School Safety Update

 Dear North Reading Staff, Parents, Families, and Caregivers,

I hope that everyone is having a good school year so far and that you’ve had some time to enjoy this beautiful fall weather. 

I’m writing this afternoon to share an update on our school safety initiatives that I described in my welcome back letter in late August. Our school safety team, including North Reading Public Schools administrators, the North Reading Police Department, and the North Reading Fire Department, have worked continuously on a plan to improve the safety and security of our students and staff. 

In addition to our School Resource Officer, who has a visible role in each school, we have implemented the practice of having an increased presence of patrol officers in our buildings who routinely visit each school. On several occasions I have seen these officers visiting our buildings, interacting positively with students and staff, and providing feedback to our administrative team. 

Our school safety team, composed of members of the school, police, and fire departments, continues to meet regularly and we have updated our school emergency operations plans. We have developed a schedule of fire and evacuation drills, as well as ALICE training for staff and students. 

While this schedule does not provide the exact dates and times of each drill or training it does 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.

• ALICE Drill with Administrators and Office Staff: August 2022 (completed)

• All Employee ALICE Training Review Sept 2022 (completed)

• FIRE Drill #1 (September) (completed)

• ALICE Drill School Safety Team planning and debrief (October)

• FIRE Drill #2 (October)

• ALICE Drill with All Employees (Nov 2022) 

• ALICE Drill with Students and Staff (November 2022)

• FIRE Drill #3 (possible additional scenario*) (Spring 2023)

• ALICE Drill with Students and Staff (Spring 2023)

• FIRE Drill #4 (possible additional scenario*) (Spring 2023)

  

 *A possible additional scenario would be a tornado watch, evacuation for gas 

leak, chemical spill, etc.

As a school safety team we have reviewed the developmental appropriateness of the drills and exercises as well as concerns related to trauma. Our approach will incorporate this awareness and we will practice drills that are sensitive to these concerns. 

We will communicate more information at the school level as a follow up to each individual drill so that you are able to have a dialogue with your children and students.

If you have any questions about this upcoming schedule or our approaches please contact your building principal and we will be happy to discuss any questions or concerns.

Finally, as a district we are participating in year three of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Cybersecurity Training program. This grant funded program, offered by the Executive Office of Technology Services & Security, provides training for all North Reading Public Schools educators and staff that has proven beneficial both professionally and personally as we work to ensure data privacy, safety, and security in the cyberworld. I am hopeful that there will be a future program for our families and community as these lessons and modules would be beneficial to everyone.

Thank you for your support in our efforts to keep our schools safe. Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Daly

Inclusive Calendar of Events

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

I am writing today to share a link to our recently updated Inclusive Calendar of Events. This is a living document and a work in progress, so if you notice something that is missing please do not hesitate to let me know. For this document we have combined several sources that pull in the heritage months, federal holidays and proclamation days, and a link to the religious observances as shared by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. 

Each month we plan to share more information about some of the events for that month as well as include more hyperlinks within this calendar to teacher and parent resources to help celebrate and learn more about the events and topics. While we may not touch on every single event every month we plan to focus on different events each year, as well as continue to add to our calendar that celebrates all.

Among the events we celebrate this month are National Hispanic Heritage Month and International Sign Language Day! Did you know that we have newly formed American Sign Language clubs at our middle and high school? Contact the school principal to learn more!

Thank you!

Dr. Daly

Welcome Back 2022-23

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)

                 PreK & Kindergarten Orientation is on September 7th and 8th

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

NRPS 2025 Draft for Public Comment

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

 

For the past two and a half years we have been working as a leadership team to develop the next phase of our strategic plan for district improvement: NPRS 2025. We have gathered information from all stakeholders, including students, educators, administrators, staff, families, parents, caregivers, and community members about what we value in North Reading and what we believe should be a part of our plan.

 

Last spring we held forums and collected information as a part of the “Back to the Future” visioning protocol and stakeholders shared where we are now and where we hope to be by the spring of 2025. From there our leadership team developed objectives for each school year and identified the “big rocks” that encompassed the work that we will be undertaking as a district.

 

The three areas that we identified are Student Support Services; Teaching & Learning; and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Under these larger umbrellas come the strategic objectives, focus areas, and the strategic initiatives for each school year. 

We are now prepared to share out a draft of the NRPS 2025 plan for public comment and feedback so that we can make any adjustments as we head into the 2022-23 school year.

By visiting this page on our website: https://www.north-reading.k12.ma.us/district/pages/nrps-2025 you should begin by viewing a brief video that describes the process as well as the tool that we will be using to provide feedback to our leadership team. We hope to collect all feedback on the draft by June 30, 2022 so that we can use this information to inform our work this summer at our leadership retreat.

We have created a one page interactive graphic that will allow those looking to review the plan the ability to view it in its entirety or to also see some quick snapshots of each element for the upcoming 2022-23 school year or for seeing the strategic initiatives under each focus area for each year of the plan through the spring of 2025.

In addition, last summer we also received feedback from all stakeholders on what words and phrases they wanted to see as a part of our district’s vision and mission statements. With that information we have created a “Student Experience Vision Statement” as well as a revised “Mission Statement” and we are seeking input on these items as well. 

Student Experience Vision Statement

All students in North Reading will feel welcome, safe, and valued for who they are and supported to reach their potential as global citizens. Students will feel personally connected to their learning experiences and will feel represented inside and outside of the classroom ensuring a sense of belonging.

Mission Statement

The North Reading Public Schools provide a safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environment where students develop both their social-emotional and academic skills and abilities through an exploration of a wide range of content areas, the arts, athletics, and extra-curricular opportunities. With a dedication to excellence, service, and life-long learning our students will engage collaboratively, think critically, embrace diversity, and value equity in order to become productive global citizens. 

 

We offer a sincere thank you to everyone who has been involved in this process and we look forward to the next steps in continuing this important work for the students of the North Reading Public Schools.

Thank you for your interest in providing our district feedback on this important process for continuous improvement.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Dr. Daly

June 1, 2022 NRPS Updates

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

I'm writing today with a few important announcements about upcoming events and information.

K-12 Action Team

On June 9, 2022 at 3:30 p.m. in the Distance Learning Lab at the MS/HS we will be holding a meeting for the K-12 action team. This group, which will meet 3-4 times per school year, will be the umbrella group that oversees many of the subcommittees who will focus on Bullying Prevention and Intervention; Health and Wellness; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Social Emotional Learning, and more. If you are interested in attending or learning more about any of the various subgroups please complete this form:  https://forms.gle/2YbBPzEKQ1i8sVjB7

NRPS 2025 Update

In the coming weeks we will be sharing the draft for public comment and feedback of the district's updated strategy for improvement: NRPS 2025. We plan to present this draft at the meeting of the North Reading School Committee on June 13, 2022 as well. The elements of our strategy, including the three "big rocks" of Teaching & Learning, Student Support Services, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are all based upon stakeholder feedback and input from the visioning process from last spring.

We will also share out some additional resources and FAQs from the recent DEI forum in the very near future as well.

Recognition and Celebration of Heritage Months

As an action item under Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion our district will do more to promote and celebrate the established heritage months and share more information about holidays and events. We hope to share more information about Black History, Women's History, Disability Awareness, Irish-American, Italian-American, Latino-Hispanic, Asian-Pacific-American, Jewish-American, American Indian, and other groups.

This month we celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month and have shared information on our community bulletin board about a local event on June 12, 2022. Those seeking additional information about the history of the LGBTQ+ movement will find more articles here. 

On June 11, 1999 President Clinton issued a proclamation that designated June as Gay and Lesbian Pride month and encouraged "all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that celebrate our diversity..."

Juneteenth Celebration

On June 20, 2022 our schools will be closed in recognition of Juneteenth (short for June Nineteenth) which became a federal holiday last year and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. More information about the history of Juneteenth can be found here and it may be a helpful resource to share with your children just as we share the importance of Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Independence Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day as well as other significant holidays in our calendar.

As we continue to strengthen our supportive culture of belonging I felt it was important to share this information and these resources with our parents, families, and caregivers. We look forward to having many stakeholders participate on June 9th in our subcommittee work and to also provide us feedback on our strategic plan when it is shared in the coming weeks.

Thank you,

Dr. Daly

COVID Protocols Update

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

This week the Department of Public Health and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education updated the isolation and quarantine guidance and protocols. Full details can be found here.

Isolation and quarantine guidance and protocols

Guidance for Children in Child Care, K-12, OST, and Recreational Camp Settings:

• Quarantine for asymptomatic exposed children, regardless of where the exposure occurred, is no longer required for these settings. Children who are identified as close contacts may continue to attend programming as long as they remain asymptomatic. Those who can mask should do so until Day 10. A test on Days 2 and 5 is recommended, but not required.
• Children who test positive must isolate for at least 5 days. If they are asymptomatic or symptoms are resolving and they have been fever free for 24 hours, they may return to programming after Day 5, provided:
  • If the child is able to mask, they must do so through Day 10.
  • If the child is unable to mask, they must have a negative test on Day 5 or later in order to return to programming prior to day 11.
• Symptomatic children can remain in their school or program if they are tested immediately onsite, and that test is negative. Best practice would also include wearing a mask, if possible, until symptoms are fully resolved.
  • If the symptomatic child cannot be tested immediately, they should be sent home and allowed to return to their program or school if they test negative, or they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and their symptoms have resolved, or if a medical professional makes an alternative diagnosis. A negative test is strongly recommended for return if the latter two conditions are met. 

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-isolation-and-quarantine-guidance-for-children-in-child-care-k-12-out-of-school-time-ost-and-recreational-campprogram-settings

While we have certainly seen an uptick in cases in the month of May our most recent data is reflective of a downward trend in positive cases. Please review the dashboard for more detailed information. 

Have a great weekend and Memorial Day.

Dr. Daly

February 3, 2022 Update

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

I’m writing today to provide a few updates related to COVID-19 and our schools.

COVID-19 Cases and Testing Updates

For cases reported in the month of January, which includes those positive cases from December 23, 2021 through January 31, 2022, we have a total of 539 cases, including 457 students and 82 staff positive cases. For February we have 25 students and 1 staff positive cases.

Please review the dashboard for school-based updates and additional information.

COVID-19 Testing Updates

Today is the first day of our at-home testing program for students and the second day for staff. Beginning tomorrow our nurses will transition away from contact tracing and the test and stay program and focus their attention on symptomatic and positive cases only. Those who are close contacts for outside of school will continue to follow Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidelines.

We will continue to accept new opt-in applications for the “at-home” testing program. If you are interested in adding your child(ren) to the “at-home” testing program please complete this form (students only) for inclusion in the next distribution cycle. At-home participants will take a test weekly on Thursday and report only positive results to the school.

Our pooled testing programs will also continue on Monday (Hood/Little) and Tuesday (Batchelder/MS/HS) each week.

DESE Mask Mandate Update

At the most recent meeting of the North Reading School Committee we heard from parents who were concerned about the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) mask mandate and we addressed several questions related to this requirement. As a reminder, this mask requirement from DESE is not optional for districts to choose to implement.

The current mandate extends through February 28, 2022 but the district does have the ability to apply for a waiver for any school that meets a threshold of an 80% vaccination rate.

As a reminder, the middle/high school is considered one campus for this purpose, and the middle school would be at least at 75% when viewed independently within a campus that is overall above 80%.

At this time our middle/high school is very close to the 80% threshold and I will be applying for this waiver as soon as this is possible and will then present this recommendation to the School Committee and notify our local Board of Health.

I will keep parents, guardians, and caregivers as well as students and staff informed of these steps as well. As clarified at our School Committee meeting, the recommendation for that school(s) would be aligned with the updated DESE language that would make mask wearing a choice:

 "If a school demonstrates a vaccination rate of 80 percent or more of all students and staff in the school through an attestation form submitted to DESE, then vaccinated individuals in that school would no longer be subject to the mask requirement. In alignment with statewide guidance, unvaccinated students and staff are highly recommended to continue wearing masks."

I certainly recognize and appreciate the concerns that have been shared with our School Committee about mask wearing from those on both sides of the discussion and we do hope that it will be safe enough to allow mask wearing to be a choice when the data are reviewed in late February (and sooner for the MS/HS campus if we hit the 80% threshold prior to February 28, 2022).

In addition, I would also like to share the updates from the Centers for Disease Control that now includes recommendations for well-fitting masks, including KN95 and N95 masks. There are no longer supply shortages and there are reports that the federal government will be providing free distribution of these masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, specifically recognizing the recommended changes in light of the omicron variant.

Thank you to everyone in our school community, including students, families, administrators, educators, staff and nurses, for their continued efforts to keep everyone safe!

Thank you,

​Dr. Daly

January 19, 2022 Update

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

I’m writing today to provide a few updates related to COVID-19 and our schools.

COVID-19 Testing Updates

Yesterday, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced a new testing program that would allow districts to provide weekly at-home testing kits to those staff and students who opt into this program. Districts who participate would also continue symptomatic and/or pooled testing (we would plan to continue with both options) and would no longer contact trace or provide test and stay testing options (as the at-home tests would serve this purpose).

There are many reasons for these changes, including the recent uptick in cases across the state and the need for all nurses to focus on providing support to those who are positive and the availability of at-home tests for everyone who desires to participate. The district will certainly be exploring this option that would begin later this month. I will share more information on this process as it becomes available.

Mask Requirements

I have received a few messages this week from parents who are concerned about the extension of the DESE Mask Mandate that I communicated in my message last week that now continues through February 28, 2022. As I expressed to those concerned parents I do not believe that this mandate will continue indefinitely but I with the recent high number of positive cases I do understand why DESE needed to continue this extension.

I certainly recognize and appreciate the concerns that have been shared with our School Committee about mask wearing for our students and we do hope that it will be safe enough to allow mask wearing to be a choice when the data are reviewed in late February.

As a reminder, this mask requirement from DESE is not optional for districts to implement. There is currently the ability to apply for a waiver based upon a vaccination threshold of 80% for a school building. Currently none of our buildings meet that 80% threshold for staff and students.

In addition, I would also like to share the updates from the Centers for Disease Control that now includes recommendations for well-fitting masks, including KN95 and N95 masks. There are no longer supply shortages and there are reports that the federal government will be providing free distribution of these masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, specifically recognizing the recommended changes in light of the omicron variant.

From CDC:

“Masking is a critical public health tool to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and it is important to remember that any mask is better than no mask. To protect yourself and others from COVID-19, CDC continues to recommend that you wear the most protective mask you can that fits well and that you will wear consistently.”

COVID-19 Cases

For cases reported in the month of January, which includes those positive cases from December 23, 2021 through January 19, 2022, we have a total of 431 cases, including 361 students and 70 staff positive cases.

Please review the dashboard for school-based updates and additional information.

Due to the high number of positive cases and the evolving guidance for isolation and quarantine our nurses are focusing their attention on providing support to the positive students and staff and those close contacts who need to quarantine or participate in test and stay (those who are fully vaccinated or who are at least three feet apart and masked do not need to quarantine or participate in test and stay).

All other individuals should follow the same recommendations as if they were close contacts. This means:

If you or your child is exhibiting ONE of the following symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19:

·       *Fever (100.0 Fahrenheit or higher), chills or shaking chills*

·       *Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath*

·       *New loss of taste or smell*

·       *Muscle aches or body aches*

Or TWO or more of the following symptoms:

·       *Cough (not due not other known cause, such as chronic cough)

·       *Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms

·      *Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea when in combination with other symptoms

·      *Headache when in combination with other symptoms

·       *Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms

·       *Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms

Please see the school nurse, a medical professional, or consider taking a COVID-19 PCR or COVID-19 rapid antigen test.

Thank you,

​Dr. Daly

January 10, 2022 Update

 Dear North Reading Public Schools Community,

Tomorrow looks to be very cold so please take all necessary precautions and continue bundling up and staying warm!

COVID-19 Updates

Earlier today the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) extended the mask mandate for schools through February 28, 2022. More information on this update can be found here: https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/on-desktop/2022-0110mask-requirement-extension.pdf

DESE also released updated FAQs related to COVID-19 that have been attached to this message. The North Reading Public Schools continue to provide as much distance as feasible during snack and lunch in order to prevent transmission. We continue to offer thorough cleanings of all buildings and 

For cases reported in the month of January, which includes those positive cases from December 23, 2021 through January 5, 2022, we have a total of 315 cases, including 261 students and 54 staff positive cases.

Please review the dashboard for school-based updates and additional information.

Due to the high number of positive cases and the evolving guidance for isolation and quarantine our nurses are focusing their attention on providing support to the positive students and staff and those close contacts who need to quarantine or participate in test and stay (those who are fully vaccinated or who are at least three feet apart and masked do not need to quarantine or participate in test and stay).

All other individuals should follow the same recommendations as if they were close contacts. This means:

If you or your child is exhibiting ONE of the following symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19:

·       *Fever (100.0 Fahrenheit or higher), chills or shaking chills*

·       *Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath*

·       *New loss of taste or smell*

·       *Muscle aches or body aches*

Or TWO or more of the following symptoms:

·       *Cough (not due not other known cause, such as chronic cough)

·       *Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms

·      *Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea when in combination with other symptoms

·      *Headache when in combination with other symptoms

·       *Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms

·       *Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms

Please see the school nurse, a medical professional, or consider taking a COVID-19 PCR or COVID-19 rapid antigen test.

Thank you, stay warm, and be well.

​Dr. Daly