Superintendent's Newsletter

  Hi all, There is a lot of information to share with everyone this week. Thank you for taking the time to read everything here and enjoy the weekend. Open Houses One of our many goals this year is to try and return to a new normal for our students, staff, and community. As you may have seen on the District's Calendar we have our Open Houses scheduled for next week. We are happy to be able to provide these in person for families so that you are able to meet teachers and see your student's classrooms in person. However in order to do so safely we need to add some additional safety protocols to make sure that you and staff are safe. We have created a more formalized structure for the evening to limit the amount of people in classrooms at one time. We are also only allowing one parent/guardian per child to attend. This will again allow for us to make sure we have enough spacing in our classrooms for safety. As a reminder, masks are required at all times when inside the buildings.

  Hi all, I hope everyone had a great first few days of school. I loved seeing our schools filled with kids, life, energy, and excitement again. It is tough to believe that it has been 18 months since we were all together. Like is the case every year, there are a few opening week kinks that we need to work out and are in the process of making the necessary adjustments. I want to thank everyone for their support and patience. The 21-22 school year is off to a fantastic start and I am highly confident it will be a great year. Communication As all of us did last year we will continue to send out weekly newsletters to families. It is important for us to communicate with you what is happening in our schools. Principals will also be setting up a Zoom meeting with families over the next two weeks to update you on the start of school. We will also continue to use Twitter and Facebook as a way to share information with you. Feel free to follow me on Twitter at @douglassuper1 or on Facebook at D

Hello, Throughout the course of the year I have mentioned that the light at the end of the COVID tunnel was getting closer and brighter. Last week we reached several major milestones; guidance has been released for next school year, kids and adults no longer need to wear masks outside, and our positivity rating is below 1%. As of today we will return to school in the Fall with all COVID restrictions lifted with the exception of wearing a mask in the buildings. This could change in the next 2 1/2 months, as I remain optimistic.  Graduation was set for today for seniors, but Mother Nature did not want to corporate. It has been moved to Saturday at 5:30PM. This week seniors were able to participate in several senior week activities. Tuesday of this week was Class Night and through the generosity of our community over $45,000 in scholarships were handed out to members of the senior class. We have 84 proud graduates who are ready to go out and make their mark on the world. Our PTO this week

  Hello, It has been a busy but a very productive week here in Douglas. Many of us were pleased with the news from the Governor, DESE, and the MIAA regarding masks. There are a lot of COVID updates in this newsletter and I thank you ahead of time for reading all of it. New Mask Guidance Effective, Wednesday May 18, the following guidelines are in place: Students no longer have to wear masks when outdoors, even if distance cannot be maintained Effective May 18th, this guidance update applies to recess, physical education, youth sports, and outdoor learning environments  The following applies to student athletes: Athletes on spring teams in active play outdoors are not required to wear a mask/facial covering. Athletes when they are on the bench or in a dugout are not required to wear a mask/facial covering. Spectators and chaperones, coaches, staff, referees, umpires and other officials who can social distance while outdoors, are not required to wear a mask/face covering. Visitors, sp

  Hello, I would like to thank the Douglas Board of Health for setting up a vaccination clinic for eligible students on Friday at the high school. It was no small task to make this happen. We are working with them to see if we can do this again one more time this school year. Below is some additional information about vaccinating students. To be clear, the Douglas Public Schools are NOT requiring students to be vaccinated, this is just for the purposes of sharing information. The CDC has recommended and approved allowing individuals as young as 12 years old to be vaccinated. Attached is a fact sheet for you to get some more information. https://www.fda.gov/media/144414/download . This week we begin our interviews for our new Director of Special Education. In my newsletter next week I will be announcing the finalists and our next steps.  Over the next few weeks you will also be receiving information from building principals about our summer learning program in August. This program is de

  Hello, This week we honored and celebrated our teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week. This year, they deserve all the kudos they have received for their tremendous dedication and commitment to our students in these truly unprecedented times. If you have not reached out to say thank you to your student’s teacher(s), I am certain they would appreciate it.  COVID Data Attached is a link to our COVID Dashboard along with guidance and information for families. Link To COVID Dashboard   guidance for families   To all the wonderful mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day! I hope each of you has a great weekend. Thank you, Paul