Good afternoon North Reading Parents and Families,

Please follow this link to read my message to the community about our initial draft of the reopening plan. There are several opportunities to ask questions and provide feedback to the district before our final plan is reviewed next Friday morning at School Committee. Once you have reviewed the plan (and perhaps attended a forum next week) please complete this brief survey.

There are many more details contained in the links above. Thank you for your patience as we carefully and thoughtfully arrive at the best plan for our students and staff.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Daly

July 23: Reopening Update

Hello North Reading Public Schools Community,

Thank you to those who completed our reopening surveys. This data has been instrumental in assisting our leaders and reopening group in determining the best steps for our district.

Dr. Downs and I have applied for a technology grant and Mr Connelly and I are preparing for additional purchases of safety equipment and supplies, nursing support, HVAC updates, and other needs through the Coronavirus Relief Fund School Reopening Grant.


Next steps

Between now and July 31st we are finalizing our document that we will be submitting to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) that describes the district's approach for three different possibilities (in-person with safety precautions, hybrid, and remote learning). We are preparing our approach with each model as there may be a need to utilize all of them depending upon the situation we face this year.  Our leadership team has tested each learning space and they believe that we can comply with the safe distancing of students and staff (3ft-6ft) and also provide safe passage through the hallways, during lunches, and on buses.

We are also continuing to meet our teachers and other stakeholders to ensure that their needs are represented in our plan.

Our school reopening group, comprised of parents, SEPAC leaders, teachers, paraprofessionals, staff, school committee, administrators, and community leaders will review the draft plans leading up to July 31st and school committee will also provide their feedback on July 30th.

Since these plans require DESE approval and because we want to have as much clarity as possible around what reopening will look like in the fall, we have been asked to not widely present and discuss the plan until on or around August 10th. This will be a much more comprehensive plan and will be the first plan to be shared widely with the school community.

Our goal continues to be to bring as many students back as possible in-person within the safety parameters that are established. Accommodations will be made for those students who require remote learning. We are also strongly considering a phased-in start to school to ensure that all staff are trained and all students are able to practice  the safety procedures for entering and exiting, passing in the halls, wearing masks, etc. Much more will be communicated about these careful approaches leading up to the August 10th distribution of our plan for reopening.

Athletics and Performing Arts

We recognize the importance of the athletic and performing arts programs have in our students lives and to our entire community. We are committed to offer as many programs and opportunities for our students as long as we can maintain the safety of all involved. As a community we should expect some changes to our performing arts and athletic/PE courses and extra-curricular activities this year.  Fall Athletic programs will begin practices no earlier than September 14th. There may also be changes to when sports are offered, when and where band or chorus can meet, etc. Preparing our students for these changes will be important as we look to continue to offer as many opportunities as possible for our students.

School Bus Transportation

The DESE recently released its guidance on school bus transportation and our business office staff is in the process of reviewing our registrations and bus routes and assuring that they adhere to the safety protocols (one student per seat, assigned seating, face coverings, etc.). As a reminder, the registration deadline for busing is tomorrow, July 24, 2020 by the close of business. After this date any family seeking a bus pass should contact Rosaly MacKillop directly via email at rmackillop@nrpsk12.org to be placed on a waiting list.

Communication

The survey feedback on my communication with the community has been very helpful. I will continue to utilize the Blackboard messages as I have been doing. The most important messages, such as the dissemination of the reopening plan, will likely be sent via email, text, and phone message to ensure that everyone receives it. Other updates will be communicated by email and text with a link to my blog. The blog archives all of the previous messages as well.

To reduce the number of emails sent home we are utilizing our community bulletin board for messages about fundraisers and other community events. Please check our website for those updates and subscribe to the "notify me" section of the website to receive updates each time a new event or message is posted.

Thank you

I have attached these FAQs from DESE as an update for parents in our community that should be helpful to families. I am also happy to answer any individual questions or concerns that you can send to me directly or to the reopening group through the parent liaisons or school committee members.

Thank you for your patience and feedback as we work together to develop the plans to return our students to school in the safest and most effective manner possible.

Sincerely yours,

Patrick Daly

Reopening Updates

Hello North Reading Public Schools Community,

Thank you to those who have already completed our reopening survey. It is also very important that everyone take this NEW technology survey (very brief) so that we can apply for a $25 million dollar state grant for additional devices for individual students in need. If you have been issued a device currently by the school as a part of the 2020 closure please DO NOT include these devices in your response.

https://forms.gle/ZGAeJXCzfjWNusBv6

If you have not had the opportunity to take the reopening survey please do so as soon as possible. Please only one response per family.

https://forms.gle/mPFhuVjSbXBXdDMk9

Next steps

This week we anticipate a template from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) that we will need to submit by July 31st that describes the district's approach for three different possibilities (in-person with safety precautions, hybrid, and remote learning). Our leadership team is currently testing each school to make sure that we can comply with the safe distancing of students and staff (3ft-6ft) and also provide safe passage through the hallways, during lunches, and on buses.

We will then meet with our teachers and other stakeholders this week to make sure that their needs are represented in our plan.

Our school reopening group, comprised of parents, SEPAC leaders, teachers, paraprofessionals, staff, school committee, administrators, and community leaders will review the draft plans on Monday, July 20th. I will then present the plans to the school committee on July 20th to receive additional feedback before submitting to DESE by July 31st.

Since these plans require DESE approval and because we want to have as much clarity as possible around what reopening will look like in the fall, we have been asked to not widely present and discuss the plans until early August.

I have attached these FAQs from DESE as an update for parents in our community that should be helpful to families. I am also happy to answer any individual questions or concerns that you can send to me directly or to the reopening group through the parent liaisons or school committee members.

Thank you for your patience and feedback as we work together to develop the plans to return our students to school in the safest and most effective manner possible.

Sincerely yours,

Patrick Daly

Superintendent's Message

Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

Today is our last day of school for students for the 2019-20 school year. The weather is beautiful and summer is here. It's a bit strange to not see the school buses or the lockers being emptied out but I have enjoyed the virtual field days and other ceremonies that I have been able to view online this week. This spring did not turn out how any of us expected but I have to say that the North Reading School Community has certainly done an amazing job of stepping up and making the most of this challenging situation.

I've had the opportunity to visit students in online classrooms and I've told each of them how impressed I am with their level of engagement and commitment to learning in these circumstances. Thank you to the parents, guardians, and families who have worked so hard to continue the learning for our students in this new environment.

Thank you to those who made and delivered lunches, provided technology, administrative assistant support, and for those who are preparing our buildings for re-opening. Thank you to our administrators for providing such solid plans and such dedicated leadership. Our wonderful Paraprofessionals continue to provide support to our amazing teachers, who have been so incredible in making the adjustment to remote learning. Our Student Services team and Business Office have continued working non-stop to ensure that our schools continue to operate efficiently and that all of our students receive the supports that they need. The Nurses have worked not only for our schools but also for our town, and our counselors have been available for a variety of student and staff needs. Our Digital Learning Team, lead by Dr. Downs, truly stepped up and helped our teachers and students make the transition and I think that all of our school community, working together, has helped to make this as successful a spring as possible.

The School Committee has been supportive as well and I truly appreciate the collaborative relationships that I have developed with them as well as with the other local boards and town officials who have been meeting weekly since early March as we collaborate on this situation together as a community.

I appreciate the emails, calls, and conversations with parents in the community. I know that remote learning has been a challenge for many students and please know that our hope is to return to school in the fall in a manner that is safe and supportive and that resembles a typical fall reopening as much as possible. 

​There are many questions that remain as we await guidance about reopening but I know that we are on the right track with the formation of a working group for reopening that will be working over the summer to send surveys and information to families and to communicate important information about reopening. I ask that you please respond promptly to any surveys sent over the summer as this data will be very important to our decision making process and the design of the 2020-21 school year.

Have a wonderful summer and be well!

Dr. Daly

Class of 2020 Graduation Parade

The public is encouraged to cheer on the 2020 senior class along the parade route. Please

take into account the Governors Social Distancing Guidelines of remaining 6 feet apart from

one another, wearing a mask if you are unable to maintain the 6 feet of social distancing, and

please only have no more than groups of 10 people together.

https://www.north-reading.k12.ma.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif1001/f/news/hs_graduation_parade_public_document_1.pdf

Racial Justice Committee

Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

Recent events in our nation have caused many to consider the best ways to address the challenging yet critical topics of racial inequality and injustice with our students and within our community. The North Reading Public Schools will be meeting on this topic and would like to have an initial meeting with students, staff, and community members this week before our last day of school for all those who are interested. Our first meeting will be virtual on Thursday, June 18th, at 3pm. Please complete the form below and you will be sent the information for the virtual session.

https://forms.gle/fjJotqmNFMrZn7ML6

School Reopening Working Group

Dear North Reading School Community,

At this time we are awaiting additional information from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in terms of guidance for the fall reopening of schools. We expect this information on or around June 15, 2020 and we believe that there will be very structured guidance from the Department that outlines the structure of the school environment, teaching and learning, operations and business services, and behavioral health and social emotional learning.

I understand that students, parents, and guardians have many questions about our return to school and so I have decided to proactively create a working group that will have representatives from all stakeholder groups in our school community. Our existing parent advisory council will serve as the backbone of this working group, which will also include student representatives, school committee members, teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, secretaries, and food service. In addition, school and town leaders will also participate so that all voices are heard.

If you have any questions or concerns that you would like to share please feel free to email me at pdaly@nrpsk12.org and I will bring these items forward to our working group to consider. You may also share your thoughts with the parent association leaders at the individual schools or through the Special Education Advisory Council, as those leaders are members of our working group. The purpose of our group is to listen and to gain a common understanding of the questions and concerns for our North Reading students so that we have a strong foundation on which to design the best plans for the fall once the guidance is received in the coming weeks.

I imagine that there are many viewpoints and discussions to be shared on many topics and I can assure you that we will listen to our stakeholders, attempt to discover the root cause of the concern, and then do our best to design solutions that address those root causes. 

Our goal is, as always, to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for all of our students.

Thank you,

Dr. Daly