Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Teachers unions and school committee members are pushing back against a move to get students back into the classroom full time at Massachusetts schools. Elementary and Secondary Commissioner Jeff Riley said Tuesday that it’s time to begin the process of resuming in-person learning, citing improving health metrics and mitigation measures in place across the state’s districts. “The evidence on...

Teachers unions are pushing back against a move to get students back into the classroom full time at Massachusetts schools.

With health metrics improving and mitigation measures in place across Massachusetts schools, Elementary and Secondary Commissioner Jeff Riley said Tuesday it is time to begin the process of getting more students back into classrooms. Riley, who joined Gov. Charlie Baker and Education Secretary James Peyser on Tuesday afternoon to announce the push, told Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members…

Massachusetts education officials on Thursday reported 930 new cases of the coronavirus among students and staff over a one-week period. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the numbers Thursday in its weekly COVID-19 report. A total of 523 students with district building access within seven days of the report tested positive from Jan. 7 to Jan. 13, as did…

Massachusetts education officials on Thursday reported 930 new cases of the coronavirus among students and staff over a one-week period. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the numbers Thursday in its weekly COVID-19 report. A total of 523 students with district building access within seven days of the report tested positive from Jan. 7 to Jan. 13, as did…

This year’s MCAS exams will feature “significantly” reduced testing time for third through eighth graders, and no schools will be newly named underperforming in the upcoming school year, Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley told superintendents in a memo Tuesday. “The sudden shift to remote learning last spring, and the continuation of hybrid/remote learning this school year has...

Nearly 950 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the past week among students and staff in Massachusetts schools. Districts announced 552 of the new cases were diagnosed in students, while the other 397 cases of the virus were among staff members. The latest data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education covers Dec. 17 through Dec. 23, the…

Massachusetts’ schools are continuing to see an increase in coronavirus cases, with 1,009 more cases reported this week. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the numbers Thursday in its weekly COVID-19 report. A total of 591 students learning in-person or in a hybrid plan tested positive from Dec. 10 to 16, as did 418 school district staffers. This week…

Coronavirus cases are continuing to rise in Massachusetts schools, with 923 more cases reported this week. The Department of Elementary and Secondary released the numbers Thursday in its weekly COVID-19 report. A total of 503 students learning in-person or in a hybrid plan tested positive from Dec. 3 to 9, as did 420 school district staffers. This number represents the most…

Massachusetts education officials reported more than 480 new coronavirus cases this week in schools across the state. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the report on Wednesday, one day early due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The weekly COVID-19 report shows a total of 276 students and 206 staffers tested positive for the virus from Nov. 19 through Nov….

If your child develops symptoms of the coronavirus in school, they could get an Abbott rapid test with parental permission starting in early December.

Coronavirus cases have spiked in Massachusetts schools, with 652 more cases reported this week among students and staff members. The Department of Elementary and Secondary released the numbers Thursday in its weekly COVID-19 report. A total of 398 students learning in-person or in a hybrid plan tested positive from Nov. 12 to 18, as did 254 school district staffers. The…

Coronavirus cases are on the rise in Massachusetts schools, with 307 more cases reported this week. The Department of Elementary and Secondary released the numbers Thursday in its weekly COVID-19 report. A total of 176 students learning in-person or in a hybrid plan tested positive from Nov. 5 to 11, as did 131 school district staffers. This week is the…

Massachusetts schools across the state reported fewer total coronavirus cases than they did last week. From Oct. 29 to Nov. 4, they reported 252 positive cases between 154 students learning in-person or in hybrid classes and 98 school staff members, according to the weekly report from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, released Thursday. It’s a decline of…

Massachusetts schools on Thursday reported the greatest number of weekly coronavirus cases so far this fall. A total of 201 students learning in-person or in hybrid classes, as well as 85 school staff members, reported a positive test result between Oct. 22 and Oct. 28, according to the report from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. That’s 286…

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and his top education advisors urged schools Tuesday not to overreact to the rise in COVID-19 cases this fall, telling even those districts in communities deemed to be at the highest risk for transmission of the virus to stick with in-person learning unless there is evidence of spread within the school system. Education Secretary Jim Peyser…

Local public health experts say the data seems pretty clear — after several weeks of in-person or hybrid learning, COVID-19 is not spreading in Massachusetts schools as some had feared. “What we’re seeing in schools is that there are occasional cases that occur, but what we’re not necessarily seeing are cases where kids are acquiring the infection in school,”...

The Massachusetts Teachers Association is pushing back after the education commissioner issued a new state guideline saying teachers must go back into their classrooms even for remote learning. The new guidance has made an already heated debate even hotter. “It’s reckless. It’s more than unnecessary, it’s reckless,” said Merrie Najimy, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. The Department of...

As the start of school comes closer and more people hope to return to fields, courts and rinks, Massachusetts has new rules around amateur sports set to take effect on Monday. These guidelines are categorized into three tiers of risk depending on the frequency of close contact involved: low, moderate and high risk. Low risk sports, which include tennis, swimming,…

School districts must submit summaries of their preliminary reopening plans to the state Friday as Massachusetts figures out how to get students back in the classroom amid the pandemic. Districts are required to fill out an online form with information about their reopening models and other plans by the end of the day. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary…