On Tuesday, Boston Public Schools superintendent Brenda Cassellius joined Boston Public Radio to speak on how her administration is supporting its students stuck at home during the coronavirus crisis. The conversation followed Tuesday afternoon’s announcement from Gov. Charlie Baker that public and private schools will remain closed for the remainder of the school year.
Massachusetts students are currently on their sixth consecutive week without in-person learning.
The biggest hurdle for her team so far, Cassellius said, has been ensuring that all children have access to online resources. She said around 18 percent of the system’s 45,000 students still don’t have proper internet access, and that even more are struggling with food and shelter.
Watch: Gov. Baker Announces Mass. Schools To Stay Closed Through School Year
"About 20 percent of families [are] telling us that they’re still having issues with food, housing, and student well-being around their mental health,” she said, adding that there are an additional 600 BPS students who administrators haven’t been able to reach.
In an effort to close the achievement gap, BPS has been distributing laptops and internet hotspots to families in need, to the tune of nearly 30,000 laptops, 1,400 internet hotspots and 200,000 free meals. Those steps, she said, have helped raise the percentage of students who’re able to stay involved.
"We had 33,000 kids sign on today to their Google Classrooms or their Clever Digital Backpack — and it’s spring break,” she said. “We know that kids are engaged, but we’re doing more to make sure every single child is engaged.”
She also emphasized that teachers and administrators will continue to face hurtles as they evolve in their understanding and approach to remote learning.
"Please be patient as we learn from each other and get better,” she said. "Certainly there are bumps, right? We’re not perfect at it yet. But we’re willing to innovate and collaborate and grow and learn together — and if we’re willing to do that, I think that that’s going to be what’s going to help sail us in the future.”
The superintendent ended the discussion on an optimistic note, and said she sees this new reality for teachers and students as “a time of re-birth."
"It’s a time for us to really lean in and to think differently about how we really do focus on equity,” she said. "How do we really think about our children who are most disadvantaged and what choices we make as a community about them? And I think that [the pandemic] has brought it to light, and we have an opportunity to do better."
