Superintendent's Weekly Update---September 24, 2020

Newsletter Highlights Include:

Expectations

Technology

Phases of learning

Mask Protocols

DPS Weekly COVID Dashboard

Substitute teachers

Community Impact Survey

It has been a month of several firsts. We had our first day of school, our first day with students in the building, our first phased in days, and this week we had our first day with a full cohort in school. I have been in all the buildings and several classrooms these days and I am very pleased with what I have seen from an educational standpoint and with everyone following safety protocols. We have 3 more days to complete this first fully 2-1-2 hybrid cycle and the expectation is that we will have all the kinks and quirks worked out. If you have any issues or concerns please feel free to reach out to any of us.

As you will see from the report below, the data is trending in a positive direction. I do need to emphasize that in order for our buildings to stay open for hybrid or in-person learning everyone has to do their part. We have seen several examples the last few weeks in the news about school districts being forced to teach only in a remote setting due to poor choices. Please make sure to continue to follow guidelines so that we can stay open and hopefully move into a fully in person model sooner rather than later. Additionally, students and families can continue to do their part by practicing proper hygiene, wearing masks when in public, or when physical distancing is not possible, following ALL school-related procedures, and generally limiting unnecessary exposure. Attached again is our guidance for families. 

Expectations

This week we transitioned to our full 2-1-2 model. The first few days of school, with just 25% of our students in attendance, gave us the opportunity to make certain that from an operational standpoint students and staff were safe. Teachers could build relationships, make students feel safe, and fully review all safety protocols. Now that we are done with this phase students and teachers will fully dive into our curriculum. Teachers have been trained on remote learning and as we have stated in the past you will see a significant difference from last year. One thing that you should start seeing in the remote lessons are the 5 E’s that we reviewed with staff in our training. The 5 E’s stand for Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. As teachers are developing remote options, these concepts will be embedded into lessons. 

Technology Update

Thank you to everyone for your patience with technology. The first day of school we had over 180 emails to the help desk, two days later we were at 50 and one week later we were at 20. By the end of next week we will have our new iPads for grades K and 1 and Chromebooks for grades 2, 3, and 4. Once they have been configured we will get them out to students. This should also help with any issues. Ms. Socha and Mr. Bell will reach out to you about how we will get these new devices to you. 

Masks and Phases of Learning

The School Committee approved two important documents last week. 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 shared these out last week, but I wanted people to see it again in case it was missed. Click on the link for these two documents.

This week's data show:

Douglas's Average Daily Case Rate: 1.52 per 100,000 

Dougals's 14 Day Percent Positivity Rate: .47%

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

Last 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%

Need for Substitutes and Education Support Personnel

The Douglas Public Schools are in need of full-time building substitutes and Education Support Personnel. If you are interested or if you know someone interested please contact me at pvieira@douglasps.net and I will get you more information.

Community Impact Survey

The Town has asked that I forward this link to a community impact survey. The COVID-19 Community Impact Survey (CCIS) is an online survey aimed at collecting data to better understand and identify the social, economic, and health needs and inequities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Attached is the link, thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.