Good Afternoon, Reading Public School Staff and Community,

I hope that you have been able to enjoy this beautiful weekend.  Here is Fall Reopening Update #22.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

• Phase In Continues-We are phasing in the final grades over the next three weeks for our hybrid model.  We appreciate the patience and flexibility of our families as we phase in these last groups of students.  The schedule is as follows:

• Week of 11/9-Grade 3 (Cohort B)
• Week of 11/16-Grade 4 and 5 (Cohort A)
• Week of 11/23-Grade 4 and 5 (Cohort B)

• Volunteers Needed at RMHS- We are looking to get RMHS students back into the building for a full-hybrid schedule.  They are currently in a partial hybrid schedule.  In order to make this work, we need to get 300 people to volunteer 1 day between the Monday after Thanksgiving and the Winter Holiday break to supervise a classroom.  We are instituting a parent/adult volunteer program at the high school to get our students back in the building in a full-hybrid model.  Thank you for considering to volunteer!  Please see the Sign Up Genius below for all available positions. 

Who are we looking for?  Any adult who is willing and able to donate time to supervise a satellite classroom. There will be a teacher teaching the class, the volunteer will be supervising in the satellite room.   You do not have to have a child at the high school or in the district.  This will truly be a community effort.  We are looking for 20 volunteers per day, Mondays thru Thursdays from November 30^th thru December 23^rd.  If this initial testing period works well, then we will continue after winter break.

If you have any questions, please contact Carla Nazzaro at cjnazzaro@verizon.net or 781-249-9990.  All pertinent forms and information will be housed on the front page of the RMHS web site, shortly.

Please see link below to sign up by November 13th to help! 

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090448a4ac22a75-rmhs1

• Updated Metrics for Schools-On Friday, Governor Baker and DESE released updated metrics for schools (see attached).  The purpose of these metrics is to clarify when schools should close with the intent of keeping schools open as much as possible, unless there are cases in a classroom or school.  We will continue to follow the CDC health and safety guidelines which includes the 6 foot physical distancing, wearing of appropriate face coverings, hand hygiene, self-check by families in the morning, cohort groups, well maintained ventilation, and ongoing cleaning and disinfecting.

• Winter Sports-On Friday, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs released updated reopening standards for youth and amateur sports and activities (see attached).  This week, the MIAA will release modifications for the different winter sports and the Middlesex League Superintendents and Athletic Directors will make a decision on what winter sports will look like this season.  As soon as we have more information, we will communicate it to you.

• District Improvement Plan Feedback-For your information, I have attached a draft of the District Improvement Plan and Superintendent Goals.  If you have any feedback regarding the plan or the goals, please schedule an office hour with me by filling out the google doc link or send an email with your feedback to john.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us

• Communication of COVID cases-The communication of when students and staff test positive for COVID is a delicate balance of letting families and staff know the correct information, while respecting the privacy and HIPPA rights of those individuals impacted.  We are continuing to review our communication procedures when there is an infection in our schools.  It is our intent to reach out to those families who are most impacted first by phone to answer the many questions that they may have.  This may take some time depending on the number of students and staff who have been in close contact with a positive case.

During the communication period, an email may go out to the community describing the situation so that all are informed.  This is done to minimize rumors and false information.  We will always state in our communication if all close contacts have been notified or if we are still in the process of contacting those who may have been in close contact.

Finally, we are using the CDC guidance that was recently updated for close contact to include less than six feet physical distancing for 15 minutes or more during a 24 hour period.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Director of Nurses Mary Giuliana at mary.giuliana@reading.k12.ma.us .

John F. Doherty

Superintendent

Reading Public Schools

82 Oakland Road

Reading, MA 01867

781-944-5800