Patrick C. Daly, Superintendent

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, I hope that everyone has a wonderful and well-deserved holiday break! As we head into the new year, a few reminders… With many people taking at home tests we anticipate many questions as we return to school. If you have any doubts about whether you are cleared to return or if you have any symptoms, please remain on home on January 3 rd  and work with the school nurses to determine the best course of action. Everyone should continue to complete the  Daily Health Screener  each day. This year we have had hundreds of students remain in school because of the test and stay program. If you would like to participate in test and stay please be sure to  complete the CIC Form . If you would like to participate in routine pooled testing and are not already enrolled, please complete both  the CIC form  and  the NR form . Every submission prior to December 31 st  will be included in the new year (You do not n...

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, I'm writing today to provide some important COVID-19 related updates. Extension of the Mask Mandate Earlier today  the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released a statement on the  extension of the Mask Requirement  which will continue through at least January 15, 2022.  While I'm sure that the news of this extension will be welcome to some and frustrating to others, there are several points to consider that this extension will allow, including: -- the opportunity for the younger students (ages 5-11) to receive the vaccine --time for us to move beyond the holiday seasons and the associated travel/gatherings As stated in the press release above, the masking requirement, along with the test and stay protocol, has allowed many more students to remain in school this year which is our ultimate goal. There still exists the possibility for additional consi...

  Welcome Back Message from Superintendent Daly After a well-deserved summer break we are excited to welcome our students and staff back to the North Reading Public Schools. As always, we are committed to the pursuit of excellence for all of our students and look forward to exploring the most innovative and exciting pathways for student learning. This year there will be some slight changes at all of our schools as well as continued adjustments to our procedures due to COVID-19.  Busing, Drop-off, and Pick Up Schedule adjustments at all five schools have allowed us to create two tiers of start and end times, one for elementary and one for secondary. This has allowed us to implement later start times for middle and high school students and a uniform schedule for elementary students and staff at all three schools. As we do at the beginning of every year we ask for your patience as our bus drivers adjust to the new routes. In addition, we have introduced new drop-off and pick-up t...

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, As we prepare for our first day of school on September 8, 2021 I have prepared the following video that outlines some of the safety measures in place including the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requirements related to masking and important information about the COVID-19 testing options available for students. New this year is the “test and stay” option which is designed to allow close contacts who test negative to remain in school when identified as a close contact. COVID-19 Testing Options  STEP 1: Please be sure to watch this video and review the slides prior to completing the forms                 below. STEP 2: Please complete this required consent form through our provider, CIC Health. (Note:                 This form is to be completed for each in...

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, With many of our fall activities now underway we are able to look forward to our first day of school for students on September 8, 2021. The great news is that our students will all be back in school for five days per week and participating in all of the academic, athletic, and extra-curricular activities as they would in a typical year. However, due to our continued response to COVID-19, there will be some modifications to our operations as we begin this fall. As a follow up to my recent correspondence I am writing today to share that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted on Tuesday to mandate facial coverings for all students and staff, effective today, through at least October 1, 2021. Please review the attached documen t for the full details about this requirement, which include the following: Effective immediately, public school students (age 5 and above) and staff in all grades are required ...

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, I'm writing today to share two important announcements. 1. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced today that they will be meeting on Tuesday in order to pass a K-12 Mask mandate for all students and staff K-12 while indoors. (see attached press release and FAQs) From the correspondence we have received we know that there will be mixed feelings in our school community about this mandate but the Commissioner believes that the current data requires such a decision and it will be revisited on October 1st. The feedback we have received from our parents, students, guardians, caregivers, educators, and staff on all sides of this issue have been heard and will be very helpful as we continue to naviagte through this pandemic moving forward. For our indoor programs beginning Monday, August 23, 2021 the coordinators and coaches will be contacting participants to provide more details and I will certainly provide more inform...

Good afternoon, As we begin our first fall events tomorrow with Football and with all sports, the Acceleration Academy, and events such as orientations and walk- abouts set to begin next week, it is important to clarify and communicate what our “strong recommendation” for masking looks like at this time. While the School Committee’s vote on Monday evening stopped short of requiring/mandating masks it is important to understand that even the DESE / DPH guidance we are following appears to be pivoting to a stronger requirement for the unvaccinated and Governor Baker is stating that most schools are requiring masks for the unvaccinated . At this time we are providing the following recommendations: All students in grades PreK -6 are strongly recommended to wear a mask. In addition, Teachers, Administrators, and Staff who are working with students in those grades are also strongly recommended to wear a mask when working closely with unvaccinated students. Students and staff in all othe...

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, At last evening’s meeting of the North Reading School Committee the Committee voted 4-1 in favor of supporting the District’s plan  to follow the recommendations of the Department of Public Health/Department of Elementary and Secondary Education guidance  with respect to reopening school for the Fall of 2021. At our meeting we heard from parents, guardians, caregivers, and students who respectfully shared their views with a large focus on the discussion of students and staff wearing masks. In addition to what was shared in the public meetings I have received several emails from those on both sides of this issue and the Committee felt it was very important to allow everyone who hoped to share their thoughts and feelings last evening have an opportunity to do so. At this time the District’s plan includes the following recommendations from DESE/DPH: This fall, DESE and DPH strongly recommend that all students in kindergarten thr...

Dear parents, guardians, and caregivers of new or incoming students, Welcome to our District! While we are still rolling over our systems to the upcoming school year I will communicate to you via gmail and forward important Blackboard Connect messages to you this way. You should also follow us  on our website ,  Twitter , and  my blog  and feel free to email me at any time with questions at  pdaly@nrpsk12.org .  These last few days without rain have made for some wonderful weather and I hope that you are enjoying your summer with family and friends. As we enter into August I am sure that there are many questions emerging about our plans for returning to school in the fall and so I wanted to briefly address this topic and share some information with you this afternoon. This week I met with the Director of Public Health, Public Health Nurse, Police Chief, Fire Chief, and the Town Administrator to review the local numbers as well as the latest recommendat...

Dear parents, families, and guardians, I'm writing today to thank you for all of your support in guiding our students through a successful year and to provide you with a few updates. Mask and Distancing Requirements Effective Monday, June, 21, 2021 students and staff who are fully vaccinated will no longer be required to wear a mask either outdoors or indoors. It is still strongly recommended that those students and staff who are not vaccinated wear a mask, though it is not required at this time. We will continue to follow many safety recommendations and guidelines for our summer programs this year and anyone who chooses to wear a mask this summer will be allowed to do so. We will also continue to follow guidelines for hand hygiene, staying home when sick, and connecting with our school nurses when we have any questions regarding our health. At this time due to the low number of  COVID -19 cases in Massachusetts we are not aware of any masking or distancing guidelines that will be ...