August 25, 2022
Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,
As we enter these last days of August our thoughts begin to return to fall and our return to school. I hope that all of our students and their families have had a wonderful summer break filled with memorable experiences. In recent weeks we have welcomed the return of students for orientations, academies, camps, and athletic sessions and it is wonderful to see our campus active once again.
As we look ahead to the start of the 2022-23 school year I offer a few reminders:
Wednesday, September 7, 2022 is our first day of school for students (grades 1-12)
Friday, September 9, 2022 is our first day for PreK and Kindergarten students
Please join me in thanking our incredible Buildings and Grounds team who have once again done an amazing job preparing our schools for the upcoming year. All of our administrators, teachers, and staff have also been so hard at work this summer making sure classrooms and buildings are ready to receive our students.
The Digital Learning team has also worked throughout the summer to update our devices and prepare the classrooms for the return of our students and educators. We also appreciate all of the staff who completed so many behind-the-scenes tasks during the summer months!
Our Extended School Year Program and Acceleration Academies ran once again this summer and I would like to thank all of the teachers who taught, led, and supported our students as well as the administrators who designed and managed these programs.
We are very pleased to welcome two additional individuals to our administrative team. Mrs. BarriAnn Alonzo is the new Assistant Principal at North Reading High School and Mrs. Morgan Soares is an administrator for Human Resources. Please join me in welcoming them to our district!
School Safety
This year, as we are all mindful of the primary goal of providing the safest and most supportive learning environment for all students, we will be taking several actions in cooperation with the North Reading Police and Fire Departments.
Our school safety team, composed of members of the school, police, and fire departments, has met over the summer to revisit and update our school emergency operations plans. We have developed a schedule of fire and evacuation drills, as well as ALICE training for staff and students, that we will share in the near future. While this schedule will not provide the exact dates and times of each drill or training it will communicate a plan for the year and the windows for when this would occur and provide an opportunity for families, students, and staff to better understand our proactive approach for school safety. This will also provide all stakeholders with an opportunity to inquire with specific questions related to these drills and trainings in a timely manner.
As always, our School Resource Officer will be present in our schools and provide our students with a positive connection to law enforcement on a regular basis. In addition, we will have an increased presence of patrol officers who will continue to familiarize themselves with our school buildings, staff, and students as they routinely visit our schools in coordination with the building administration in order to provide enhanced visibility, security, and accountability for our emergency operations plans.
COVID-19
Recent communications from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education indicate that there will be no masking requirements as we begin the school year and we will keep everyone informed of any updates or changes to these recommendations. There will continue to be a masking requirement when in the nurse’s office and when returning from having COVID-19 that our nursing staff will be able to assist you with if you have any questions. There will be no daily health screener as we begin the year but we will keep everyone informed of upcoming vaccine clinics that are being offered by the Town of North Reading. Finally, there will not be any COVID-19 related testing this year but our nurses will continue to distribute self-tests as needed throughout the fall.
We look forward to welcoming all of our students and staff back in just a couple of weeks. Please enjoy the remaining days of summer with your family and friends!
Sincerely yours,
Patrick C. Daly, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
