In the News

Reopening schools will help, but wont end mass child mental health crisis (Feb 24, 2021)

“Massachusetts had a pediatric mental health crisis long before COVID hit,” said Dr. Elizabeth Pinsky, a pediatric psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. “In-person learning won’t fix the problems that existed before the pandemic, [but] I don’t know of any better single intervention.”

Here's why some high needs students are already in Somerville classrooms (Feb 24, 2021)

"“What surprised me were two things: I couldn’t find anything about it online, and we were told to pack a sweatshirt because the window would be open,” said Toof. “That threw me for a loop, because we’ve spent months hearing about the HVAC being updated. The building is from 2003, the HVAC shouldn’t be in that bad shape…and couldn’t windows have been opened back in August? Couldn’t they have been in-person all along?”"

3 Feet of distance minimum goal for bringing kids back to school (Feb 23, 2021)

"“Our guidance says three to six feet, so we’ve always said from the beginning that we’re recommending three feet and if you can do more, you should do so,” Riley said. “I would just remind people that in Europe and Asia, and in fact in many states in this country, people are at three feet or less.”"

Somerville schools respond to concerns about equitable language, transportation access (Feb 22, 2021)

"“The issue of language is grave,” said Gómez. “At the last town hall, someone had a question in Spanish and the translator fell offline, and [the presenters] were all looking at each other. If 50% of your student body is Latinos – with many first time immigrants – you should have a two prong approach.”"

Somerville schools go for 'Plan B' as new problems emerge and parent anger grows (Feb 16, 2021)

"Somerville parents’ fury over the city’s long-delayed school reopening plans boiled over at the Somerville School Committee’s contentious Feb. 8 meeting even as school officials confirmed they will deploy portable air filters to return students to classrooms sometime in the coming months."

CDC director says schools can safely reopen without vaccinating teachers (Feb 3, 2021)

"A study from the CDC published late last month found little evidence of the virus spreading at schools in the U.S. and abroad when precautions were taken, such as wearing masks, social distancing and ventilating rooms."

When Somerville's top 1% safety plan just isn't good enough (Jan 15, 2021)

"The test kits sit on a desk, unused. The air filters are not filtering, the masks are sitting in a box, unopened, and the kids are suffering. This is what is happening in Somerville, Massachusetts. And it is not acceptable."

Testing for Covid-19, and testing patience in Somerville (Dec 3, 2020)