While some school districts delayed reopening after the winter vacation because of staff shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Revere Public School reopened Tuesday without a hitch.
Revere Superintendent Dr. Dianne Kelly reported that 76 percent of all students returned from the break and 90 percent of the staff.
With Revere’s seven day COVID case average at 263, daily new cases at 276 and a 14 day positive test rate at 11.1 percent many feared school would be heading into uncharted territories in the wake of the ongoing winter surge. The worst fear among some parents was that schools may begin examining a return to remote learning until the ongoing surge of the Omnicron variant of the virus slows.
However, Tuesday was smooth sailing according to Kelly who said, “all went well†as thousands of students returned to school.
One initiative that may have helped a safe return to school was the delivery of 7,000 Covid-19 self test-kits to all Revere Public School students ahead of the break by Mayor Brain Arrigo, Revere Public Health Director Lauren Buck and Kelly. This pro-action was designed for the many contacts students and their families may encounter over the holiday vacation. Each kit had two tests with health officials asking that one of the two be kept for the day of returning to school.
Similar efforts were taken in neighboring cities like Boston in order to ensure a safe return to school after winter break.
