Superintendent's Weekly Update 1/3/21


 Dear Douglas Community, 

Good afternoon, I hope that the beginning of a new year finds each of you healthy and safe. I hope everyone had some time off and was able to relax and enjoy time at home. Tomorrow, we will return to school in a hybrid model. I want to continue to remind everyone that we each play a key role in making certain the schools stay open for our students. Please continue to follow the safety protocols that are in place and remember that if you are not feeling good or are living with someone that is symptomatic to please stay home. The numbers in Douglas, both in the schools and in the community, are lower than when we left for break. However I am not naive to the fact that this could change very quickly. Please err on the side of caution over the next few weeks as it is our desire to stay open as long as possible. We will continue to review the data daily and make any adjustments to our learning environment as necessary.

Over vacation I received word of some new cases within the Douglas Public Schools. Individuals directly related to these cases have been contacted when we were made aware of the cases. Link To COVID Dashboard (Updated 1/3/2020) Please click on the link to see the most up to date information.

Tomorrow, I will send out some information about putting together a committee to look at creating a Blueprint for Success. This Blueprint is similar to a strategic plan, but instead of having strategic actions that span 3 to 5 years, in the Blueprint, these will be yearly action items. The rationale for this is that it is very difficult to project action items 3 to 5 years out. I would like to create a working group that will help build our Blueprint from the ground up. This Blueprint will guide the work that we do in the Douglas Public Schools for the upcoming years.

We are also expecting some snowfall (2-3 inches) tonight into tomorrow morning. I have been in touch with our custodial department and the highway department. If we need a delay to make sure the roads and schools are safe, I will send out a communication tomorrow. 

Happy New Year,

Paul

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