Good Morning, Reading Public School Community,

I hope that all is well and you are enjoying this beautiful weekend.  As we enter daylight savings and turn the corner toward spring, here is our first Spring Full Reopening Update:

1. Community Forums on Transitioning to In Person Learning-I will be holding two community forums to present and answer questions on our plans to move forward with full in person learning.  The Community Forums will be held on Zoom at the following dates and times.

1. Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.  https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/86125528332
2. Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.  https://readingpsma.zoom.us/j/87000976914

I will also be presenting an update to the School Committee at their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday.

2. Health Updates-Here is this week’s health updates:
   1. Pooled testing update: This week we had 164 pooled tests completed of 10 samples or less, all negative. 
   2. We have had 1 new positive student case at Reading Memorial High School, the student was in person and, as a result, 2 staff and 2 students are in quarantine.
   3. This week, we had staff respond to a vaccine survey as to where they were in the process.  Here are the current results:

4. Pooled Testing-As we transition to full in person learning, we are asking all staff and students to participate in the pool testing program.  This is an additional mitigation step that is critical to maintain a safe and healthy classroom environment.  Here is the link to give consent.  https://bit.ly/3oXiiSa

5. Food Distribution-This is a reminder that we will continue our food distribution program throughout the remainder of the school year, regardless of whether you are in person or fully remote.  All Reading families are eligible to participate.  Food Distribution happens under the bridge at Reading Memorial High School on Wednesdays from 2:30-3:30 p.m. and Fridays from 11:00 a.m.-12:00 noon.  Each child receives 7 lunches and 7 breakfasts per distribution.  For further information, please contact Director of School Nutrition, Danielle Collins at Danielle.Collins@reading.k12.ma.us.

6. Study on 3 foot versus 6 foot physical distancing-The link below is to a research study of Massachusetts schools that compares infection rates of staff and students of 3 feet versus 6 feet physical distancing.  The results indicated that  Among 251 eligible school districts, 537,336 students and 99,390 staff attended in-person instruction during the 16-week study period, representing 6,400,175 student learning weeks and 1,342,574 staff learning weeks. Student case rates were similar in the 242 districts with ≥3 feet versus ≥6 feet of physical distancing between students (IRR, 0.891, 95% CI, 0.594-1.335); results were similar after adjusting for community incidence (adjusted IRR, 0.904, 95% CI, 0.616-1.325). Cases among school staff in districts with ≥3 feet versus ≥6 feet of physical distancing were also similar (IRR, 1.015, 95% CI, 0.754-1.365).  The conclusion of this student indicates that lower physical distancing policies can be adopted in school settings with masking mandates without negatively impacting student or staff safety.

https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciab230/6167856

7. Spring Sports-We have just begun the Fall 2 season, but spring sports is just around the corner.  Here is the latest information from the MIAA on the spring sports season.
   1. The MIAA Board of Directors voted to approve sport-specific modifications for the following spring sports: Baseball, Golf, Lacrosse, Tennis, Rugby, Softball, Track and Field, Unified Track and Field and Volleyball (Boys).  At this time, Wresting awaits approval from the EEA for competition status, thus modifications were not presented. Sport modifications will continue to be reviewed as they relate to current regulations surrounding COVID-19 and, if necessary, may be modified. Additional modifications or the decision to participate in MIAA recognized spring sports is determined by local school districts and/or their local Boards of Health. You may view the Task Force presentation HERE and MIAA sport modifications on the MIAA COVID-19 webpage HERE.
   2. The MIAA Board of Directors approved a MIAA sponsored post season sectional tournament for the 2021 spring season with a caveat to send a survey to member schools to gather feedback on potential tournament expansion to state semi-final and final rounds.  You may view the entire Sectional Tournament information HERE. 
   3. The Middlesex League Superintendents and Athletic Directors will be meeting in the near future to discuss this information and make further decisions on the spring sport season.

8. Position Paper on MCAS-The Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, with the support of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees and the Massachusetts Teachers Association, released a position paper on administering the MCAS and ACCESS testing this spring.  You can find the paper at the link below.

http://www.massupt.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MCAS-ACCESS-Waiver-02-25-2021.pdf

John Doherty

Superintendent

Reading Public Schools

82 Oakland Road

Reading, Massachusetts 01867

781-944-5800

John.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us