Superintendent's Weekly Newsletter---October 9, 2020
Newsletter Highlights Include:
Superintendent’s Goals
Athletic User Fees
PreSchool Tuition
Zoom Information
COVID Travel Order
School Lunch Information
Town Hall Forum
Phases of learning
DPS Weekly COVID Dashboard
Substitute teachers
Important Documents
I want to provide everyone with a brief update on the COVID situation at the DES. As you know we had one staff member test positive on Monday. We did our contact tracing for that staff member and we were able to identify 8 close contacts. To date we have received confirmation of 4 negative tests and as more test results come back I will share them with you. To be clear people are not required to be tested, but everyone will have to quarantine for 14 days.
I also wanted to extend my continued thanks and appreciation to you for your continued support of the schools but more importantly our teachers. Like all of us in this pandemic, we have had to deal with challenges and curveballs. A first year teacher, before they teach their first lesson, has 12 years of school experience to draw upon, 4 years of college, over 10 educational courses, observation hours, and student teaching to use as a reference point before they teach their first class. If they stumble, they can ask a colleague who has done it before. Our teachers were given 6 weeks to prepare for 3 different models of instruction and have no one to lean on for best practices. What they have done and continue to do in nothing short of monumental. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank them publicly and recognize all of their efforts.
Superintendent’s Goals:
Each year the Superintendent in all districts across the Commonwealth must present their goals publicly to the School Committee. Goals are a reflection of your values and beliefs and what you want to see happen in a school or district. My goals were developed looking beyond COVID and wanting to move our district forward. Below are my 6 goals for the 2020-2021 school year.
Through a comprehensive approach a newly created Blueprint for Continuous Student Improvement (Strategic Plan) will be created and approved by the School Committee for implementation beginning with the 2021-2022 School Year.
By June 2021, a Literacy Action Plan will be developed for grades K-5. The plan will identify the key action steps proposed to achieve this objective. The overarching goal is to increase student achievement through the delivery of high quality, consistent core literacy instruction.
Ensures that instructional practices in all settings reflect high expectations regarding content and quality of effort and work, engage all students, and are personalized to accommodate diverse learning styles, needs, interests, and levels of readiness.
By June 2021 a full analysis of the Middle School schedule will be completed with an emphasis on best meeting the needs of students at the Middle School with current staffing levels.
Set clear expectations for and provide appropriate supports to educators regarding regular, two-way, culturally proficient communication with families.
By June 2021 complete a review of the Program of Studies with all academic departments and prepare new course offerings for the 2021-2022 school year.
Athletic User Fees:
The School Committee approved the following refund structure for athletic fees for families should a season get cut short as a result of closing schools due to COVID-19. Although we hope and want to be in school for the full year, we also need to be proactive and prepared should we need to close.
The Athletic Director will determine the total number of weeks in season by sport starting on the first day of tryouts and running through the last scheduled game
The total number of weeks will be divided by the user fee to determine a weekly rate (ex: 10 weeks, $200 user fee for $20 per week)
If a season is canceled the Athletic Director will determine the total number of active weeks (Weeks start on a Monday) to determine refund total based on the refund rate
Once 2/3 of the games have been played in a particular sport there will be no athletic fee refund
PreSchool Tuition:
As some of you may know, a portion of our preschool expenses are funded through tuition. As was the case with athletic fees, we need to be prepared should we need to close as a result of the pandemic. The School Committee approved this week and updates fee structure for the preschool should we have to close:
Once a month has started there will be no refund or adjustment for that month’s tuition fee
Families that wish to continue having access to our program teachers and curriculum will pay 40% of their monthly tuition fee
Families that pay the 40% tuition fee will have first access to the preschool program when and if we reopen
A detailed letter will go out to families next week.
Zoom Information and Help:
As we continue to try to provide the best educational experience for your children while they are learning from home, we have two requests to help the Zoom meetings be as effective as possible:
It is ok to help your child log on to a Zoom meeting but then it is best to step away and let them participate in the lesson independently. This will allow them to rely on their teachers during their lessons and have a more authentic school experience.
We are asking that parents not ask questions on the Zoom meetings. This takes away from the lesson and in many cases causes a disruption to the learning of other students. Any questions that parents have should be emailed to the teacher which will be responded to in a timely manner. Technology questions can be sent to helpdesk@douglasps.net.
COVID Travel Order:
Currently, all visitors and returning residents of Massachusetts must follow travel orders, which are outlined here on the mass.gov website. Unless you are returning to Massachusetts from a “low-risk” state and/or classify for an exemption, you are required to quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72 hours prior to your arrival in Massachusetts. As of October 6, the low-risk states are New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, and the District of Columbia.
Exemptions to the order for those traveling from high-risk states include people commuting for work or school, patients receiving medical treatment, and military personnel.
Visit the mass.gov website for full details on the out-of-state travel order.
These requirements are in addition to Massachusetts requirements for wearing a mask or other face covering in both indoor and outdoor settings, any time you cannot socially distance and remain 6 feet from other people.
School Lunch Information - Free Meals Available to ALL Students
The Douglas Public Schools will be able to send home meals(5 breakfasts and 5 lunches) every Tuesday (Cohort A) and Friday (Cohort B) with students. This is 100% free to all students and available to every student in the Douglas Public Schools until December 31, 2020 or until funding from the Federal Government runs out. If you are interested, all you need to do is complete the attached form (one form per child) and then on Tuesday or Friday have your child pick up their meals in the cafeteria on their way to the bus. These meals are available to Full Remote students as well. Please contact Lisa Leon, Food Service Director, 508-476-3332 ext. 2253 or lleon@douglasps.net, to set up a pick up date and time or if you have any questions. Please allow for 1 week set up time for this opportunity to start. Ms. Leon will email you to let you know the official start date. Please click on the link to enroll.
Town Hall Forum:
The week of October 12 I will host a Town Hall Forum for each of the buildings. Now that we have finished two weeks of school and the first full cycle, I would like to hear your feedback on what is going well and what isn’t. Please take a moment to fill out the quick survey so that I can have your feedback. I will close the links to the survey over the weekend. Below are links to the surveys by building and the zoom links to the forums.
Primary School Zoom Information
Topic: Primary School
Time: Oct 14, 2020 06:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://douglasps-net.zoom.us/j/84357103564?pwd=UlhFNldOb1RFT0tZcVg3SGdodjhEQT09
Meeting ID: 843 5710 3564
Password: 127767
Elementary School Zoom Information
Topic: Elementary School
Time: Oct 14, 2020 07:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://douglasps-net.zoom.us/j/87377743838?pwd=cGdvTDdadkYwdU1RTEpBd2dqUHhVUT09
Meeting ID: 873 7774 3838
Password: 921928
Middle School School Zoom Information
Topic: Middle School
Time: Oct 13, 2020 06:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://douglasps-net.zoom.us/j/85880599887?pwd=OWZlaEtOS1M3VkpLeGIrVmI2bVZLQT09
Meeting ID: 858 8059 9887
Password: 266127
High School Zoom Information
Topic: High School
Time: Oct 13, 2020 07:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
https://douglasps-net.zoom.us/j/89897431322?pwd=MXUzSlpiZDQ0Z0toNXdrQmluZjk4QT09
Meeting ID: 898 9743 1322
Password: 641276
This week's data show:
Douglas's Average Daily Case Rate: 0 per 100,000
Douglas's 14 Day Percent Positivity Rate: .0%
MA Positivity Rate on September 16, 2020 - 1.1%
Last week's data show:
Douglas's Average Daily Case Rate: 1.52 per 100,000
Douglas's 14 Day Percent Positivity Rate: .7%
MA Positivity Rate on September 16, 2020 - 1.0%
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.
Important Documents
Here are links to 3 documents. The first document provides information to families on what to do if your student is sick. The second is a link to our mask protocol along our guidelines for when we will change models.
Mask and Change in model guidance
Enjoy the long weekend with your family. The weather is going to be great and take the time to relax and recharge.
Best,
Paul
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