ADAMS, Mass. — As children throughout the county return to school this week, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday that he was confident public schools have supports they need to address learning gaps coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

While face coverings, social distancing, remote learning and "hybrid" schedules largely are a thing of the past, the education deficits created by the pandemic have been front of mind for school officials for more than two years.

 

During a stop in Adams on Tuesday, Baker said he believed the commonwealth has adequately supported school districts to deal with that issue.

 

"We certainly believe the resources the state put out through the Student Opportunity Act and some of the elements that were in the budget that we signed recently should mean the locals have what I would describe as the tools and the resources to deliver on a decent year for kids," Baker said. "I think the last couple of years for kids — and adults who teach and work in the school system — have been very challenging."

 

Baker was in the Mother Town to herald the groundbreaking for the Greylock Glen Outdoor Center.

 

As the calendar turns from August to September, the two-term Republican governor has been focusing a lot on what educators hope will be the first full "normal" year of public school education since the 2018-19 academic year.

 

Last week in Boston, the Baker-Polito administration announced it would seek nearly $40 million in supplemental budget requests in the coming weeks to support safety-related infrastructure spending for schools.

 

Included on the administration's wishlist were matching grants for security and communication upgrades in K-12 schools and colleges, grant funding for an anonymous "tip line" to report potential threats, ongoing emergency response training for school officials and funding for a statewide "Say Something" public awareness campaign.

 

"These safety proposals would support a huge range of children and students, from those in child care to those at public colleges and universities," Education Secretary James Peyser said in a statement last week. "The key to these proposals is collaboration among different state agencies and different local entities. When we invest in strengthening partnerships between school districts and first responders, we help ensure that schools are safe environments focused on learning and growing."

 

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito agreed.

 

"Children, teachers and staff deserve to feel safe in the classroom, and our administration’s funding proposal will invest in the resources and programming required to equip school communities and emergency personnel with the tools they need to keep schools safe," she said. "We look forward to working with our colleagues in the Legislature to provide critical funding for districts across the commonwealth."

 

On Tuesday, Baker pointed to past investments in programs to help keep K-12 students from falling behind during the pandemic.

 

Some of that federal money passed through the state to local school districts will continue to benefit children going forward, he said.

 

"Last year and this year, we ran pretty extensive summer school programming, which is more enrichment programming than anything else," he said. "Many hundreds of communities in Massachusetts participated in it. Some of them did their own with the federal money they have. There's still about a billion dollars in federal [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund] money available to school districts to spend on — whether it's after-school programs or enrichment programs or programs associated with learning loss.

 

"They can also use it for testing. There's a wide variety of things they can use that money for."