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