Newton says about 30% of students missed school during first strike makeup day
NEWTON – While nearly all public schools in the state are on February vacation, Newton teachers and students are back in the classroom. But not all children were at school as makeup days began following a lengthy teachers strike.
The district decided to forego winter break to make up for some of the days missed as a result of the two week teachers strike that ended in early February.
Overall, 31.4% of students were absent on Tuesday. In the elementary school, 31.1% of students were absent; in the middle school 36.5% of students were out; and in the high school 28.2% of students missed class. Newton had said there would not be any penalties for missing these days if families had already made plans.
Students exiting the F.A. Day School at parent pick up told WBZ-TV there were roughly half of students present in class. They said most time was spent reviewing material, with some fun time that included cupcakes and a movie.
"I liked it because I feel like I got a lot more [academic] attention because there were only like 15 kids in my class," said seventh grader Drew Sanger.
Students said it was hard hearing about vacations plans from their friends in other districts.
"'Oh I'm going to Hawaii. I'm going to the Bahamas.' And I was just like, 'Oh I'm going to school,'" one boy said.
While one group of parents sued for monetary damages as a result of the strike, many at parent pickup were not concerned about learning loss.
"I think in the long run it's not going to be a huge deal, and then in the short run it's an inconvenience," parent Kelly Rothschild said. "And there's a lot of growing pains, but we went through this several years ago with the whole COVID thing, and a much more intense version."