, saying “if you’ve seen the numbers, Gov. Baker is doing the only thing he can do,” adding a parent advisory council is working on a plan to honor the senior class.
Lynnfield Superintendent Jane Tremblay said while she felt that most people knew this was inevitable, the news was difficult to hear.
“I am sad beyond belief,” said Tremblay. “Nobody is surprised, but we are all stunned. We have to remember that we are in the middle right now, but there will be an end and we will get there together.”
Tremblay said she expects that the creativity of administrators and teachers will be put to the test, but is confident that they will rise to the challenge.
“I know that our students and families are doing the best they can and will continue to give their very best efforts to stay engaged and connected to our schools,” she said.
Dr. Julie Tammaro, a Lynnfield mother of four, said Baker’s announcement is a relief of sorts.
“I assumed it was going to happen. It’s nice to know it is concrete so we can plan,” she said.
Her oldest child is six and Tammaro has combined her own home learning ideas with ones provided by the public schools to keep her children occupied.
Peabody Interim School Superintendent Dr. Marc Kerble scrambled Tuesday afternoon to coordinate the extension’s implications with his staff.
“I just learned that we will have remote learning for the remainder of the school year. We have a draft of a plan in place that has to be vetted, but I am confident that all three grade spans (elementary, middle, and high school) will do what is best for the students of Peabody. We will have specific meetings and professional development to support them,” he said in a statement.
Under Kerble’s directions, public school administrators and individual schools coordinated lesson plans beginning a month ago and provided them through school websites to teachers and parents with updated plans and communications from Kerble sent out on a biweekly or weekly basis.
A Peabody middle school teacher who asked not to be identified said the decision to not return to class this spring means she will continue to focus on virtual learning, knowing she can teach her class concepts, but a computer can’t replace the classroom community.
“It’s the best decision but I’m really sad,” she said.
Remote learning plans
Tutwiler said the city’s school district had been preparing for the potential of classes not resuming by assembling a remote learning plan for students, which will be implemented on April 27 and extend to June 18, the last day of school in Lynn.
However, he is deeply concerned about the learning gaps that could be created by the extended closure. He acknowledged that students may be behind when they return in the fall.
“Nothing trumps the magic that happens in a classroom with a teacher and students learning together,” said Tutwiler.
Parent Chad Wilkins said he was disappointed for his daughter, Amanda, who is a senior at Lynn Classical High School.
“I feel bad for everybody, especially the seniors like my daughter,” said Wilkins. “She was going to be captain of the softball team. She was looking forward to being a real leader on that team. Now, it’s all gone. She’s crushed. She was in tears a few minutes ago. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Swampscott Superintendent Pamela Angelakis said she was “naturally disappointed” to learn that school buildings would remain closed, but added she has been “resigned to the fact that, unfortunately, this was inevitable.”
Remote learning will continue for Swampscott students, Angelakis said, and “teachers and students have transitioned extremely well” to using at-home technology for education.
“We are obviously aware that our seniors are affected the most by these developments, and we are committed to being creative to come up with ways for them to be properly recognized for what is truly a milestone in their lives,” Angelakis said. “As a parent of a high school senior, I am especially sensitive to what these kids are going through and the importance of letting them know that their achievements will not be diminished by the circumstances we are all facing.”
Item staffers Elyse Carmosino, Gayla Cawley, Thor Jourgensen, Steve Krause, David McLellan, and Anne Marie Tobin contributed to this report.