Good morning North Reading Public Schools Community,

Thank you all for your patience and hard work in week one of our Remote Learning Plan. Our teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and related service providers are all working so hard to create and implement this plan and I truly appreciate their efforts. Our Digital Learning Team has never been so important and they have truly risen to the occasion, and I would like to thank Dr. Downs for his leadership in organizing professional development, supports for teachers, and for working with me to distribute devices to those families in need.

I also am so appreciative of the efforts of the students and families who are following our plan each day.  I understand that there are also families who are facing challenges helping their students complete the assignments, share devices, and meet the needs of all student learners in their homes. As a parent of three boys under ten years old, each with his own learning challenges, I am experiencing this first hand as well. I believe that our plan is designed to be flexible to accommodate the unique needs of each student, and our teachers are all supportive of this need for flexibility.

Next week will be a continuation of this Phase 1 of Remote Learning. During Phase 1 we have come to a consensus that there will not be new content, homework, or graded tests/quizzes as there is so much that we need to adjust to in this new Remote Learning Plan. This is consistent with what most every other district in the state is doing at this time.

 On Monday, April 13th our School Committee will decide what the April Vacation week will look like this year. It will be my recommendation to take Patriots' Day as well as the Friday as vacation days because everyone needs a break. At the same time, I will recommend that we have a Tues/Wed/Thurs Remote Learning week so that we can continue the work we have started and, more importantly, have three days of vacation that we could use as needed later this spring. I will communicate the results of the School Committee decision as soon as possible following our meeting.

At the secondary level we will soon finalize and communicate how we will determine third quarter grades. Next week our administrators and teachers will also continue to think about what a Phase 2 of Remote Learning could look like and how this will work for ALL students. Phase 2 would begin, at the earliest, after Patriots' Day.

As I've communicated with our staff, it's important to remember that we are not trying to replicate school and it is likely that we may not reach the same place we would normally reach by the end of the year. That is not our goal right now. Our goal is to continue learning and engaging students in structured ways while being mindful of the situation we are in and providing a lot of flexibility. Our goal is to stay healthy and to be flexible enough to adjust if either we, or our students, are not able to meet the demands of what we are asking.

Be well and have a wonderful weekend,

Dr. Daly