All high schools in Massachusetts are required to be back open for full-time, in-person learning starting Monday, although some have received waivers from the state.
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey C. Riley made the announcement on Tuesday, April 27.
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In Andover, students getting ready to go back to the classroom full-time are experiencing a range of emotions.
“I haven’t seen so many people,” said junior Sofia Beraldi. “I forgot how to interact with people, I’m really nervous and really scared, I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
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It’s been a long road for countless high school students across the state.
“When you can’t talk to the teachers in person, like asking questions online, it’s just not the same, doing labs online, you don’t learn the same as you do in school,” said sophomore Zoe Magenheim.
“This year has been pretty bad,” said junior Abby Murnane. “But you’ve just gotta have a good perspective on it and just keep rolling forward and do the cards you have been dealt.”
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Andover parent Rhonda Musikar-Rosner’s two youngest kids have already been back in school full-time. And now hybrid learning will come to an end as well for her son Mason, a sophomore at the high school.
“He’s not doing school at a desk, he’s doing it from his bed, from the couch, I’d rather see him in school at a desk with a teacher in front of him,” said Musikar-Rosner.
Andover’s Interim Superintendent Claudia Bach says last-minute preparations finished up over the weekend. About 1,500 students head back on Monday to a building that’s struggled with overcrowding, making it hard to social distance.
“We’re creating tents, we’re creating spaces where there haven’t been classrooms before, we’re feeding students throughout the building, where we haven’t fed them before,” said Dr. Bach. “This has been a huge effort to do.”
About 200 Andover High School students have opted to stay with remote learning.
NBC10 Boston has reached out to state education officials to find out how many high schools have received waivers for Monday's deadline, but we have not heard back.
