COVID-19 outbreak at Curley School 'caught us by surprise,' says Boston Public Schools superintendent

A woman wearings a "Boston Public Schools" mask and glasses atop her head stands outside a large building. — Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius speaks to reporters after paying a visit to the COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Boston Centers for Youth and Families Gallivan Community Center in Mattapan on March 14, 2021.

Mackenzie Farkus is a production assistant on Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Simmons University with a B.A. in journalism, where she was the editor in chief of the student newspaper, The Simmons Voice.

December 03, 2021

Updated August 09, 2023

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across Massachusetts, Boston Public Schools Superintendent Brenda Cassellius joined Boston Public Radio on Friday to discuss steps the school district is taking to prevent outbreaks in schools.

While there was “a good start to [this] school year,” a COVID-19 outbreak at the Curley K-8 School in Jamaica Plain highlighted the gaps in Boston Public Schools’ COVID-19 plans.

“[The outbreak at Curley K-8 School] just caught us by surprise, quite honestly. And so we have been adjusting our strategy,” Cassellius told Boston Public Radio hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan. She added that the school district has hired clinical and operational staff in response to the Curley K-8 School outbreak and increased COVID-19 rates in Massachusetts.

“We were waiting until we had actually confirmed COVID cases before notifying a family who was in close contact,” she continued. “Now we are notifying all families that you may be a close contact, and then another call to that family if you are in fact a close contact.”

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Although leaders in the Boston Public Schools system are unsure of exact vaccination rates among students, Cassellius estimated that nearly 70% of Boston students ages 12 and older are vaccinated and about 25% of those ages 5-11.

“We're still trying to figure out a way to collect that information from our families without interfering with data privacy for health reasons, and collecting their vaccination status,” Cassellius said.

“So many of our students are getting vaccinated at multiple different sites," Cassellius added. "Having all of those data systems connect is something that we're trying to figure out."

Cassellius notes that while students are entering their second winter of the pandemic, administrators are adjusting COVID-19 precautions when necessary.

“What we do every day is teach kids how to read and compute. We're not health professionals, and so it's been quite a challenge for all of us to learn all of these systems and operational systems and get them working. We're learning as we go, just to be honest.”