Good Evening,

Please note that the information below was sent out earlier via Connect Ed.  We are posting it in multiple places in case some did not receive it.

Good Evening, Barrows Parents,

First and foremost, I want to thank you for your patience during the two evacuations this week and to assure you that your child was never in a dangerous or unsafe situation.  As soon as the carbon monoxide (CO) monitors indicated an elevated level both on Tuesday and today, we immediately worked with the Reading Police and Fire Departments to assess the situation and evacuate the building.  On Tuesday, the elevated CO levels were addressed by making air flow adjustments in our boiler room.   As a precautionary measure, we installed three additional detectors and had the Reading Fire Department come in several times since Tuesday to take additional CO readings.  Each time the Fire Department took a CO reading, including this morning, the monitor registered a zero, indicating that there were not elevated levels of Carbon Monoxide in the building.

After today’s elevated readings, we have been able to identify the likely cause to be a malfunctioning piece of gas operated cooking equipment in the kitchen.  This was most likely the cause of Tuesday’s elevated levels as well because both elevated readings occurred at approximately 11:00 a.m., which is the time that the kitchen staff is preparing the food for lunch.  In addition, the piece of equipment was not used to prepare yesterday’s lunch, but was used to prepare today’s and Tuesday’s lunch.  All other kitchen equipment has been tested and is functioning properly.  We have taken the malfunctioning piece of kitchen equipment offline and will not be using it until it is replaced or repaired.

As a precautionary measure, we will continue to monitor the situation; however, we feel that we have identified the source of the elevated readings.  Therefore, we will be having a regular day of school tomorrow.

Thank you again for your patience and cooperation over the last few days.  I again also want to commend Principal Leonard and the entire Barrows staff for their outstanding job as we worked to address this situation.

If you have any questions, please contact the Reading Public School Administration Offices at 781-944-5800.

                                                                                                                        January 13, 2014

Dear Reading School Community:

 

Over the last several months, the Reading Public Schools has been working with the Reading Police Department to implement an enhanced lockdown procedure called A.L.I.C.E., which is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.  The philosophy of A.L.I.C.E. is to use technology and information in a way that staff and students can make informed decisions in a crisis, remove as many people as possible from a dangerous situation, and provide realistic training so that those involved in a crisis have a better chance of surviving. A copy of the presentation that was given to the parent community in October is located at:

 

http://www.edline.net/pages/ReadingPublicSchools/News/ALICE_Presentation_to_the_Comm .

 

As part of this implementation process, we will be conducting drills at both middle schools in the next few weeks.  Coolidge Middle School will have its initial drill on Thursday, January 30^th and Parker Middle School will have its initial drill on Monday, February 3^rd.   These drills will be developmentally appropriate and help prepare students in a way that is similar to drills that we currently conduct in our schools for fire evacuation, lockdown, and shelter in place.  At the middle school level, the drills will consist of student presentations done in grade level assemblies in the morning followed by a school-wide simulated drill in the afternoon.  Students will then debrief the experience with staff in their homerooms.  The training and drills will include the participation of Reading Police and Fire personnel.

Please feel free to communicate directly with your principal regarding any concerns that you have around how the drill may impact your child.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Reading Public Schools Administrative Offices or your child’s building principal.

 

Sincerely,

John F. Doherty, Ed.D.               Doug Lyons                             Sarah Marchant  

Superintendent of School            Principal, Parker                     Principal, Coolidge

 

Superintendent of Schools John Doherty is pleased to announce that Sarah Marchant has been appointed as the Principal of Coolidge Middle School, effective immediately.  Over the past several months, Sarah has provided very solid leadership in her role as Interim Principal for Coolidge Middle School.  She has managed and addressed situations effectively and professionally with a continued focus on student needs.  In addition, she has worked diligently with teachers, parents, and the community to provide a high quality educational experience for all students.   

 

 

 

Please join us in wishing Sarah Marchant the very best as she continues her fine work as the Principal at the Arthur W. Coolidge Middle School.

 

There will be a School Committee Meeting on Monday, January 13th at 7:00 p.m. in the Reading Public Schools Administrative Offices.  You can access the School Committee Packet here.

The highlights of the meeting are as follows:

1.  Discussion and Approval of the 2014-15 School Calendar

2.  Second Reading of Policy IMDA-Accommodations for Religious and Ethnic Observances

3.  Middle School/High School Math Presentation

There will be office hours from 6:30-7:00 P.M.

I am pleased to present the FY2015 Superintendent’s Recommended Budget of $40,603,540 representing an increase of $1,902,175 or 4.92%.  You can access the complete budget at this link.  This budget was developed with significant input from district and school administrators, staff, and the school community.  The majority of this rather significant funding increase primarily addresses just two priorities:

• Aligning pay scales for school employees (including substitute teachers) with comparable school districts in Massachusetts to ensure that we continue to attract, recruit, and retain highly qualified and effective personnel
• Providing sufficient resources to ensure that our high needs populations are appropriately placed and supported in special education and other specialized programs either within or outside of the district

Funding that remains within the base budget will be used to continue several strategic initiatives that have been and are continuing to be implemented in our schools including:

• Implementing the Literacy and Mathematics Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks,, Educator Evaluation System, and District Determined and Local Measures of Student Success
• Addressing the academic, social, and emotional needs of all students through the implementation of the Massachusetts Tiered System of Support

Our base budget also allows us to continue maintaining our low class sizes (18-22) in Kindergarten through Grade 2 where possible, our middle school interdisciplinary model, our 21^st Century learning initiatives including use of mobile learning devices, our behavioral health initiatives, our technology infrastructure, all of our regular day programs, and our school facilities.

While the requested funding allows us to address many of the priorities which reflect the community’s desire to continue a long-standing tradition of excellence in our schools, financial constraints limit our ability to pursue many of the innovative programs, structures, and systems that we believe will make our students even more successful.  Our school district is one of the most efficient districts in the Commonwealth when it comes to spending.  Our academic achievement ranks in the top quartile of the state while our per pupil spending ranks 305^th out of 327 operating districts in the Commonwealth, based on state data from the 2011-12 school year.  This puts us among the lowest 10% of all districts in the state.  While we continue to be proud of our record of efficiency, we must recognize that innovation and excellence require strategic investments that we have been unable to make over the past several years due to financial constraints.

This budget includes funding to address contractual obligations based on the assumption that salary schedules for all bargaining units must be adjusted to ensure that salary and wages are competitive.  In addition, this budget funds both known and anticipated special education needs, which are rather significant in the year ahead.  This budget also includes the continued funding of a five to six year technology replenishment cycle adopted in Fiscal Year 2013, and investments necessary for effective implementation of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, Educator Evaluation, and the Tiered System of Student Support.  We also continue our increased reliance on district revenue offsets while maintaining conservative assumptions regarding state and federal grant revenues in light of the continuing uncertainty regarding the impacts of federal sequestration.  Not included in this budget are funds for extraordinary increases in water and sewer or electricity rates or unanticipated enrollment increases.

As in years past, there are a significant number of important needs that were identified by building administrators, staff, and the school community that were not addressed in this budget in light of fiscal constraints.  These needs are identified below.

Unfunded FY’15 Budget Requests

Identified Need	Budgetary Impact
School adjustment counselors at the elementary and middle levels to providing more counseling to struggling students who need targeted social, emotional, and behavioral supports to succeed	2.0 FTE $130,000
Tier 2 academic, social and emotional supports at all levels (e.g. general education tutors, staff trained in applied behavior analysis)	3.0 FTE $60,000
Additional special education staff to address the growing teaching and administrative demands on teachers, the increasing complexity of the needs with which students are presenting, the pervasive and growing proficiency gap between special education and general education students, and the need to provide for more inclusive settings throughout the district	3.0 FTE $195,000
Additional time for paraeducators to collaborate with teachers, serve as a teacher resource, learn how to modify curriculum and implement accommodations, and take advantage of professional development opportunities (two hours per week for instructional paraeducators)	$115,000
Additional funding for professional development for staff, particularly in the area of behavioral health, tiered systems of support, and effective use of data and technology	$50,000
Instructional coaches to model effective teaching practices for staff and to help implement the new Massachusetts curriculum frameworks particularly in the areas of math and literacy	2.0 FTE $130,000
Additional time for teachers to collaborate, learn, and grow in their professional practice (to be accomplished through additional funding for substitutes during the school day or time beyond the school day for collaboration)	$30,000
Instructional technology specialist at the elementary level (currently five schools share one full-time specialist)	1.0 FTE $65,000
Additional technology maintenance staff to service the increased amount of technology employed throughout the district	1.0 FTE $40,000
Data or information management specialist to assist administrators and teachers in managing, monitoring, reporting, and analyzing all of the educational data available to districts and schools	1.0 FTE $50,000
Districtwide technology leadership position to lead and manage the day to day operations of our technology and data rich 21st century learning and teaching environment	1.0 FTE $95,000
Increased funding for technology maintenance and replenishment	$50,000
Additional general maintenance staff for facilities department	1.0 FTE $50,000
Additional funding to allow for planned painting cycle of 15-20% of classrooms per building per year	$120,000
TOTAL BUDGETARY IMPACT	$1,180,000

If all of the above had been added to the requested FY2015 budget, the increase would have been $3.08 million (a 7.96% increase) rather than the $1.9 million increase proposed.

The FY’15 Superintendent’s Recommended Budget will be presented to the Reading School Committee.  Following their deliberations and vote, the budget is then transmitted to the Town Manager who combines the municipal and school budget into one budget that must be balanced.  All budgets are then reviewed by the Finance Committee of the Town who votes as to whether to refer the budget as is to Town Meeting or refer with changes.  Town Meeting then has final approval authority.  By statute, Town Meeting can only vote the “bottom line” of the School Committee budget.  It may vote to increase or reduce the total dollar value but it cannot specify the line item to which the increase or decrease is to be made.

The timeline for the next steps in the budget development process is summarized below.

FY’15 Superintendent’s Recommended Budget Presentation

January 16, 2014-Overview, Administration

 

FY’15 Superintendent’s Recommended Budget Detail Presentation     

January 21, 2014-Regular Day, Special Education

 

FY’15 Superintendent’s Recommended Budget Detail Presentation     

January 23, 2014-District-wide Programs, School & Town Facilities

 

Public Hearing on the FY’15 School Committee Budget                             

January 27, 2014

 

School Committee Vote on the FY’15 Budget

February 3, 2014

 

FY’15 School Committee Budget Presentation to Finance Committee  

March 12, 2014

 

Annual Town Meeting                                                                       

April 28, May 1, May 5, 2014

All School Committee meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Administration Offices of the Reading Public Schools.  Copies of the budget document are available at the Office of the Superintendent, the Reading Town Library, the main office of each school, and on the Reading Public School’s website at www.reading.k12.ma.us.  For additional information or clarification, please feel free to contact the Central Office Administration for assistance.

Special thanks goes out to Assistant Superintendent Mary DeLai and School Business Assistant Martha Sybert for all of their hard work in developing the budget document.

GRADE 6-9 MATH:  INFORMATIONAL PARENT MEETING (RESCHEDULED)

This Thursday, January 9^th (7:00 p.m.) at Coolidge Middle School, there will be an informational session about secondary mathematics for parents of students currently in Grades 6 through 9.  (This is a rescheduling of the Coolidge meeting that was postponed due to weather.) At the meeting, there will be an overview of the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework, math placement procedures for this year’s 6^th graders, and the math options available as students progress through their middle school and high school years.

For your information, the power point presentation is attached.

Math 6-9 Presentation 12-2013 FINALrev

Good Evening,

Due to the impending snowstorm, there will be no school for the Reading Public Schools on Thursday, January 2nd and Friday, January 3rd.

 

Over the last several months, the Reading Public Schools has been working with the Reading Police Department to implement an enhanced lockdown procedure called A.L.I.C.E., which is an acronym for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate.  The philosophy of A.L.I.C.E. is to use technology and information in a way that staff and students can make informed decisions in a crisis, remove as many people as possible from a dangerous situation, and provide realistic training so that those involved in a crisis have a better chance of surviving. A copy of the presentation that was given to the parent community in October is located at:

http://www.edline.net/pages/ReadingPublicSchools/News/ALICE_Presentation_to_the_Comm .

As part of this implementation process, we will be conducting drills at the elementary, middle, and high school levels from January through March. The elementary and middle schools will be conducting their drills in January and February, and the high school in March.  These drills will be developmentally appropriate and help prepare students in a way that is similar to drills that we currently conduct in our schools for fire evacuation, lockdown, and shelter in place.  At the elementary level, each classroom teacher will speak with students about the new protocol.  Elementary teachers have been provided with a script that is appropriate for their grade level.  Drills at the elementary school will resemble the more traditional lockdown and fire evacuation drills.  The “counter” strategies will not be presented as part of the elementary student drills.  At the secondary level, the drills will consist of student presentation done in a grade level assembly followed by a school-wide simulated drill.  The training and drills may be conducted on separate days and will include the participation of Reading Police and Fire personnel. In addition, students will have the opportunity to discuss their reactions to the presentation and drill in classrooms with their teachers. .  Details surrounding the specific training and drill dates for your child’s school will be communicated by your building principal and you should feel free to communicate directly with your principal regarding any concerns that you have around how the drill may impact your child.

Please note that we will be having another community presentation on Monday, January 6^th at 7:00 p.m. at the Birch Meadow Elementary School Cafeteria.  This presentation will be very similar to the presentation given in October.  Members of the Reading Police Department and Reading Public Schools District Safety Committee will be present to answer and questions that parents may have about the process.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s building principal.

Superintendent of Reading Public Schools, John F. Doherty was recently informed by the Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education of an upcoming Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Coordinated Program Review (CPR).

As part of this Coordinated Program Review, Department staff will visit the district during the week of February 10^th – 14^th.  Such visits are routinely conducted by the Department to satisfy federal and state requirements for the periodic review of specific education programs and services in schools throughout the Commonwealth.  The Department is reviewing several programs during their visit. 

The review will address the following programs: Special Education, English Language Learner Education, and Civil Rights.  After reviewing school district procedures for these programs, a Department team will make its onsite visit, during which it will review individual student records, interview administrators, teachers and parents, and observe instructional sites.  After the onsite visit, the department will prepare a report for the Superintendent and School Committee with detailed findings for each program. 

Using a scale of ratings ranging from “Commendable” to “Not Implemented,” the report will rate the implementation of each requirement reviewed by the department.  Where requirements are found not implemented or partially implemented, the district must propose to the Department corrective action to bring those areas into compliance regulations.  Districts and schools are encouraged to incorporate corrective action into their district and school improvement plans and professional development plan.  The school district will be provided with technical assistance from the Department in developing a corrective action plan. 

Both the Department’s report and the corrective action plan are public information and will be available to the public upon request.  Program Review Final Reports are also available on the Department’s website at http://www.doe.mass.edu/pqa/review/cpr/reports/ .

Any member of the public may request to be interviewed by telephone by a member of the Department’s visiting team.  Those wishing to be interviewed should call the Superintendent’s office at (781) 944-5800 no later than January 17^th to leave their name and phone number or they may call the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education at (781) 338 – 3700. 

A member of the visiting team will contact each person desiring an interview within two weeks after the completion of the onsite visit.  If an individual is not comfortable communicating in English or requires some other accommodation, the Department will make arrangements to communicate appropriately with the individual. 

The Reading Public School District is committed to ensuring that all of its programs and facilities are accessible to all members of the public. 

The week before the Holiday break was a time for concerts, performances, and community service in the Reading Public Schools. There are several photos below which capture some, but not all of the events that happened before the break. A special thanks goes out to all of the students and their teachers who contributed to those events.