Classrooms roughly half-full for Newton's first day of makeup classes, officials say

Despite the fact Newton Public Schools is holding classes during February school vacation week to make up missed days due to the recent teachers strike, some students and teachers said school Tuesday largely felt like any other day.

"My classroom felt pretty similar to the way it normally does," said Ashley Raven, a preschool special education teacher at the Newton Early Childhood Program. "Some kids are traveling, but [the absence] wasn't too significant today."

Newton school principals across the district's 22 schools estimated that student absence rates ranged from 30% to 50% Tuesday, according to Julie McDonough, a spokesperson for Newton Public Schools. Despite the lower attendance, the mood inside schools was upbeat, she added.

"It has been a very typical school day with teachers and staff providing learning experiences to students in attendance," McDonough said in an email.

Newton Public Schools is using the four days of this vacation week to partially account for the 11 days of missed school after a teachers work stoppage canceled classes for the district's 11,700 kids.

Raven, one of the spokespeople for the Newton Teachers Association, was among the more than 2,000 teachers in the district who went on strike last month to fight for a new contract that included higher pay for teachers' aides, more social workers in schools and longer paid parental leave, among other things.

Newton Public Schools has to make up those 11 missed school days before the end of June in order to comply with a state policy requiring districts to offer 180 school days in a year.

The school committee voted unanimously earlier this month to use up the February vacation week to make up for the extended closure. (Newton schools still had the day off on Monday since Presidents Day was a federal holiday.)

To make up the remaining seven days, Newton Public Schools will extend its school year to June 26, according to the district's website.

School officials made clear that Newton students who are absent this week will not be punished for missing classes, as many families had pre-booked travel plans for this week. While teachers can cover new material, there will be no tests or quizzes and instructors must make time for students to catch up next week, according to McDonough.

Jessica Alpert Silber, a Newton parent to 11-year-old twins, opted to keep her family's travel plans this week rather than canceling. She said in an interview that teachers and principals have been pretty understanding.

"They assured us that [my kids] would be ok, that [teachers] would be doing a review in class and they wouldn't be penalized," Alpert Silber said, adding that she did not feel judged for her decision. "I felt very supported. I know it's not ideal but I didn't feel at all that my kids were going to suffer."

Newton parent Rakashi Chand said even though her 15- and 16-year-old high-schoolers wouldn't be penalized for missing school this week, she still sent them to class. Chand said her teens did not learn new material on Tuesday. Instead, they used class time to work on projects they started earlier in the term or played educational games.

"My son talked about a game they played in Spanish (class) that was really fun," she said. "And I've never heard him say 'Spanish' and 'fun' in the same sentence, so that was great."

Still, she realizes not every family will make a uniform decision.

"There is a strange feeling in the air knowing that everyone in Massachusetts is on vacation this week except for us," Chand said.

Because it is illegal for teachers to strike in Massachusetts, the Newton Teachers Association incurred a total $625,000 fine for the 11-day work stoppage. A Massachusetts judge on Tuesday agreed to have the NTA pay $275,000 to Newton Public Schools and $350,000 to the state. He also blocked an action filed on behalf of Newton parents seeking damages against the NTA.