Superintendent's Weekly Update September 17, 2020

Newsletter Highlights Include:

Help Desk

Phases of learning

Mask Protocols

DPS Weekly COVID Dashboard

Updates Parent Info Sheet 

School Lunch Program


Hello,


What a GREAT first day. After close to three months of hard work from everyone, we finally got to see all of our efforts come into play today. Students and staff were safe and following safety protocols and procedures. Relationships were being built and a sense of community in our classrooms and schools were being established. I had the chance to be in schools and classrooms for a good part of the day and the one word that comes to mind is joy. I saw a lot of it and I wanted each of you to know that. Even though we only had 25% of students back to day, I have no reason to believe this will not continue each and every day.


There were and are some kinks to work out. We are aware of the technology glitches that occurred and many of them have been resolved. If you are still having issues, reach out to our tech desk at helpdesk@douglasps.net and they will be able to assist you. We know that technology issues can be frustrating, use the help desk to assist you in them. If you are still experiencing issues, reach out to building principals for additional supports. Additionally, principals met with staff at the end of the day to deal with any issues that we did not see and will address them accordingly. They will continue to do so for the next week. We want this right for our kids. For all of us, the last few weeks have been stressful and hectic. It was all worth it to see students again. For me it was another great welcome to the Douglas community. 


At the School Committee meeting last night, the Committee approved two important documents. The first one is our expectations on mask safety. Please take a few minutes to review it. The second is our Phases of Learning Environment. This is what we will use as a benchmark for our model of learning. It outlines what needs to happen for us to move from hybrid to in person or hybrid to remote. I want to be clear, this is a guide and there are several variables and factors that go into our decision, but we need to have a guide. I also want to share with you my data tracking sheet that I use; this is updated weekly.


This week's data show:

Douglas's Average Daily Case Rate: 0 per 100,000 

Dougals's 14 Day Percent Positivity Rate: 0%

MA  Positivity Rate on September 16, 2020 - .80%


Our nurses have been updating our parent guidance sheet on mask safety and what to do if your child is not feeling well in the morning. Please take a few minutes to review it. 


Over the next few days please be on the lookout for a letter about our school lunch program. It will contain important information for students and families.


Thank you,


Paul

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