Superintendent's Weekly Update July 24, 2020
Newsletter Highlights
Returning to school information
Community Forum Zoom links and information
Information on the District’s plans if someone tests positive or is exposed to someone that tests positive
Webpage updates
Summer Learning Grant
One Call
Hello,
I do apologize for the lengthy newsletter this week, but there is a lot of information to communicate with you. I am grateful for all the help and support from everyone on the school and municipal side in helping build a plan to get students back to school safely in September; their collaborative approach has been wonderful.
I want to state publicly that I know there are a lot of emotions and questions about coming back to school in September. People want answers and information so they can plan their lives; I fully understand that and I am cognizant of it. I also know that any of the three options that are selected will not be easy for some people to make work; again I am fully aware of that and understand that as a Superintendent, but also as a parent. My responsibility is to get all students and staff back to school in a safe manner and to make certain that our students are receiving a high caliber education within these three options; that is the balancing act. We have spent the last 3 weeks developing a solid skeleton of what some of the options may look like, while dealing with new information and data on a daily basis. It is important to note that what many districts thought they were going to do on July 1 has changed and will continue to change over the summer. We have received additional information and guidance from DESE and medical professionals over these last few weeks that has also caused us to pivot again. The main piece of information that I have been looking at in preparing for a safe return is the distance of seating in classrooms. Although we can get all students back in school, with masks, hand hygiene, and 3 feet apart; I do not feel safe with this option. The science and feedback is clear; keeping people 6 feet apart significantly reduces the chance to contract the virus when put in conjunction with other safety measures. I can not in good conscious safely have everyone back in school 3 feet apart. After spending time in the halls, walking the campuses, looking at classrooms, and traffic flow patterns, I do not feel comfortable bringing everyone back for in-person instruction only 3 feet apart. Therefore, the option of full in-person instruction for the Douglas Public Schools will not happen. The two options that I am looking at will be either a hybrid model (½ the students in at a time) or a full remote option. These will need to be investigated further, discussed with the task force, and negotiated with the DTA. To be clear we have not finalized which one of these two options we will return to. That is what I will spend the next few weeks working on and investigating. Our final plan is due to DESE on August 10.
Next week I will host two community forums. These will take place on Tuesday, July 28 at 11AM and 7PM. At our first meeting I presented a rough draft of our Blueprint for returning to school. At this meeting I will present more concrete information as to what the start of the school year may look like for September. I will add additional Zoom Sessions on a weekly basis for the month of August as information and plans seem to change almost daily. Below are the links to the Zoom meetings for next week.
Topic: Community Forum 2
Time: Jul 28, 2020 11:00 AM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86489987424?pwd=VHI0TWdIQm95cWlBVW5kL1ZRUWkxdz09
Meeting ID: 864 8998 7424
Passcode: kLy8md
Topic: Community Forum 2
Time: Jul 28, 2020 07:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89701914713?pwd=cG45cTVVQXdya1Jma0xJR3RoYThFdz09
Meeting ID: 897 0191 4713
Passcode: p1sKEn
One of the big questions that has been asked is what will happen if someone contracts the virus once school has started. Last week DESE sent out a document that outlines the steps schools will need to follow. Parts of this will be highlighted in my presentation at the community forum. The entire document is attached in this link.
We have created a COVID informational page on the website. It is under the Parents Page Tab. There I will post many of the pieces of information that I send out and present on. I hope you find this information helpful. This page will continue to be updated on a weekly basis.
As I mentioned last week, with the help of Donna Sousa, we have set up a District Wide Google Calendar. This is on the District’s web page under the parent page tab and then click on the integrated district wide calendar. Principals will populate information and dates here and it will be a live document. I hope this makes it easier for people to see what is going on in the district for events on a weekly basis.
Earlier this week we received a grant from DESE in the amount of $8,960 to help transition students back to school This will be a high-quality, in-person, summer learning program that will provide educational opportunities and will intentionally monitor, promote, and reinforce the health and well-being of students. Counselors, teachers, and administration will generate a list of students by grade that are emotionally fragile, that struggle with transitions and being away from school for a long period of time, students that are at risk socially and emotionally, students that missed time during the remote learning period, students who were academically behind prior to closures and have gaps in learning as a result of not being in school and not accessing remote learning to its fullest. Students will include regular education students, Special Education Students, students on 504 plans, and English Language Learners. We will reach out to students selected based on the criteria of the grant in a week.
I also wanted to update people on a substantive change to how I will use our One Call system. I will use the email portion of the system to communicate with you on a weekly basis. However, I will only use the calling portion of the system on a limited basis and for significant announcements and events. I hope to see more people sign back up for the system as this is where you will receive a lot of electronic communication and information.
There was a lot of information in this newsletter and I thank you for taking the time to read it. Please know that I have spent a lot of time thinking about the decision to not return to full in-person instruction; it was not easy. This was not done in isolation but with input and feedback from multiple agencies, meetings, and shareholders. I need to be certain that everyone’s health and safety were taken into account and I just can’t look people in the eye and feel confident that full in person instruction can safely happen. Please know with confidence that everyone’s safe return to school is driving our decisions.
Best,
Paul Vieira
Superintendent of Schools
full remote option does not benefit our kids in anyway! Why not shut down the schools for the flu? We know the flu is worse for kids than COVID. Our kids are becoming very depressed, keeping them home, doing zoom sessions is not productive. We need our kids back in school!
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with the above statement as someone who cant do remote learning you are putting our children at a serious disadvantage for the rest of their lives
DeleteAgreed. Remote learning is not an option. You NEED to open schools.
DeleteThank you for putting our children’s safety first.
DeleteAgree 100%
DeleteBest decision ever! We need to put our kids first! We are the parents. We need to stop complaining and take responsibility to teach our own children in a time like this! Enough with the my kids need social interaction and to see friends. Most kids have social interaction on their phones all day or through video game chat. This will end if we all stay home and do what we are supposed too.
DeleteRemote learning is best for our kids!!!!
DeleteThe flu is nothing compared to the coronavirus...get a grip.
DeleteThe coronavirus has grappled the the world!!! This is a severe outbreak! We haven't seen this since the Spanish flu over 100 years ago...did you just compare the coronavirus to the flu...wow. please let me know the last time the flu shut down the world and had to phase open slowly.
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DeleteFor people saying they CAN'T do remote...step up and find a way! You became a parent with knowledge that you have to do what it takes to raise your children. We have to figure it out that's the job of a parent..
DeleteAn illiterate living child is better than a dead educated one. People need to get their priorities in order.
DeleteThis is what happen when people have become so dependant on other people to take care of their children. I will do anything to protect my child, period.
DeleteWe know COVID does not affect kids they way it does older adults. If we have kids with a compromised immune system and older teachers who at more at risk to getting severely sick from COVID they should be the people who are doing remote learning. the healthy kids and teachers should be in school. Not to mention how this has affected our kids in such a way that they have become very depressed. I wonder how many young adults have committed suicide from depression in 2020 compared to other years? This is not healthy for our children. they need to be back in school!
ReplyDeleteThis is a virus that can mutate and reek havoc on anyone. We need to stop thinking of everything negative and bring forth the positive. This is a guaranteed way to keep our children safe...isn't that top priority! Unless someone can tell the future of what these upcoming months will be like with the coronavirus then we need to take the upmost precautions to keep our children safe. Maybe those kids that are depressed need extra support from their families so they can better understand the situation. Unfortunately life is unexpected and as parents this is our job to be there for our kids. Support groups could be started through zoom for kids who need that extra reinforcement and help through this.
DeleteI asked my son what he thinks about going back to school in person vs remote learning. He picked remote learning in a heartbeat. He said he will do anything to protect our family especially "mommy" because she has diabetes. My son is only 9 years old, but he understands and know what this virus could do to anybody. As a parent I would give my life for my child, but I will not be able to live with myself if I send him back to school right now with no vaccine in sight.
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ReplyDeleteThe world is struggling...its the coronavirus. Hundreds of thousands more people are at risk if we just keep on opening and not being cautious. The virus mutates there is no guarantee as to what it will become or do in the future. Our kids are not safe on school right now!
DeleteParents are a child's first and always teacher! It may not be easy but our children are worth it.
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DeleteI understand and appreciate the concern for the health and well being of students staff and the families of both. However my daughters going into 1st shes already miss most of year 1 of her base and now theres no way to know if these kids will retain anything they learn remote as im sure its a new beast for all involved. How are the kids going to be tested to be sure they are retaining all the information were mostly traditional instruction wont be there?
ReplyDeleteTime for parents to step up and make sure their own children are learning and retaining information. Our children are our priority. The parents are a child's first teacher!
DeleteMy priority right now is to make sure son is healthy so he can return to school when vaccines are available.
DeleteYou mention the “The science and feedback is clear”. Can you please elaborate on that. I assume given that you’re an educator you must have your research properly documented on such an important decision. Could you please provide that to the community to back up your decision. I think it would go a long way in convincing us that you’re decision is well grounded in facts. Please be specific on the “feedback” you’re speaking on. Thank You, Dan Pomfret (Parent).
ReplyDeleteIts called google and news, research it. I believe his decision is backed up by hundreds of medical professionals urging people to stay home! As other states open and the number of cases soar is that enough proof. Read some of the top medical doctors of the world and what they say. I couldn't appreciate his decision more to keep our kids safe.
DeleteThere’s a lot if conflicting research. I want to know what specifically our Superintendent’s decisions are based on. We pay his salary. Doesn’t seem like it’s asking too much. Seems like you had a lot of responses for everyone, Are you a parent in Douglas? Why are you anonymous. What’s your name?
DeleteMaybe you could attend the upcoming zoom meetings for more information. I get your request for information, but have you been seeing what the coronavirus is doing to the world? I only wrote one response, so I'm not sure where your going with the whole what's your name and am I a parent. If I wasn't a Douglas parent I wouldn't be on this page waiting for info. Its a right to be anonymous and I choose too, because people get all bent out of shape over a simple response.
DeleteAnonymous doesn't carry any weight in my mind. Once again should be pretty easy to show the research and Science that's out there. I'm not looking for a bunch of crab I can Google. I'm interested in the specific "Science" and "Feedback" that was used to make this decision. I believe as taxpaying residents of this town we are entitled to it. This is to big of a decision to not have specifics. If based on the data it's the correct move, then great, but no-one is above having to justify something as important as this. Here's a bit of data for you: there have been 0 deaths of children between the ages of 0-19 in the state of MA from Covid-19. You can find this data on the State of MA Covid 19 Dashboard that's updated daily. If I've missed the information I'm looking for from the school department/ Superintendent, I apologize. Please direct me to the appropriate place on line and I'll review.
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ReplyDeleteI can only speak for myself and my family's situation. Remote learning is the only option for my child. I know enough to trust my gut instinct, and it had yet to let me down. The problems I see is that even though experts are saying children are low risk that doesn't mean they cannot be carriers to higher risk adults, like myself. We all cannot forget that this virus is still new to everyone including the "experts". The fact that it is capable of mutating to something easier to contract and more serious speaks for itself. It really bothers me that there are people still comparing corona virus to the flu. Yes, influenza still kill people every year, but not nearly to the amount of corona virus. Not to mention there is still no vaccine in sight. To sum it up...yes, children are low risk but I am not going to take any chances because I know anything could change in a blink of an eye. This is Corona Virus not the Flu.
ReplyDeleteI agree, this is Corona Virus not the Flu. We cannot let our guards down.
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