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It’s one of the hottest topics on Beacon Hill and in Massachusetts communities today: Is it safe to go back to school?
The Massachusetts Federation of Teachers says no. Most schools have poor ventilation – a known factor in increasing the risk of COVID-19 transmission – its leaders say, and say there are too many unknowns and too much transmission of the coronavirus in the state for in-person learning to be safe for students or staff. Some parents agree, worried for their children’s safety.
Many other parents take the opposite tack. Many districts struggled to implement remote learning during the pandemic’s early stages this spring, with low-income students in districts like Boston bearing the worst burden, and many have raised concerns about the effectiveness of remote teaching. Many parents also say they’re overwhelmed by the need to monitor their children’s participation in Zoom classes and do their own jobs at the same time. And Gov. Charlie Baker weighed in Tuesday, saying that in most towns and cities with low transmission rates, “I can’t imagine a good reason not to go back, whether it’s full-time or some sort of a hybrid, because for all intents and purposes you meet all the benchmarks that are being used across the country and across New England to make decisions about whether it’s safe to go back to school.”
In the real estate world, some have speculated office tenants’ willingness to return to their spaces may be strongly tied to whether tenants’ employees’ children are back in school.
So where do you stand on this critical issue? Take our poll and tell us.
