Brookline School Closure Extended Through End Of Year

BROOKLINE, MA — The final few weeks of school in Brookline usually involve a flurry of activity for students - from days of MCAS and finals to prom and end of year and season sports - but not this year.

Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday that all public schools, including Brookline will be closed through the end of the school year in an effort to help slow the spread of the new coronavirus during the pandemic.

This means sports, after school activities and special events have all been canceled, or will be radically different as the town works to cope with the unprecedented state of emergency and stay-at-home advisory.

"This is by no means how we saw our school year finishing, but it is a necessary step to take in order to mitigate the impact of this pandemic," Interim Superintendent Lummis said in a statement following the governor's announcement. "I'm proud of the way our educators and students have adapted to these unprecedented circumstances, and I have no doubt they'll continue to do their best to remain engaged in their learning through the end of the school year in June."

The statewide closure of schools was originally set to end April 7 but was extended to May 4.

For the past month students have been logging on to meet up with their teachers virtually and had classwork to help keep them connected to their school community and to support learning. Education officials have stressed the remote learning is not intended to replace school education.

Lummis said remote learning will continue until the last day of school, June 23, and teachers will introduce new content in the days ahead.

The district is awaiting additional guidance and recommendations from the education commissioner.

Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey Riley previously canceled MCAS testing for the remainder of the school year for grades 3-10. He's not yet made a decision regarding the competency determination for high school graduation.

"Decisions about events like graduation, prom and academic awards ceremonies will be discussed in the coming days and weeks and further information will be shared as it becomes available," said district officials in a release.

READ MORE:

Schools Canceled Through The End Of The School Year: Baker

Search For Interim Superintendent Underway In Brookline

Coronavirus in Brookline: Number Of Cases Now Above 200

National Guard Deployed To Brookline Facilities

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).