BELMONT, Mass. — Dozens of parents and children protested outside Belmont High School Monday, urging district leaders to reopen schools for in-person learning.
“What they’re not balancing is the risks from remote learning and that the kids are isolated and they’re not engaged and they’re alone at a computer for 5 or 6 hours,” said Christine McLaughlin, a parent in Belmont.
Belmont Public Schools started the year fully remote with no plans to go back to the classroom for the first two months, and it’s been a challenge for families.
“I think it’s hard to have an almost 12-year-old sort of flip that switch and have the mental maturity and wherewithal to say okay I’m in school now, when they’re sitting at their dining rooms tables and they’re having internet issues or connectivity issues,” said Melissa Maniatis, a parent at the rally in Belmont. “They’re isolated or they’re not engaging with their peers or their teachers.”
Belmont is in the ‘green’ for COVID-19, which means there’s a low transmission rate.
According to state guidelines, districts in the green should be in at least a hybrid learning model.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education warned 16 school districts last week that are in the ‘green’ to send students back to school soon.
Districts like Belmont will need to submit their plans to the state this week on when they’ll be moving to a hybrid model.
“We love our children, we want our children to be safe, we’re just asking them to follow the science, follow the guidelines, follow the data and everything points to, we are allowed to be in school, so that’s what we’re asking for,” said Maniatis.
Parents say the original plan was to stay fully remote until November 9, but now the school committee is considering starting the hybrid schedule on October 22.
“I mean October 22nd is better than November 9,” said McLaughlin. “It’s just frustrating because of all the work that needs to be done, we feel other districts got that done ahead of time.”
Now these parents are hoping their kids can get back into the classroom by October 22 as the latest possible option.
“If we get one thing out of this today, it’s to move that up even a week earlier,” said McLaughlin.
There is a virtual school committee meeting Tuesday night with a vote scheduled for launching a hybrid model.
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