Good Afternoon, Reading Public School Families,

I hope that you and your families are safe and healthy during this very difficult and challenging time.  As we enter the second phase of this school closure, I am pleased to share with you the Reading Public School Remote Learning Plan (please see link below).  To the extent possible, we will be following the guiding principles and recommendations for remote learning as outlined by Commissioner Jeff Riley in his memo dated March 26, 2020 and supported by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the American Federation of Teachers Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Parent Teacher Association.  

As you can imagine, building a virtual school district in three weeks during a time of crisis has many challenges. The development and continued implementation of this plan is a result of a tremendous team effort of our teachers and staff, coordinators and directors, principals and district leadership.  The Reading Public Schools Remote Learning Plan is meant to be a set of guidelines for our PreK-12 teachers as they navigate this new and uncertain world of virtual education.  Over the next couple of days, you will receive more specific information from building principals at each level as to what this will look like. If you have a child with disabilities, you will also be receiving additional information from members of our student services department.

During the week of April 6th, the RPS  Remote Learning Plan will be phased in by level.  High School and RISE Preschool will begin implementation at the beginning of the week, middle schools will be implementing this plan by midweek, and our elementary schools will be implementing this plan towards the end of the week.  We realize during this rollout there will be different levels of implementation as staff and families get acclimated to the expanded use of technologies.  

As we move forward with remote learning, we will all have the tendency to fit the traditional physical school model into this changing model of virtual education.  Remote learning is not online learning and will look much different than school as we know it. Nothing can replace the in-person schooling experience, and we should not expect that remote learning can replicate the traditional school day.  Instead, remote learning presents new and varied opportunities, many of which are not common in the standard classroom setting, such as helping students engage with resources in their everyday lives and in the natural world around them. In addition, these experiences provide unique opportunities to further engage students in the arts or interdisciplinary work. Finally, we must be conscious of the effects of increased screen time and seek balance between learning through technology and remote learning that happens offline to support students’ curiosity and understanding.   

Most importantly, during this time of crisis, we are very aware that students and families are under tremendous stress. While we plan to continue to offer opportunities for continuity of learning, we support families and their ability to participate in our remote learning. We hope to use our plans to engage, support and to truly connect with students.  To that point, we want to emphasize that our continued top priority as an educational community during this school closure is the safety and well-being of students, families, and staff.  We are focused not only on physical health, safety, and nutrition, but also on social-emotional and mental health needs, all of which could intensify during this time. If you have needs or if you know of someone that has needs, please directly email your building principal for support. We have structures in place where we can help to assist those families in need.

We thank you in advance for your patience and support.  By working together, we can take this unfortunate situation in our lives and turn it into a unique and enriching opportunity of learning for our students.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s building principal, central office administrators or myself.

Please take care of yourself and your families during this time.

Sincerely,

John F. Doherty

Superintendent of Schools

Reading Public Schools Remote Learning Plan