Welcome Back Letter

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Parents and Families,

I hope that this email finds you well as you enjoy these last days of summer. This weekend looks to be another beautiful one and I hope that you are able to enjoy it with your friends and family. Most of my time will be spent finishing a skateboard ramp with Will, my eight year old who’s heading into a new school for third grade this fall. His big brother, Jack, is heading into fifth grade and the youngest, Oliver, is starting Kindergarten. And with the proposed hybrid schedule for the year in our district  my wife, Marisa, is now a teaching assistant at home! 

Our staff is excited for the first day for students on September 17th. Our summer has flown by, marked by press conferences, DESE guidance, and a never ending series of meetings about reopening. I cannot thank our reopening committee enough for their work from June until mid-August when we submitted our plan. Comprised of dedicated parents, students, teachers, administrators, and representatives from town boards and stakeholders in the NRPS, this committee developed a solid plan for our district. And in the subsequent weeks we have met nearly every day with the NREA and other bargaining units to ensure that we have a safe and supportive plan for reopening this fall.

I especially want to thank my administrative leadership team who worked tirelessly throughout the summer. My Executive Assistant, Anne Lundell, and Administrative Assistant, Nicole Orlando, were there to keep me focused on the details. Our central office team and business office worked every day to make sure we were prepared for the fall. The phone calls and texts with our School Committee chair, Scott Buckley, and our NREA president, Peter Kane, were nearly daily occurrences and each conversation helped us to ensure we were all rowing in the same direction in order to do what was best for our students and staff.

The challenge now before us is to think about the ways in which we will be able to work in a hybrid fashion, and possibly, full in-person or full remote, depending on other metrics and factors as the year goes on. I have full confidence that our teachers, paraprofessionals, and administrators will rise to this challenge and provide the very best for our students. The digital learning team is prepared to continue the support they’ve offered in the spring and we have invested in the technologies and tools that our educators have found the most valuable.

Our administrative assistants, technology staff, and facilities and food services teams have been focused on reopening. Under the leadership of Michael Connelly, we have invested grant funding and our FY21 budget to provide state-of-the-art HVAC upgrades, additional cleaning and custodial support, an additional nurse for the district, devices for all students in grades preK-12, building substitutes, technology support, and even some new positions to further our support of students and our commitment to expanding computer science and world languages.

Despite all of the challenges we are facing, the North Reading Public Schools continue to move forward. This summer we convened as a leadership team to discuss the “big rocks” of our strategic plan and our preliminary conversations have involved the importance of including “equity” as a multi-faceted area of focus for our district in addition to support services and teaching and learning.

Thank you to Sean Killeen, our newly appointed Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, Cynthia Conant, our Director of Student Services, and Daniel Downs, Director of Digital Learning, for their work in bringing together the great programs and opportunities for our students this year.

When students return they will need to be sure to maintain physical distancing and wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth. Please also see the attached resource for returning to school and have your child view this presentation from our school nurses prior to returning.

Students and staff will all be asked to complete a daily health screening electronic form. Many of you are accustomed to this process from camps this summer or other campus visits. The brief form will be completed each morning and will provide added accountability that our schools are safe and that those who could be experiencing any symptoms are staying home and/or in contact with our nursing staff. More details and a link to this tool will be forthcoming.

At one of our student forums a student suggested that I remind everyone to remember how important it is to physically distance and remain safe as we approach the first day of school. Anyone traveling to a state not on the Governor’s “low risk” list will need to consider additional steps before returning to school and should contact the building principal as soon as possible to discuss this process.

I know that this fall will be unlike any other we have ever experienced. There are challenges that await...but there are so many positives ahead. Never in the history of education have students been this excited to return to school, to see their friends and teachers, and to become engaged in learning. Let’s seize this energy and build upon it and continue the great work that we are all doing every day in the North Reading Public Schools.

Much more will be forthcoming from your schools prior to our first day and I look forward to seeing students in cohorts B and C on the 17th!

Be well,

Dr. Daly