Superintendent's Weekly Update---November 13, 2020

Hello,

As many of you are aware of, the Commonwealth changed the metric as to how they report out which communities are in the red. The Governor announced this at his press conference last week. Below are two charts; one of the old metric and the other of the new one which highlight the changes.

OLD METRIC:

NEW METRIC:

We will continue to use the data provided to us by the Commonwealth to monitor the situation here in Douglas. I will also be recommending a change to our phases of learning model that the School Committee adopted in September to reflect the changes. I also want to emphasize that this is just a guide and we use additional data and resources to inform our decision making. 

I would also like to share with you two statements that were sent to schools and communities one from DESE which highlights some of the changes in the metric and the other from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS).

DESE

With the November 6 update by the Department of Public Health (DPH) to the weekly color-coded designation for communities in the Commonwealth, DESE has issued updated guidance on interpreting these metrics for school settings. This replaces the guidance on Interpreting DPH COVID-19 Health Metrics issued on August 11, 2020.

The Department is updating its guidance based on a growing body of evidence that students should remain in school and that schools are able to operate safely with strong health and safety protocols. The updates are as follows, and more details are available online.

• Districts are expected to prioritize in-person learning across all color-coded categories, unless there is suspected in-school transmission, in accordance with DESE's Guidance on Responding to COVID-19 Scenarios.

• Districts and schools in communities designated gray, green, or yellow are expected to have students learning fully in-person, if feasible.

• Schools in red communities should implement hybrid models while maximizing in-person learning time for high-needs students.

• In those communities with the highest COVID-19 caseloads and test positivity rates (currently Chelsea, Lawrence, and Revere), DESE and DPH will work with local school officials to develop and implement customized strategies to reduce in-school health risks.

• Fully remote instructional models should be implemented only as a last resort.

Structured learning time requirements for students and related regulatory and statutory standards remain in effect for school districts, regardless of learning model.

MASS

During the past several days, many superintendents have expressed concerns with the Governor’s press conference on Friday, November 6th, when he set expectations that schools in communities designated as grey, green or yellow return student learning fully, in person, if feasible. Clearly, the words “if feasible” are key to any possible return of in person options.

Based on the guidance provided by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the decision of the Administration to have each school district determine its return to school plan, the better part of Spring, and Summer, were spent by local districts to develop plans, negotiate agreements with local unions, and abide by the health and safety protocols.

While superintendents have been strong advocates for as much in school learning as possible, there are several realities which require the Governor’s help before many months of planning can be altered.

1. Convincing evidence that less than 6′ of distance is safe. We need medical experts to explicitly coalesce around safe distancing which allows for increased student capacity in classrooms.

2. School bus transportation must allow for significantly larger student bus capacity. We are limited right now with bus availability and the significant costs to expand bus usage.

3. Help with collective bargaining provisions since there is no way to make unilateral changes in previous agreements with local unions. Superintendents have already negotiated extensively on return to school plans.

M.A.S.S. and Superintendents across Massachusetts would welcome any statewide efforts to address these issues, that are beyond a local community’s power to impact.  With that assistance and support, we look forward to the time when more in-school learning is both feasible and achievable.

The key phrase from the Governor's statement is “if feasible”. All of us in the Douglas Public Schools are committed to doing what is right for our students and staff. And all of us want students back full time, but we must do it safely. As an administrative team we have been looking at how we can better meet the needs of students given the feedback we have received from parents and staff and what we have learned the last two months. I will be presenting this information at the next several school committee meetings.

This week's data show:

Douglas's Average Daily Case Rate: 16.6 

Douglas's 14 Day Percent Positivity Rate: 3.99%

MA  Positivity Rate - 2.9%

Last week's data show:

Douglas's Average Daily Case Rate: 12 per 100,000 

Douglas's 14 Day Percent Positivity Rate: 3.5%

MA  Positivity Rate - 2.3%

Link To COVID Dashboard

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.

guidance for families

Mask and Change in model guidance

This is just a reminder that our Special Town Meeting will be held tomorrow at 10:30 on the Elementary School Field. We will also host virtual parent teacher conferences on Monday and for some schools on Tuesday. Principals will send out information on the half day schedule and conference schedule to families.

Best,