Good Afternoon, Reading Memorial High School Families,

Over the last two days, we have seen an increase in student and staff positive cases at Reading Memorial High School.  This increase of 5 students and 2 staff members is the highest two day total that we have seen in a school.  In addition, we have reason to believe that we may have had an in school transmission for the first time this year.  Through our contact tracing, several students and staff will need to be quarantined, including members of the gymnastics team.

After consultation with our Director of Nurses, High School Administration, and Central Office Administrators,  I have decided, out of an abundance of caution, that we will be going fully remote at Reading Memorial High School, including for our high needs students, for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week.  In addition, all in person athletics and extra-curricular activities will be cancelled for the next three days.  Kate Boynton will be sending out some follow up information later today.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks and be safe.

John Doherty

Superintendent

Reading Public Schools

82 Oakland Road

Reading, Massachusetts 01867

781-944-5800

John.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us

Dear Staff, Parents and Community Members:

We have been notified by the Board of Health that some staff and students in different schools have tested positive for COVID-19 over the last few days. Contact tracing has been completed on all of these cases and close contacts have been or are in the process of being notified. The breakdown is as follows:

• A Birch Meadow staff member who was in person last week. There were no staff close contacts and 16 student close contacts.
• A Coolidge student who was in person last week.  There were two staff close contacts and 11 student close contacts.
• A Coolidge student who was in person this week.  There was one staff close contact and four student close contacts.
• A RMHS staff member who has been remote. There were no close contacts in school.
• Two RMHS students who have been remote this week.  There were no close contacts in school.
• A RMHS student who was remote this week but participated in sports practice this week.  There were 23 student close contacts who are currently quarantined as a result of this situation.
• A Barrows student was in person last Thursday.  One staff member was a close contact and is being quarantined.
• Four Parker students who were either remote or not in school when they were infectious.  There is no know connections between these cases.  There were no close contacts in school from these four cases.
• A Killam student who was remote during the infection period.  There were no close contacts in school.

Using our cleaning and disinfecting protocol, the impacted classrooms and spaces at the schools were disinfected as part of our regular extensive disinfection of our classrooms, core facilities, bathrooms, and other learning spaces.

Contact tracing with the individuals who tested positive is ongoing, and any close contacts in the schools have been notified and will be followed up by the Reading Board of Health.  As a result of contract tracing of the above cases, 54 students and 4 staff had to be quarantined. 

We would also like to emphasize that we have had no confirmed in school transmissions at this time. We want to thank our students, staff, and administrators for creating and establishing a safe and healthy learning environment in our schools.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with any further updates, if necessary. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

John F. Doherty

Superintendent of Schools

Good Evening,

There will be a meeting of the Reading School Committee tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. on Microsoft Teams.  Public comment is available on the live chat via teams during the meeting.  The link to the meeting is below.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZjYyZTA5ZTMtOTAwMS00YjkwLWJlNTEtZDNjZmRmMjU4YTgx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%226b81bca4-cd59-4341-a904-ea2ff758fe2a%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%220201fbad-7d69-4c02-99db-cffbb16751d6%22%2c%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3atrue%7d

Good Morning, Reading Public School Community,

I hope all is well.  When we were putting together our Fall Reopening Plan this summer one of the areas that we felt would not be an issue was going remote on snow days.  Unfortunately, as we began to peel back the onion on what this would mean we realized that having a “remote snow day” would create equity issues with some of our staff and students.  In the pre-COVID world, when we had a snow day, a day would get added to the end of the school year and no one was impacted.  Unfortunately, if we go remote on a snow day, it makes access to a full day of synchronous learning much more difficult for our RISE Preschool, Kindergarten, and High Needs students. In addition, some of our staff who only work in person would lose a day’s pay because we would not be making up the day at the end of the year.  There are other challenges as well and as we began to have these discussions with building principals, Directors, and Central Office Administrators, we realized that there was not an easy answer.

I also think another major factor in this issue is the mental health and well being of our staff and students.  Snow days allow all of us to take a breath in the fast paced world we are living in.  Students enjoy those occasional snow days where they can just play and be kids.  This year more than ever, we need that occasional mental break.

In full collaboration, we brought our concerns to the Reading Teachers Association and discussed the challenges with them and the pros and cons of traditional snow day versus remote snow day. After much discussion, they supported the idea that going back to traditional snow days would be the best course of action.

Therefore, if we have a snow day tomorrow, it will be a true snow day, not a remote day.  I will do my best to communicate that information later today once I review updated forecasts and talk to Facilities and DPW.  Because Friday is a remote day for most students, we would recommend that your children bring any materials and technology that they need home with them today.  We will be communicating that information to them today.

Thank you for your patience on this issue.  As we have all learned, nothing is simple in this world of COVID.

John F. Doherty, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Good Morning, Reading Public School Staff and Families,

I hope that you are doing well and you are enjoying your weekend.  Here is your weekly Winter Hybrid Learning Update #2.

1. COVID-19 Information-We have received word that since my last communication on December 10^th, that we have the following positive cases in the Reading Public Schools.  All of these cases are from outside contacts and not through in school transmission.  We will follow these carefully and will communicate updates, if necessary.
   1. RMHS-We have had five students test positive and one staff member test positive.  Four of the students who tested positive were remote last week so there were no in school contacts.  However, through contact tracing, 28 students were in close contact with these four students and had to be quarantined.  One student was in school who tested positive.  Through our contact tracing, one staff member and two students were in close contact and are being quarantined.  The staff member that tested positive was remote last week and had no in school close contacts. 
   2. Parker-We had two students test positive at Parker.  Both students were remote last week, so there was no in school exposure.
   3. Birch Meadow-One staff member in the Extended Day program at Birch Meadow tested positive.  As a result, 22 students and 3 staff members are quarantining due to close contacts.

2. Quarantine Information-Part 1-For your information, I have attached the latest updates from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health regarding length of quarantine information.  The chart from the memo is below.  If you have any questions, please contact your local Board of Health or Director of Nurses Mary Giuliana at Mary.Giuliana@reading.k12.ma.us.

OPTIONS	CRITERIA	ACTIVE MONITORING	RESIDUAL RISK
7 days of strict quarantine	Release on Day 8 IF: A test (either PCR or antigen) taken on Day 5 or later is negative; AND The individual has not experienced any symptoms up to that point; AND The individual conducts active monitoring through Day 14	Individual must actively monitor symptoms and take temperature once daily. IF even mild symptoms develop or the individual has a temperature of 100.0 F, they must immediately self-isolate, contact the public health authority overseeing their quarantine and get tested.	Approximately 5% residual risk of disease development
10 days of strict quarantine	Release on Day 11 IF: The individual has not experienced any symptoms up to that point; AND The individual conducts active monitoring through Day 14. No test is necessary under this option	Approximately 1% residual risk of disease development
14 days of strict quarantine	Release on Day 15 IF: The individual has experienced ANY symptoms during the quarantine period EVEN if they have a negative COVID-19 test; OR The individual indicates they are unwilling or unable to conduct active monitoring.	No additional active monitoring required	Maximal risk reduction

3. Quarantine Information Part 2-If you need to quarantine, I have attached specific information and posted below from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on what you should do if you are quarantining.

4. Middlesex League Letter-Attached is a letter from the Middlesex League Superintendents regarding the start of the winter season.  In Reading, winter sports practice will begin on Monday, December 14^th.  The only exception is boys hockey which may begin practicing on Sunday, December 20^th.  At the end of December, the Middlesex League Superintendents and Athletic Directors will reconvene and determine when games will start in January.  Initially, spectators will not be allowed at events and we will review this in late December as well.

5. Family Hybrid Learning Survey-Thank you to those families that have completed the Family Hybrid Learning survey.  If you have not responded to the survey yet, you can access the link here.

Thanks and have a great rest of the weekend and week ahead.

John Doherty

Superintendent of Schools

Reading Public Schools

Good Morning, Reading Public School Parents

We hope that you are doing well.  Since we have been in hybrid and remote learning since September 15th, we would like to check in with parents to get your feedback on your child’s remote and hybrid learning experience thus far this school year.  We understand that the ideal situation is to have all of our students back in person full time.  Unfortunately, because of health and safety reasons, we are not able to go full in person at this time.  The purpose of this survey is to assess our current model and identify any areas that we may need to modify.  Please complete one survey for each child in your family.  The deadline to complete the survey is Wednesday, December 23rd.

The link to the survey is below and will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

https://forms.gle/zj6mc7dDXJtRUva86

Thank you in advance for your time.  Feel free to contact Superintendent of Schools John Doherty at john.doherty@reading.k12.ma.us if you have any questions.

Dear Staff, Parents and Community Members:

We have been notified that a staff member and a student at the RISE preschool and a student at Barrows has tested positive for COVID-19.  The Barrows student was remote this week, so there were not any close contacts in school.  The two RISE cases are not related.  Through our contact tracing procedures, we have identified the staff and students who were potentially in close contact with the two RISE positive cases.  Those who were potentially in close contact are in the process of being contacted by the Director of Nurses, and the RISE Preschool Director.

Using our cleaning and disinfecting protocol, the impacted classrooms and spaces at the schools were disinfected as part of our regular extensive misting disinfection

Recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their definition of close contact to include someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.  In school settings, close contacts include being in a classroom, in other school spaces, on the bus, or at an extra-curricular activity.  Contact tracing with the individuals who tested positive is ongoing, and any close contacts in the schools have been notified and will be followed up by the Reading Board of Health.  As a result of contract tracing of the above cases, 19 students and 5 staff had to be quarantined.  In addition, 10 students in another class will need to go remote because staff in that classroom have to quarantine.  At this time, we have not received any reports of other students or staff members experiencing illnesses with symptoms resembling those of coronavirus for this particular case.

We would also like to emphasize that none of the positive cases in our district thus far have been transmitted in school.  We want to thank our students, staff, and administrators for creating and establishing a safe and healthy learning environment in our schools.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with any further updates, if necessary. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

John F. Doherty

Superintendent of Schools

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.

The following message is from the Town of Reading

Rent and Mortgage Assistance Program Announced Get Help with Rent and Mortgage payments – application deadline is December 21, 2020

(READING, MA- December 3, 2020) – The Town of Reading announced today that it is offering a temporary Rental and Mortgage Assistance Program to provide relief to eligible households.  The Town has partnered with the Reading Co-Operative Bank Charitable Foundation to help administer this grant program.

Coverage will be for up to two mortgage or rent payments for a maximum of $5,000 per applicant/address.  The relief program is funded through CARES Act funding and must be expended by December 30, 2020.

Town Manager Bob LeLacheur and Reading Co-op President and CEO Julie Thurlow are pleased to announce this partnership and to offer housing assistance to members of the community that have been adversely impacted by Covid-19.

The program is open to Reading residents and those with students in the Reading Public School system. Applicants will need evidence of COVID-19 harm, evidence of rent or mortgage delinquency, landlord name or mortgagor, contact information, payment amount, and account number of mortgage statement.

Applications are due by December 21, 2020, at 5PM.

Please visit the Town of Reading website to complete the application online or print a paper copy:

https://www.readingma.gov/home/pages/rental-and-mortgage-assistance-program

Dear Staff, Parents and Community Members:

Over the last 24 hours, we have been notified of several staff and students who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have quarantined due to being in close contact with someone who has tested positive.  Below is a breakdown of these cases.

• At the Barrows Elementary School, we have had one staff member test positive.  This staff member was remote this week so there have been no in school close contacts or staff or students who have to be quarantined.
• At the Birch Meadow Elementary School, we have had one staff member test positive.  This staff member was in school this week.  Through our contact tracing procedures, we identified the staff and students who were potentially in close contact with the staff member.  Those who were potentially in close contact are in the process of being contacted by the school nurse, Director of Nurses, and building principal.
• At the Wood End Elementary School, we have had two staff members test positive.  These staff members did not have any close contact with students.  Through our contact tracing procedures, we identified staff members who were potentially in close contact and those staff members have been notified.
• At Reading Memorial High School, one student has tested positive.  That student is remote this week and did not have in school contact with staff or students.

Using our cleaning and disinfecting protocol, the impacted classrooms and spaces at the schools were disinfected as part of our regular extensive misting disinfection and were not used for over 12 hours.

Recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their definition of close contact to include someone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic patients, 2 days prior to test specimen collection) until the time the patient is isolated.  In school settings, close contacts include being in a classroom, in other school spaces, on the bus, or at an extra-curricular activity.  Contact tracing with the individuals who tested positive is ongoing, and any close contacts in the schools have been notified and will be followed up by the Reading Board of Health.  As a result of contract tracing of the above cases, 14 students and 5 staff had to be quarantined. At this time, we have not received any reports of other students or staff members experiencing illnesses with symptoms resembling those of coronavirus for this particular case.

We would also like to emphasize that none of the positive cases thus far have been transmitted in school.  We want to thank our students, staff, and administrators for creating and establishing a safe and healthy learning environment in our schools.

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.  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.

COVID-19 is thought to be spread via person-to-person contact through contaminated air droplets from coughing and sneezing by an infected person. As with controlling the spread of other viruses, we urge everyone to take the following preventive measures both inside and outside of school.  It should be emphasized that it is not one mitigation strategy but a combination of all these strategies taken together that will substantially reduce the risk of transmission.

• Staff must monitor themselves for symptoms daily and students, with the assistance of families, must also be monitored daily for symptoms. Staff and students must stay home if feeling unwell.
• Masks are among the most important single measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. We require all students and staff to wear masks that adequately cover both their nose and mouth. Exceptions must be made for students with medical, behavioral, or other challenges who are unable to wear masks/face coverings.

• Hand hygiene is critical. Students and staff are required to exercise hand hygiene (handwashing or sanitizing) upon arrival to school, before eating, before putting on and taking off masks, and before dismissal. Handwashing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is the best practice. However, hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol should be substituted when handwashing is not available.
• Physical distance greatly reduces the risk of transmission. Physical distancing is a critical tool in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The CDC(1) and DPH(2) recommend 6 feet of distance between individuals.
• Cohorts/assigned seating. Students organized in groups/classrooms and other cohorts help mitigate transmission of the virus. Assigned seating is important because it effectively creates even smaller groups within cohorts which minimize transmission. Assigned seats can also assist with contact tracing. Wherever possible, seats should be assigned (including classroom, bus, meals).

The symptoms of coronavirus are similar to the regular seasonal influenza and the single most important thing to do if any of the following symptoms are present is to STAY HOME.

• Fever (100.0° Fahrenheit or higher), chills, or shaking chills (CDC has lowered the temperature from 100.4 to 100.0)
• Cough (not due to other known cause, such as chronic cough)
• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Headache when in combination with other symptoms
• Muscle aches or body aches
• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
• Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
• Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms

If staff or students have any of these symptoms, we encourage you to get a PCR COVID-19 test.  A list of test sites is available here, and Massachusetts also has an interactive testing map. Staff and students who have symptoms should also contact their primary care physician for further instructions.  In addition, if a parent of a child tests positive, please notify the school and quarantine your child to avoid coming in close contact with others and get him or her tested.

We are closely monitoring this situation and will provide you with any further updates, if necessary. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

John F. Doherty

Superintendent of Schools