Listed below are the planned School Committee Meeting Topics for the 2015-16 School Year.  The topics this year are focused on the goals of the district and will be presented by staff and students from the Reading Public Schools.

Please note that these topics may change based upon the timing of the topic or the availability of the presenters.  For the most current School Committee meeting agenda, please refer to the School Committee Web page located here.

Reading Public Schools is excited to host a Teen Panel event. We would like to invite our parent community to hear from Reading High School students as they share their perspectives and insights about their daily digital lives. When it comes to teens’ digital lives, they are the experts — and with a teen panel, we are simply creating the space and context for teens’ voices to be heard. Come hear from Reading High School teens about the ups and downs of their digital lives on October 15 at 7PM. at the Joshua Eaton Elementary School   We hope you can join us!.

Good Morning,

We hope that you have had a great week.  The Pathways Reading Public Schools Newsletter is at the link below.  In addition to our normal calendar of activities, this week’s newsletter contains articles on the need for High School students to have a web of support as they go through adolescence, and an article for strategies for students to help motivate themselves.  In addition, there are photos from the grand opening of the Killam Modular Classroom, the Know Atom Science Program, and Reading Public School participation at the Fall Street Faire.

Pathways Newsletter V2N3

Have a great rest of the weekend and week ahead!

Good Morning,

We hope that you are having a great weekend.  This link leads to the latest edition of the weekly Pathways Newsletter.  There are several articles and stories this week including the Sally Mucica 5K Walk in October, How to keep your cool, Six Back to School Essentials that won’t fit in your child’s backpack, the Birch Meadow Core Values Fair, and more!

Have a great rest of the weekend and week ahead!

Pathways Newsletter V2N2

WORLD WAR II & KOREAN WAR VET RETURNS HOME

Town of Reading Will Welcome Him With Flags

The remains of Army Sergeant Christopher Y. Vars, brother of long-time Reading resident Robert Vars, will be returning home on September 9, 2015, 65 years after being listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on November 29, 1950. Sgt. Vars was a member of Company E, 2^nd Battalion, 9^th Infantry Regiment, 2^nd Infantry Division.  He served during World War II in Burma, Central Burma and China, leaving the service at the end of the war.  He reenlisted to serve during the Korean War.

Sergeant Vars was taken as prisoner of war while in Korea.  His remains were found in POW Camp #5, North Korea, along the banks of the Yulu River but a DNA match was unable to be made until recently.  Sgt. Vars was the recipient of many awards including the Purple Heart, the POW & Mia Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and several others.

He will be returning to his country, arriving at Logan Airport at 11:24 am on Wednesday, September 9, 2015.  He will be escorted by the State Police and Patriot Guard to the Douglass, Edgerley and Bessom Funeral Home in Reading, MA.  Burial with full military honors will be on October 6^th.  A service will be held at the Congregational Church in Reading at 10:30 on that day. Internment will ultimately be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett following the church service.

The Town of Reading will be welcoming Sgt. Vars home between 12:00 and 1:00PM on Wednesday, September 9.  Flags will be distributed at town hall beginning at 11:30 AM for all those who would like to participate in the homecoming.

Good Morning,

We hope that you and your family are enjoying the long Labor Day weekend and that your family had a great first week of school.  We are proud to present the first issue of this year’s Pathways Newsletter.  Each week, the newsletter will have Reading Public School calendar events, photos of various activities throughout the district, and articles about education.  We hope that you enjoy the newsletter.  Feel free to comment on this blog on any of the items that are posted.

The newsletter link is here.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Congratulations to the Birch Meadow Elementary School which recently earned the National Award for Outstanding Focus on Academics and Enrichment 2015. for its Read Across America Program by PTO Today Magazine.  A article from the Reading Chronicle describing the award is located here.

Dear Reading Public School Families:

We hope that you have had a great summer.   We are looking forward to the start of the 2015-16 school year!  In preparation for each school year we review, revise, and update our safety and emergency plans to align with current best practices.  As part of this review process, we would like to inform you of some specific guidelines that will affect you and your child. Attending to your child’s safety in school is of greatest importance to our school district. Our response procedures are reviewed regularly so that we can make prompt and responsible decisions in the event of an emergency. The purpose of this letter is to review some of our routine procedures. Please read this information so that you will be aware of our safety efforts, and know what you should do in case of emergency.

Please help us in the following ways:

• Keep medical information on file for your child up-to-date. It is very important that you notify the school nurse of any health or medication changes.
• Keep all emergency contact information current, and inform the school secretary if there are changes in your cell, office or home phone numbers.
• Register for your family District Edline account so that you may access this site for information if needed, and make sure that your email address is up-to-date.
• During an emergency, please do not call the school. Telephone lines need to be kept open for emergency calls. We will keep you notified through our Blackboard Connect and Edline notification systems.
• Cooperate with visitor sign-in and identification procedures at all times. When you enter any of our schools, please go to the Main Office.  A member of our staff will be there to assist you.
• In an emergency situation, do not immediately drive to the school. Access routes may not be open, and additional traffic will interfere with safety procedures and put students at risk. Refer to the listed radio and television stations and our Connect Ed message system for instructions and emergency information.
• Please have your family review and practice responses to emergency situations at home, including instructions that your child should following the event of an early dismissal if you are not at home.
• Subscribe to our social media tools that we will also use to keep you updated. They are as follows:

• Superintendent’s Blog- https://retiredsuperintendent.wordpress.com/
• Twitter Account- @ReadingSchools
• Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/Readingpublicschools

• Please give us any feedback on our safety and security procedures and how we can improve.

Off-Site Evacuation/Dismissal Policy:

In an extreme emergency when a school has been evacuated and it is not possible to return, an off-site meeting place may be needed. Parents will be directed (through BLACKBOARD CONNECT and Edline) to go to a designated reunification center in the community. The Superintendent, with public safety personnel, will determine the location that best meets the needs of the specific emergency, and staff will be on site to assist with dismissal procedures using the following guidelines:

• No student will be dismissed from a primary or secondary evacuation site unless a parent (or individual designated by a parent on the Pupil Information Card) comes for him/her and is able to present photo ID upon request.
• All parents or designated persons who come for students will be required to sign out at the front office (or from a designated alternate release location in certain emergencies).
• In addition to the above notification sources, signs will be posted if an alternate location is needed.

Throughout the school year your child will be trained in emergency procedures.  Each school will have at least four fire drills, 2 enhanced lockdown drills (A.L.I.C.E), and 1 shelter in place drill.  Schools may have a full school evacuation drills this year to an offsite location.  Our secondary schools may have a canine search of lockers, public areas, some classrooms, and the parking lot as part of the School Committee Search Policy.  She/he will learn how to react, where to assemble, and what to expect in an emergency situation. While it can be unsettling to think about situations that require emergency response, frequent review and practice will reduce hazards and help everyone to be prepared in an actual event.

HEALTH, SAFETY AND EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS:

In an emergency, we will make every effort to keep you informed so that you will understand the situation, what is being done in response, and any instructions for families. Information will be disseminated in many ways, including:

• Broadcast on local cable and television stations
• District BLACKBOARD CONNECT notification system (See separate form for more details)
• District website (http://www.edline.net/pages/ReadingPublicSchools )
• Automated telephone, email, and text messaging via BLACKBOARD CONNECT and Edline
• Reading Public Schools Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/Readingpublicschools )
• Reading Public Schools Twitter (@ReadingSchools)

When providing phone numbers for emergency contact, please provide us with phone numbers without extensions If possible, list only lines and cell phones that will be answered by you or a person that you have authorized to pick up your child in an emergency. Be sure to inform your co-workers if you have listed your place of employment as an emergency contact number, and inform the school(s) if any of your contact information changes throughout the year.

EVACUATION:

The need to evacuate students from a building before the regularly scheduled dismissal time could arise from a relatively minor incident such as a power failure, or from a major event such as fire or bomb threat. During evacuation, students are guided to the nearest exit and assemble at an established location. Communication into the school, dismissal times and transportation may be temporarily disrupted. Families will receive information and instructions from the listed communication sources.

ENHANCED LOCKDOWN OR SHELTER-IN-PLACE:

Enhanced Lockdown (A.L.I.C.E.) or shelter-in-place is implemented when it has been determined that conditions outside of the classroom or building are potentially unsafe. Situations that may activate an enhanced lockdown/sheltering response include a hazardous materials situation near the school, police activity close by, or potential intruder alerts. While enhanced lockdowns are extremely rare, enhanced lockdown drills are conducted periodically to ensure that staff members and students are prepared to respond confidently and calmly. During an enhanced lockdown drill, as with an actual event, students and staff remain quietly in a designated location within the room or are guided to a secure location either inside or outside of the school to wait for the “All Clear” signal.  It is possible, based on the situation, that students will evacuate the school the school to a predetermined location. It is not possible for anyone to enter or exit the building until an “All Clear” signal is given by the principal or public safety official. Information concerning the lockdown is given to families through the listed communication sources.

EARLY OR DELAYED DISMISSAL DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER:

In severe weather or similar emergencies when travel conditions are expected to deteriorate, it may be necessary to take the precaution of an early dismissal, or to delay dismissal until conditions improve. You will be informed of modified dismissal times through the communication sources listed above.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your building principal or the Reading Public Schools Administrative Offices.

Have a healthy, safe, and productive school year.

Sincerely,

John F. Doherty, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Dear Reading Public School Families:

I hope that you had an enjoyable summer.  If you are new to the Reading Public Schools, welcome and thank you for choosing our community and our school district to educate your child.  If you are returning, welcome back!  We look forward to working with you and your family this upcoming school year.

Each year, we are required by Federal, State, and local laws and policies to distribute certain informational flyers which are meant to inform you about your rights and your child’s rights in a public school setting.   In addition, we distribute pupil information cards and other forms which you are required to complete and update.  These forms are important because they provide us with contact and medical information in case of an emergency, as well as, permissions that allow your child to fully participate in educational activities.

In order to conserve paper, we are only distributing to you the information that you either need to complete and return, or is required by law or school committee policy for us to distribute to you in paper copy.  Those forms are attached to this cover letter.  Please complete the required attached forms and return them to your child’s school no later than Friday, September 11^th.  Extra copies of these forms will be on the Edline link, http://www.edline.net/pages/ReadingPublicSchools/District/First_Day_Fliers.

In addition, some informational flyers will not be distributed by paper and will also be posted on the link above. The folder is called “First Day Fliers” and is located under the District Info tab on the top of our district Edline page.  If you would prefer to have a paper copy of these flyers, please contact Linda Engelson, the Administrative Assistant for the Superintendent, at 781-944-5800 or by email at linda.engelson@reading.k12.ma.us.

Please take a few moments to read these important fliers:

1. School Committee Policy ACAB/ACAC on Harassment, Discrimination, Bullying and Hazing (On Edline site)-This policy has been updated to reflect the Massachusetts Anti-Bullying and Gender Equity Laws.
2. Notification of Rights under FERPA-This letter describes the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) which affords parents and students over 18 years of age certain rights with respect to the student’s education needs.
3. Notification of Rights Under the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)-This letter explains the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), which affords parents certain rights regarding our conducting of surveys, collection and use of information for marketing purposes, and certain physical exams.Directory Information-FERPA requires that the Reading Public Schools, with certain exceptions, obtain your written consent prior to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from your child’s education records.  However, the Reading Public Schools may disclose appropriately designated “directory information” without written consent unless you have advised the District to the contrary.  This letter describes the directory information and the process and has been updated since last year.
4. Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) and Children Families and Protection Act-This letter outlines procedures to notify parents and faculty under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) and the Children Families and Protection Act (Use of Pesticides).
5. Acceptable Use Policy and Internet Safety Agreement for Students-This document explains in detail the Reading Public Schools Acceptable Use Policy and Internet Safety Agreement for Students.  Parents should read this policy carefully with their child and sign on the Pupil Emergency Card.  This document has been updated to reflect the changes that have occurred in the cyberbullying aspect of the Massachusetts Anti-bullying law.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Superintendent’s Office or your child’s school.  We look forward to working with you and educating your child during this upcoming school year.

Sincerely,

John F. Doherty, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools