Patrick C. Daly, Superintendent

Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, Thank you for all of your support to make our hybrid model the best it can possibly be for our students. As we look ahead to the New Year,  please continue to guide our students to make the best choices for New Year’s celebrations with respect to gatherings and events.  Taking a careful approach is our best avenue for continued success and remaining open. COVID-19 Updates Please note that while school is in session we are continuing to share the student and staff positive cases as they are reported. However, as we are closed this week, I will be compiling the figures received over the break and communicate them upon our return. To date there have only been a handful of unrelated cases reported and there has not been a need for contact tracing or additional quarantines since we have not been in school since December 18 th . It is important to note that we are still not seeing concerning evidence of transmission within the schools. Mo...

Dear Parents, Families, and Caregivers, Thank you for all of your support to make our hybrid model the best it can possibly be for our students. I wish you all the Happiest of Holiday Seasons. I hope that you are all able to relax and enjoy the time with your family. I wanted to provide a few updates as we head into the winter break. COVID -19 Updates Please note that we are continuing to share the student and staff positive cases as they are reported. As there is an increase in the number of individuals in North Reading who are testing positive it follows that there is an increase in the number of staff and students who also test positive. It is important to note that we are still not seeing concerning evidence of transmission within the schools. So, for example, when my report indicates that there are four new cases at one school that does not necessarily mean that these students have passed it to one another at school. We are still seeing most transmission occurring at the home or i...

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, I'm writing today to provide a few important updates that were discussed at last evening's School Committee meeting related to  COVID -19 communication, testing, the influenza vaccine, and our Performing Arts classes and activities. COVID -19 COMMUNICATION As you are aware the district has been in the practice of sending an email update for any new positive cases for staff or students. As the numbers increase it is important that we continue to communicate this information to you but I am concerned about "fatigue" from receiving so many of these important emails. However, it was decided at the meeting last night that these emails would continue as they ultimately provide everyone in the community the information needed to make decisions for their families. In addition, we have published a dashboard to provide the updated numbers of positive staff and students by school. This information is on the District Website under t...

  Dear staff, parents, families, and caregivers, Thank you to those who were able to join our information session last evening. If you have not had a chance to do so, there is a YouTube link below for the presentation. There is also a link to a survey that will be used to learn more about your interest in having the schools pursue this opportunity. Please view/review this information session prior to completing this survey. All information shared via this survey will assist us in making an informed decision about our participation in the BinaxNOW Clinical Study.  If you could please view the presentation and complete the survey  by Thursday evening at 5pm  that will allow this information to be shared at our School Committee meeting that evening. Presentation link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKbL9Ei6Ai0  (approx. 30 mins) Survey Link:  https://forms.gle/LBFACcppC7cgwWWi8 Thank you, Dr. Daly

  Around the Schoolyard COVID-19 Testing  Patrick C. Daly, Ed.D.  Superintendent of Schools,  North Reading Public Schools This week I will be sharing information with the North Reading Public Schools Community about an opportunity to explore COVID-19 testing for symptomatic staff and students in our schools. This initiative is a part of a larger initiative from The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) who recently announced “an initiative to deliver 150 million Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card Point of Care (POC) SARS-CoV-2 rapid diagnostic tests to schools and other strategic environments.” The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has informed districts of the opportunity to participate in Phase I of this trial as Massachusetts “will obtain approximately 2 million tests for use in priority settings including but not limited to public districts, charter schools, educational collaborat...

COVID-19 BinaxNOW testing opportunity The North Reading Public Schools are in the initial stages of exploring an opportunity to have COVID-19 testing available for symptomatic students and staff . The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and The Department of Public Health have collaborated on this opportunity that is currently being explored by approximately 160 Massachusetts school districts. To be clear, no decisions have yet been made about this opportunity. We believe that we need to do our due diligence and explore this opportunity and we wish to solicit input and feedback from all stakeholders to inform our decisions. This antigen test would be used only for symptomatic students and staff to help determine more rapidly whether a person is positive. These results will assist with contact tracing and provide more data to efficiently guide the positive person to isolation and to determine those who need to quarantine as close contacts. There would be opt-out provisions...

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday I want to take a moment to thank all parents, staff, and students for their tremendous efforts this year. I hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving break. When we resume school on November 30th we will continue with the same hybrid schedule we have been following since September. Beginning that week there will be three full weeks of school following that schedule (elementary schools will still have the 1/2 day Wednesday schedule). The week of December 21-23 has been modified as per my previous announcement and reminders will be sent leading into that week as well. Also, there have been many questions related to travel and quarantine. As a district we are following the Massachusetts Travel Order for all staff and students and applying the requirements to be tested or to quarantine to everyone in the district. More information can be found here:  https://www.mass.gov/info- de...

Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday there have been many questions related to travel and quarantine.  As a district we are following the Massachusetts Travel Order for all staff and students and applying the requirements to be tested or to quarantine to everyone in the district. More information can be found here: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-travel-order Currently, only Massachusetts, Vermont, and Hawaii are considered low risk states according to the Massachusetts Travel Order. Any travel to other states would necessitate adherence to the travel order which includes the following: • A negative result on a PCR test (must be a PCR test) prior to returning to campus. • Quarantining until those results are available. o Students who must quarantine may attend school remotely o Staff may be able to work remotely until the test results are available and should speak with their building principal or director. In gener...

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, Thank you to those who attended and contributed to the parent forum last evening. If you would like to view/review the recording please visit here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIhe_nUu2R0 If you would like to provide your input into the proposed calendar recommendations for December please take this survey as soon as possible but no later than Thursday at 5pm:  https://forms.gle/Y38F5pyEzLzWFBPH8 . Please be sure to review last evening's presentation prior to taking the survey. The December calendar discussion begins at 53:48. I have also included the links to two documents that I mentioned last evening: the  Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents position statement  as well as information about the state public health requirement for the  influenza vaccine  by December 31, 2020. Thank you, Dr. Daly

 

 

  Hello parents, guardians, and families, Beginning on Monday, November 2nd there will be availability for elementary students from each of our schools to participate in a remote learning assistance program through the YMCA. At this time, in order to create three distinct programs for each school, the locations will vary depending upon your child's school and the cost will be $50 per day for this program. To begin we will have availability for one program for each cohort at each elementary school (13 students per cohort) so please indicate your interest in participating as soon as possible by contacting MaryAnn Hanafin via email at mhanafin@ymcaboston.org . MaryAnn will also be able to answer any questions about the program and also provide sign-up forms and information. ​If there is additional interest at other levels and/or beyond these opportunities we will continue to explore the possibilities of expansion. Thank you to the YMCA for their continued partnership with o...

  Influenza Clinics at North Reading Public Schools Locations There is still space available for parents, families, and students who are learning from home on the following dates this week! Please use the following links by clicking on a date below and register soon as the slots will fill up quickly: October 21 st: October 22 nd :   October 23 rd :     North Reading Police are Taking Back Unwanted Prescription Drugs and Vapes on October 24th On Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the North Reading Police Department, North Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will provide the public the opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your pills for disposal to the O’Leary Senior Center at 157 Park Street. Sites cannot accept liquids, needles or sharps, only pills or patches. Unwanted vap...

  Dear parents, families, and the North Reading Public Schools community, I'm writing today with just a few important reminders about school health and safety. The town of North Reading continues to remain in the “yellow” category and it is as important than ever that we follow all rules for physical distancing, social gatherings, mask wearing, and hand washing both in school and when at home. Daily Health Screener All staff and students should continue to complete our  Daily Health Screener . This should be done in the morning  before coming on the bus or campus  (not the night before or after arrival). Travel With the holiday season approaching it is important to consider all the restrictions in place concerning travel. As described on our Daily Health Screener, if you plan travel anywhere that is not considered  a low risk state  you need to contact your Principal or the Superintendent before returning to campus. For anyone considering travel...

  Hello everyone, In order to continue to provide the very best learning opportunities for our students we need additional support. Please consider applying for these available  paid  positions at our schools: Building Based Substitutes The North Reading Public Schools continue to seek qualified applicants to serve as building based substitutes.  There are positions at all three elementary schools five days per week. Candidates can “job share” and work only on the days when their children are in school. The position pays $95 per day and $60 on ½ days. Candidates will only be assigned to work at one school building for the entire school year Batchelder Elementary School 7:30 a.m. - 2:10 p.m.  Little Elementary School 7:50 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.  North Reading High School 8:15 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.  Interested applicants may apply by completing the application via school spring at the following link:  https://www.schoolspring.com/ job.cfm?jid=3344979...

  Dear Parents and Families, To begin with I would like to thank everyone for their continued support of our schools. The students are complying with all of the rules and regulations both when in remote and in person and wearing masks, physically distancing, and washing their hands as needed. Students and staff are staying home when sick, or for related reasons, out of an abundance of caution. And everyone continues to complete our daily health screener which is providing us with additional information to keep our buildings safe. Earlier this summer Massachusetts released the COVID-19 Community-Level Data Map which reflects the average daily cases of COVID-19 per 100,000:  https://www.mass.gov/info- details/community-level-covid- 19-data-reporting As you may be aware, the town of North Reading has recently moved into the “yellow” on this map based upon some recent cases. As you can imagine, with a population the size of North Reading it does not take many cases to move into th...

  Dear North Reading Parents and Families,   Thank you all for your support during our first full week of school and for your patience as we worked out some of the kinks to the schedules and adjusted between cohorts. From the feedback I have received things seem to be going very well. A few items for your attention. 1. October 9, 2020 will be a full day of school. This was originally listed as a 1/2 day TBD and we have decided that with the later start to the year it is in the best interest of students and staff to have a full day on October 9th. Our full day Professional Development day for teachers on November 3rd will remain on the calendar as a no school day for students and we will continue to review the upcoming 1/2 days in the future. 2. Below you will find a list of additional school influenza clinics. Thank you to Mr. Bracey and our Town Health Department for making these arrangements. Please note that here are additional clinics listed for the com...