#school-closures

#school-closures

Frustrated families are being left in the dark about how Boston's leaders are deciding which schools need to close, councilors said. The Boston City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to call for more transparency from the Wu administration and Boston Public Schools regarding ongoing efforts to close schools and consolidate the BPS system. There are many allies of Mayor Michelle Wu on the City Council, and the body has occasionally faced criticism for falling in line too easily with the mayor's agenda.

The early Friday raid on St Mary's co-educational school in Niger state in western Nigeria came after gunmen on Monday stormed a secondary school in neighbouring Kebbi state, abducting 25 girls. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had earlier reported 227 people seized, but the new number came after a verification exercise that concluded 303 students and 12 teachers were abducted. The number of boys and girls aged between eight and 18 years kidnapped from St Mary's is almost half the school's student population of 629.

Up until 16 March 2020, focus had been on keeping schools open, so there were no contingency plans in place, according to evidence given by the former education secretary Gavin Williamson. Sir Gavin described a "discombobulating 24-hour sea change" in his written evidence, counsel to the inquiry Clair Dobbin KC said. Her opening statement came on the first day of the eighth session of the Covid inquiry, which will look at the impact of the pandemic on children and young people across the UK.

These are not just seats that we're talking about. We are talking about children and families, staff and school communities," Superintendent Mary Skipper said. "The goal is to get our students into better experiences, ones that will fulfill our commitment to them. Not just the students that are in the seats today, the students who are to come up through the BPS.

Multiple schools have temporarily closed in New Zealand and hundreds of education facilities are seeking advice from officials after asbestos was detected in several brands of widely used coloured play sand. Last week, the ministry for business, innovation and employment confirmed a voluntary recall was under way for two brands of coloured sand sold in New Zealand, after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar products.

The school day is just getting started, and 4-year-old Vasiliki Vourgou, a little girl with dark eyes and hair pulled back in a shiny ponytail with a hot pink scrunchie, is alone. Most days, there are two pupils in this small classroom on the Greek island of Lemnos, with big windows and a view of the school's front courtyard. But one student is sick, so today it's just Vasiliki, going through the morning routine with her teacher.

We were focused on trying to delay the peak of the pandemic and we thought that the closure of schools, if it had to be used at all, would be a measure of last resort, the former prime minister said. He added: It was my impression that the work was being done. I certainly, let me put it this way, I certainly assumed that the work was being done.

"We've already lived through the painful impact of past closures, consolidations and modernizations, disruptions that left deep scars on our families, students and staff," she said. "Please, do not reassign our students again. Do not implement these boundary changes."

Diwali, the vibrant festival of lights celebrated in Hinduism and other religions, will become an official state holiday in California starting in 2026. The new law was sponsored by Democratic state Assemblymember Ash Kalra, who represents part of San Jose. Starting next year, public schools and community colleges will be able to close on Diwali, and state employees can choose to take the day off with pay.

I've read in Gavin Williamson's statement that he says that the department had not done any planning by this point for school closure because their priority was keeping schools open, Coles said when giving evidence to the inquiry on Monday. I almost fell off my chair when I read that. I think that's an extraordinary dereliction of duty by the leadership of the department both political and civil service.

According to the Education Policy Institute, London may be worst hit as a declining birthrate coincides with families moving away from the capital or sending their children to private schools. In fact, nine out of ten local UK authorities predicted to have the most significant drop in pupil numbers are in the capital, with places such as Westminster, Lambeth and Southwark being among the worst hit.

Barack Obama has admitted he has been digging himself out of a hole with his wife Michelle for years. The former United States president, 64, revealed he is on level ground with his partner, 61, eight years after leaving the White House. He made the comments during the London leg of his European speaking tour, in which he also criticised Donald Trump's recent comments about autism and the decision to shut schools during lockdown.

The data reflects that the district's current approach is not working, and urgent transformational change is necessary to improve outcomes for all Austin ISD students," TEA Commissioner Mike Morath said in the letter.

More than 50 private schools across England have announced closures so far this year, following the introduction of Labour's 20% VAT on school fees in January 2025.