So I hear @MassGovernor is being joined by the Commissioner and DPH today...(I don’t know; I heard)

Ever the optimist, here are some things that would actually be useful to hear:

“We understand that the chronic underfunding of many of our systems has left them with limited choices when it comes to this fall.”

“The disproportionate impact of the pandemic on our communities of color, who are of course concentrated in our cities, is a result of systemic racism which we are continuing to work to combat.”

“We recognize that this thus adds to the burden on such communities’ schools.”

(Insert something here about knowing that 2% isn’t a level service budget and actually doing something about that like yesterday)

Let’s say: oh, an announcement of immediate widespread free extended hour testing, to continue into the new year, accompanied by community contact tracing

“This has also brought renewed attention, as it should, to our school buildings. Far too little attention has been paid to the buildings in which our children learn.”

(Insert stats about age of buildings by location...lead to increases for MSBA...)

“We respect the hard work that our districts have been doing, and will be setting up a system for all districts to share best practices on hybrid and remote learning” (this one from @MikeforSchools)