Good Afternoon, Reading Public Schools Families and Staff,

I hope that you are enjoying this beautiful weekend.  Here is the latest Fall Reopening Update:

• First Full Week of School-After a week of orientation, kindergarten screening, book distribution, remote learning, and Preschool, our first full week of school begins this week.  Kindergarten, Preschool, and High Needs students will be in person.  All other classes will be remote.  We want to thank our staff for all of the time and effort that they have put into their remote and in person learning experiences for our students.

• Next Step in Phase In Process-We are beginning to move forward with the next steps in our phase in process.  Grades 6, 7, and 8 will begin the hybrid learning model on Tuesday, October 13^th.  This is a Cohort B in person week.  Principal Shankland and Principal Marchant will be communicating more information regarding this transition.

In addition, we are also working on phasing in Grade 1, followed by Grade 2 and we hope to have those grades phased in hybrid in the next few weeks.  We are finalizing a few staffing areas to make that happen.  Once we have further details, we will communicate that information out to you.

• Superintendent Virtual Office Hours-Now that we have begun the school year, we will be restarting the Superintendent Virtual Office Hours.  Office hours will be scheduled in 20 minutes blocks of time on Microsoft Teams. If you would like to schedule an office hour, please complete this link.  

• Back to School Nights-We are in the process of scheduling virtual Back to School Nights for each school.  These will be during the month of October.  More details to come.

• Masks-As more and more students begin to come into the schools, this is a reminder that the wearing of masks/face coverings is required of all students and staff in the Reading Public Schools.    As we have mentioned in previous communication, neck gaiters, bandanas, hand knitted masks, and masks with valves are not acceptable due to it lack of effectiveness. 

• Friday Disinfecting-As required by our DESE remote learning plan, Friday is an extensive cleaning day in our schools.  This cleaning process will begin this Friday.  We will be using a disinfectant misting machine in all of our classrooms, bathrooms and common areas of each school.  This cleaning and disinfecting will allow for 72 hours of ventilation prior to students and staff coming to school on Monday.

I hope this information helps.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, other central office administrators, or your building principals.

Have a great rest of the weekend and week ahead.

John F. Doherty, Ed.D.

Superintendent

Reading Public Schools

781-944-5800

John.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us