Return to In-Person Learning Updates

 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.

Additional details and communication will be forthcoming from each school along with updates and specific information about the processes for the return to in-person learning for that school. Updated school bus information will also be forthcoming for those students who currently ride the bus to school.

Updates to the Travel Order

On March 22, 2021 the Massachusetts Travel Order was updated to a Travel Advisory. However, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has confirmed that schools can continue to follow and enforce the advisory in order to maintain the safest possible environment for learning. Many parents have expressed their concerns about students and staff who travel, especially during the April vacation week.

Until further notice the North Reading Public Schools will continue to follow the same process we have been adhering to all year and continue asking students who travel to produce a negative PCR test before returning to school.

A notable difference is that this does not apply to anyone returning after being out of state for fewer than 24 hours.

Also exempt will be staff who are fully vaccinated (i.e. who have received two doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines OR who have received a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 14 or more days ago) and who do not have symptoms. Staff will work with their building nurses and administrators to confirm this information.

We understand that this is an additional request of many travelling families but we believe that at this time this allows more students to safely return to school in person safely and this is our main objective.

2021-22 School Year Calendar

Please see the attached 2021- 22 school year calendar or follow this link to review the calendars for both this year and next year.

The first day of school for students in 2021-22 is September 8, 2021.

Please note that the school hours and start times on the 2021-22 calendar are tentative until a final approval of the updated start times at the April 15, 2021 meeting of the North Reading School Committee.

The tentative last day of school for students this year is June 16, 2021. This is tentative until June 1^st, at which time we can finalize the end-of-year schedule.

As always, thank you for your continued support. We are excited to bring our students back to full in-person in the coming weeks and for the opportunities this provides our students this spring.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Daly