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Superintendent's Newsletter 1/15/2021

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  Middle School Principal Interviews I am pleased to announce that on Tuesday January 19 I will be interviewing candidates for the interim principalship at the Middle School. I was very happy with the caliber of the people who applied and hope to make an announcement on a finalist the week of January 25.  Coming Out of Remote: We will return to a full hybrid model on Thursday the 21st. Thank you to everyone for your flexibility and understanding during this time. I also want to say a huge thank you to families for following our safety protocols; you have helped us stay open by following them. It is not always easy, but it works. State Of The Schools I have asked each of the Principals and Ms. Urquhart to present to families a State of the Schools report in early February. This will highlight what we have done to date and where we are going for the remainder of the school year. These presentations will be about one hour in length with the first 30 minutes being the presentation and the
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Superintendent's Newsletter 1/8/2021

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  Dear Douglas Community,  Happy New Year to everyone. I have a lot of information to share this week so I do apologize for the length of this message. Thank you for taking the time to read this to the end. State Of The Schools I have asked each of the Principals and Ms. Urquhart to present to families a State of the Schools report in early February. This will highlight what we have done to date and where we are going for the remainder of the school year. These presentations will be about one hour in length with the first 30 minutes being the presentation and the last 30 for questions from families. The following are the dates and times and Zoom links will be sent out shortly. DPS 2/10 @630 DES 2/9 @545 DMS 2/8 @ 630 DHS 2/11 TBD OSSS 2/8 @ 630 COVID Data Attached is a link to our COVID Dashboard. This is updated every week and I have revamped and added some new information from previous weeks. The numbers locally and in the state have fluctuated from last week to this week. Using some
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Superintendent's Weekly Update 1/3/21

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  Dear Douglas Community,  Good afternoon, I hope that the beginning of a new year finds each of you healthy and safe. I hope everyone had some time off and was able to relax and enjoy time at home. Tomorrow, we will return to school in a hybrid model. I want to continue to remind everyone that we each play a key role in making certain the schools stay open for our students. Please continue to follow the safety protocols that are in place and remember that if you are not feeling good or are living with someone that is symptomatic to please stay home. The numbers in Douglas, both in the schools and in the community, are lower than when we left for break. However I am not naive to the fact that this could change very quickly. Please err on the side of caution over the next few weeks as it is our desire to stay open as long as possible. We will continue to review the data daily and make any adjustments to our learning environment as necessary. Over vacation I received word of some new cas
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Superintendent's Weekly Update 12/18/2020

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  Hello, Yesterday, I was able to sit back and relax for a bit during the snow day in between shoveling snow and wrapping presents. At one point during the day I was going through my notes and emails and just paused with pride; I had a moment. I said to myself, we are doing some awesome, amazing, and great things here in Douglas. A lot of it flies under the radar, but I just want to take some time to highlight my observations and thoughts yesterday.  We have a School Committee that is supportive and committed to doing what is best for students and staff. They want the best for our kids.  Our Leadership Team works tirelessly to make sure kids and staff are safe and feel supported. They are committed to ensuring the needs of the whole child are being met during this pandemic. Striking that balance is not always easy, but they have found it. Our staff is second to none! They have been incredible this year and deserve to be recognized and commended. They too do what is needed to make sure
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Superintendent's Weekly Update---12/11/2020

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  Hello, I hope and trust that everyone had a good week. Below are some updates I wanted to share. I am optimistic that we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it is very faint, but it is there. We must persevere a bit longer during the next couple of months and follow the guidelines that have been outlined to get through this. I hope that by the end of the year my newsletters have nothing to do with COVID; as I am confident that you do as well. Rapid Covid Testing: The Douglas Public Schools will soon be able to offer rapid COVID-19 testing for symptomatic staff and students participating in any type of in-person instruction. If you have not already received an email from Project Beacon (a third party non-profit organization contracted to compile consent for testing and to share test results), please be on the lookout for it. Please use the Project Beacon as the primary method to give us consent, the paper copy should be used for people who are struggling connecting
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Superintendent's Weekly Update----12/4/2020

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  Hello, It was great to welcome students, faculty, and staff yesterday. I was able to spend time yesterday and today in buildings and I loved seeing our kids and teachers back. I know I sound like a broken record, but if we are going to stay open we need everyone to follow these guidelines: Avoid large social gatherings Wear a mask Practice social distancing Wash your hands frequently Follow the guidance set forth by the Governor If the Board of Health calls, please answer and provide them with the information they need If you are sick, stay home If you live with someone that is symptomatic, stay home until they test negative I really would like to highlight the last two: If you are sick, stay home If you live with someone that is symptomatic, stay home until they test negative If schools are to stay open please follow these. I do not want to have to move to a remote platform, but will have to if this becomes problematic. I am also working on some additional safeguards to put in place
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