Good Afternoon, Reading Public Schools Staff and Families,

I hope all is well and you are having a good weekend.  Since all grades are now back to hybrid learning.  We all going to rename the weekly updates from Fall Reopening to Winter Hybrid Learning Updates.  Here is the first update.

1. Covid-19 Information-We received information on Friday that three students have tested positive, two at Coolidge and one at Birch Meadow, all three students were remote and there were no in school close contacts. 

2. Quarantine Information- For those staff and students who have to quarantine, we are currently following the Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidelines, not the recently updated CDC guidelines.  We will follow these guidelines at least until winter break when we will reassess if we will go to the recent CDC guidelines.  The MDPH guidelines are as follows:

• You will need to remain quarantined for:
• at least 14 days from the date of last exposure; or
• at least 10 days, provided all of the following are satisfied:
  • you have not had, and do not have, any symptoms;
  • you are tested on day 8 of your quarantine period or later using a molecular diagnostic test (e.g., polymerase chain reaction (PCR)) to detect the presence of the virus;
  • you receive a negative test result; and
  • you monitor yourself for symptoms for the full 14 days. If you develop symptoms you should contact your health care provider and be re-tested.

3. Learning and Teaching Team Updates- The Learning and Teaching Team provided updates to the School Committee at a recent meeting.  They have included information about the many things that are going on in our school district.  The link to their information can be found HERE.

4. SEPAC Meeting Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.- Please join the SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) at our next business meeting on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 at 7:00 PM! New business to be discussed includes an update from the Director of Student Services, Dr. Jennifer Stys, regarding the special education program descriptions; a report from the SEPAC reading/literacy subcommittee; and a request for a SEPAC budget liaison volunteer regarding the Reading Public Schools FY 2021 Budget. This meeting will be held virtually, via Microsoft Teams. Meeting link: Click here to join the meeting

5. SEEM Parent Training on Remote Learning-The SEEM Collaborative is offering a free virtual training for Parents, Supporting Children in Remote Learning-A virtual training for Parents and Caregivers, on December 15^th.  The informational flyer can be found  here. 

6. Open Positions-The Reading Public Schools currently has the following open positions in our schools.  If you are interested, please email John Doherty at john.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us .

• Joshua Eaton-16.5 hour weekly reading tutor
• Killam-30 hour weekly TSP Paraeducator
• Birch Meadow-15 hour weekly lunch room paraeducator
• RISE-15.75 hour weekly paraeducator
• RISE-22 hour weekly paraeducator
• RISE-26 hour weekly paraeducator
• Coolidge-30 hour weekly Program Paraeducator
• Coolidge-30 hour Cohort A Program Paraeducator
• Parker-Title 1 Interventionist (2)
• RMHS-30 hour weekly learning center paraeducators (1.5)
• RMHS-30 hour weekly Compass Paraeducator
• RMHS-30 hour weekly Regular Ed Paraeducators (9)
• Building Based Subs for Schools

7. Survey on Hybrid Learning-Later this week, we will be sending out a link to PreK-12 Parents, Teachers, and Grade 6-12 students regarding our hybrid learning program.  We will keep the survey link open until the holiday break.  We hope that everyone takes a few minutes to respond to the survey so that we can continue to review our hybrid model.