Patrick C. Daly, Superintendent

  Dear North Reading Public Schools Community, I'm writing today to provide two important updates on our work related to school start times and pooled testing. School Start Times The School Start Times Committee, which has been actively exploring the research-based advantages for high school students starting school no early than 8:30 a.m., will be presenting a parent/guardian forum on April 6, 2021 at 7:00 p.m . This group, made up of representatives of parents from all grade spans, a North Reading School Committee member, administrators, and a teacher representative have spent many hours discussing schedules, impacts to afterschool programs, considerations for childcare etc. and will address many of these concerns at the forum. The group has a website that also contains helpful information as well as the history of our exploration of this concept for our schools. In addition we are also collecting any additional questions or concerns so that we can share that information as a p...

  Good morning North Reading Public Schools Community, I am writing this morning to provide a few important updates of our return to in-person learning plan as well as the 2021-22 school calendar that were approved last evening. Dates for return to in-person learning Thank you to everyone who completed the return to in-person learning survey last week. With 95% of all student selections reported we will be able to promptly make any changes to elementary assignments for those opting for Cohort D (full remote) and will hope to communicate this information out later this week or early next week. Our plan is to make the least disruptive decisions and to accommodate as many students as possible with these grade level placements. Barring any unforeseen additional logistical challenges, Elementary Schools will return in-full for grades  PreK -5  on  March 31, 2021  and the  Middle and High School  will return to full in-person on  April 14, 2021 . Additi...

  Good evening parents, guardians, and families, This evening’s Return to In-Person Learning Forum was attended by many parents and guardians in the district and has been recorded for everyone to view. Please  view this recording , review  the FAQs , slides, and attachments here  prior to completing the survey  so that you have all of the relevant information as you make your choices for your student(s). Also included is a photograph from NRMS of the minimum 3 feet seat edge to seat edge as described in the DESE guidance (the front four seats). We believe the 3 foot desk to desk, as pictured in the presentation, will be the minimum for NRPS. As mentioned during the presentation I have linked  recent DESE communications  about the safety of returning to school at less than six feet of physical distance, including  this recent study . Please  complete this survey  as soon as possible but  no later than March 19th . We will send remind...

Dear North Reading Parents, Guardians, and   Families, This email serves as a reminder of two upcoming parent forums scheduled for tomorrow evening on March 16th. Please note the time adjustment for the second event. 6:30pm-7:30pm: Parent Orientation to Tiered Focused Monitoring.   This orientation will provide an overview of the activities that will comprise the special education compliance "audit" that will be completed in the district on March 23rd and 24th.  This audit, officially known as "Tiered Focused Monitoring," occurs every three years and is conducted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.  This is an opportunity for parents to hear about the process and the activities that are completed as part of this audit.           Google Meet joining info           Video call link:  https://meet.google.com/esh-pkrc-wbg           Or dial: ‪(...

Dear North Reading Parents, Guardians, and Families, As I shared last week, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education ( DESE ) is preparing guidance to assist us in developing a plan to return students to school for full in-person learning in April. As you can imagine there are many considerations as we prepare our buildings for a safe return for all students.  The survey below includes very important questions about a return to school this spring as well as critical information about school buses and start times for our planning for the 2021-22 school year. The more information we have from our parents, guardians, and families the more informed our plan will become for returning students this spring and for preparing for the next school year. We recognize that without specific details it is challenging to provide feedback and there will be additional surveys and input once we have shared a detailed plan. At this time your responses are obviously non-binding but wil...