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Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
Pending the approval of a joint resolution to extend the Governor’s emergency authority for 45 days, the Governor will extend the Executive Order that requires indoor masking in public K-12 schools to March 4th. After that point, cities, towns, and school committees will be able to implement their own masking policies using updated recommendations that RIDOH and RIDE will provide. This updated approach brings masking in line with other mitigation measures that schools implement based on recommendations from RIDOH and RIDE, such as testing, social distancing, and symptom screening. North Smithfield Public Schools will follow the new guidance for schools where student and staff masking will be recommended, but not an overarching mandate. We anticipate updated guidance regarding contact tracing, isolation, returning to school after infection, Monitor to Stay, and interscholastic athletics protocols, meaning at times masking may remain a situational necessity. We will certainly pass along any updated information that we receive. It is important to note that the federal transportation mask requirement remains in place at this time, and therefore masks will be required on school buses. Masking is also still recommended for immunocompromised individuals and for those who have either not completed their primary series of vaccinations or received their booster. - Michael St. Jean, Superintendent
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Dear NSPS Families and Staff, Attached is a document that summarizes some of the new close contact and isolation guidance issued by the CDC and Rhode Island Department of Health. Complete documentation is located at https://www.back2schoolri.com/outbreak-response-protocols/ In spite of the current COVID surge and staffing shortages, North Smithfield Public Schools is committed to remaining open and in-person. While there have been calls statewide to switch to distance learning during this surge, we recognize that not all families have the means to care for their children during the daytime hours at home. We also hold that the best place for students to be is in school with their teachers, classmates, and friends. With the shortened isolation period, Monitor-to-Stay program, and Test to Play for our student-athletes, we are not only working to keep our students healthy, but healthy students in school even if they were an in-school close contact. Even during this surge, schools remain a safe place for children as we maintain facilities with good ventilation and continue to practice proven protocols. Especially at this time, sick students should remain at home. The next few weeks will be the most challenging for attendance, staffing, and transportation, but I am confident that we will get through this together. 
Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
On Thursday, 1/6/2022 the Governor and the Department of Health released updated COVID guidance for Rhode Island schools. https://health.ri.gov/publications/memoranda/20220106-COVID-Prevention-Strategies-PreK-12.pdf These changes were promoted by the Rhode Island Superintendent’s Association and are designed to keep more children out of quarantine and in school. The data shows the previous quarantine and close contact guidelines had the negative effect of keeping many healthy students at home and out of the classroom. The new guidelines, based on the changes released by CDC on December 31, 2021, allows K-12 public schools in Rhode Island to change our protocols for quarantine, as well as increase our capacity for in-school screening, referred to as Monitor to Stay, and in-school testing for our athletes, referred to as Test to Play. In addition to the continued focus on full vaccination and booster of adults and children ages 5 and older and mask-wearing in public, these two strategies continue to be the most effective means of minimizing the transmission and impact of COVID-19. Regardless of the changes it is vital that students and staff who have symptoms stay home from school. We will have more information how NSPS will be implementing the new guidelines, but effective immediately:
https://health.ri.gov/publications/memoranda/20220106-COVID-Prevention-Strategies-PreK-12.pdf You can address any general questions to me and, while I probably won't be able to respond to everyone individually, I can certainly take your email into consideration and respond en masse. For any questions about how the new guidelines affect your student individually, you should consult your school’s nurse. Further guidance and clarification will follow. 09/27/2021
Dear North Smithfield Families, I want to follow up on my presentation from Tuesday’s School Committee Meeting. https://youtu.be/Aq1Xtc-H2dE with the following information and clarifications. Bus Quarantines The majority of our students who have been identified as close contacts and have had to quarantine are from riding the bus and not from within the classroom. I and other superintendents across Rhode Island are advocating the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) to revise its current bus quarantine rules to model those of Massachusetts. Currently, the RI rules state that close contacts of a positive student include the student sharing a seat along with all unvaccinated students sitting two seats forward, two seats behind, and the five seats on the other side of the aisle. That is a lot of students. Whereas the Massachusetts policy is “individuals who are masked on buses when windows are open are exempt from testing and quarantine response protocols.” We have been assured that RIDOH is reviewing its protocol. In the meantime, we are recommending that if your child is unvaccinated, and you do not want him or her to be caught up in a bus-related quarantine, and have the means to take your child directly to and/or from school, avoid riding the bus at least until the RIDOH changes the close contact regulations. Crossing Guards: To help with the potential increase in drop-off and pick-up traffic, especially at NSES, we will be advertising for crossing guards to assist. The going rate for a crossing guard is $15 per half hour. We will need at least 4 crossing guards at NSES for a ½ hour during morning drop off and a ½ hour during afternoon pickup. The posting and application can be found at: https://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=3682612. Bus ridership We have been looking at ridership numbers on the buses for the AM and PM runs for both NSES and NSMS/NSHS. We are trying to keep the numbers balanced at 2 students, or fewer, per seat. With our seven 77-seat buses, that means 52 students to maintain 2 students per seat. Our six 71-seat buses can accommodate 46 students and maintain 2 students per seat. All of our buses are within, or below, the 2 students per seat range, except MS/HS Bus #5 and Bus #11 which may have to use a few seats for three students. We may have to make some route adjustments to better distribute the loads. COVID numbers Statewide, after two to three weeks of school this year, the totals of COVID positive students are approximately equal to the total number of positive students after the first two to three months of school last year. Students who went home ill and who had to wait for a negative PCR test before returning to school, along with students who were identified as close contacts and had to isolate at home, were all unvaccinated. Also, of our positive cases, many were siblings from unvaccinated households who contracted COVID from a family member within the home. Some of these students even came to school when feeling ill. School nurses and quarantine decisions The RIDOH quarantine and testing protocols we must follow are discussed and debated at the weekly meetings between RIDOH, superintendents, and school nurses. Some argue they are too strict, not strict enough, simple and direct, or contradictory. There are also many “grey areas.” Our nurses have been trying to navigate this grey area between students who come to school ill with COVID-like symptoms and how the protocols direct their response vs. what may be another reason a student is feeling ill. While we urge parents not to send sick children to school in the first place, some do. Please understand our nurses do not automatically send a student home because they exhibit a COVID-like symptom. We have children who don’t feel well because they did not have a good night’s sleep. We have children who do not feel well because they didn’t have breakfast. We have children that may have a headache due to lack of sleep, other stresses, or anxiety. In many cases such as these, our nurses give them water, food, a quiet place to lie down and close their eyes or administer their prescribed medication. They often feel better and return to class. We also have children who have ongoing or repeating symptoms, such as a sinus condition or allergies, that appear COVID-like. In these cases, our nurses will take a physician’s note to place in their records and factor this information into testing or quarantine decisions. In summary, North Smithfield School nurses will take into consideration the nature of a student’s symptoms and other non-COVID-related factors.
Finally, when and where there is a positive case, our nurses spend a lot of time contact tracing in accordance with established protocols. This often happens well into the evenings and across the weekends. Because the DOH is so behind notifying families of close contacts, our nurses and administration will call families during the day and email families, and notify the bus company after hours and late into the evening or over the weekend. We understand people’s frustration, but the unfortunate reality is that too many times our nurses have been yelled at, sworn at, or hung up on when trying to communicate with the student’s home. Please let them do their jobs. They are not responsible for RIDOH contact or testing delays. They have protocols to follow and sometimes have to be the bearers of bad news. Quarantining of unvaccinated students after domestic travel
Distance Learning Offering a distance learning model worked in conjunction with Hybrid instruction and we certainly do not want to return to that unless we have to. Even though we cannot currently offer distance learning to the degree that some are requesting, we will expand some virtual supports and resources for students who must quarantine. Our focus has to be on keeping students in the classroom which is achievable with everyone’s help by increasing vaccinations and limiting quarantine situations. Limiting Quarantines and keeping students in school We want to keep all students in the classroom, playing sports, participating in clubs and activities, and going on field trips with their classmates and friends. The main way to achieve this and reduce the numbers of students who must quarantine is to:
Since vaccines are not available yet for the 12 and under, and the rates of positive cases and quarantines are the highest at NSES, we will be phasing in adjustments to NSES to hopefully limit the number of close contacts. These changes may include further adjusting classroom organization and seating, limiting and focusing student small group activities, staggering snack time, and reassessing lunches. I remain confident that as a school department and a community we will find the balance between quarantines for the unvaccinated, keeping our staff and students safe and in the classroom as well as keeping our schools open. Thank you, Michael St. Jean, Superintendent. One final notice….NEW SMS Text Messaging - We are adding text messaging to our notification system in addition to our current voice messaging and email announcements. Text messages will only be used for emergency notifications, cancelations, or other time-sensitive announcements. A text message invitation from North Smithfield Public Schools and/or School Messenger is scheduled to go out Wednesday at 6pm with these simple instructions (Type the word YES to 67587) in order to opt-in to receiving text notifications from NSPS. Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
We are excited to have our students returning and we are hopeful that we will be allowed to focus on what we do best, creating an active and vibrant learning environment and teaching kids. We understand there is disagreement and resistance to the Governor’s masking requirement in school. Just as there is a federal masking requirement to board and remain on a bus, train, or plane, there is a state requirement to wear a mask to enter and remain in a school. As individuals, schools, and as a district, we cannot pick and choose the laws and policies we want to follow. For example, an athlete cannot decide on his or her own to waive personal safety equipment required by the Interscholastic League. A high school can not waive graduation requirements defined by the Board of Regents and still issue a diploma. Similarly, a district cannot waive a governmental executive order. As a result, we cannot allow anyone in a school or classroom without a mask. This is the same requirement we followed throughout the last school year. For COVID Specifically, we are required to adhere to: RIDOH PreK-12 Outbreak Response Protocols: https://www.back2schoolri.com/what-you-need-to-know/ Executive Order 21-87 Requiring Masks in School: https://governor.ri.gov/executive-orders/executive-order-21-87 For those who strongly disagree with wearing a mask, please understand that schools must follow state and federal laws, policies, and requirements. You can certainly continue to voice your opinions with your elected officials, but understand that as principals, teachers, instructional assistants, nurses, secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, and kitchen workers, we do not have the individual or collective means to waive or ignore this requirement. For our kids, the start of school carries a mixture of nervousness and excitement. The entire NSPS staff remains hopeful that we as a community can fuel their excitement to be all in, in-person, and among all their friends. We also have school counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers ready to provide support and counseling services to students who may be struggling with COVID-related and any other issues and concerns. Let’s have a positive school opening and ensure that our first days and weeks will set the tone for a successful year ahead. Thank you, Michael St. Jean, Superintendent Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
We are a week away from returning to a new school year. As with the last two years, we will have our challenges but North Smithfield students, families, and school department staff have persevered and come through it together. 21-22 School Times and Busing First day of school for K-12 students, Tuesday, August 30th, 2021. (K will be an abbreviated day) First day of school for Pre-K, Friday, September 3rd. NSMS/NSHS student school day 7:55am – 2:20pm NSES student school day 8:45am – 3:10pm We anticipate that bus routes and pickup and dropoff locations, as well as times, will be available on the DATTCO website on August 26th. https://www.dattcoschoolbus.com/my-childs-route/?did=6 **As a reminder, per federal regulation, students must wear a mask in order to board and ride the school bus. Masking The Governor has issued an executive order requiring masks. (https://governor.ri.gov/executive-orders/executive-order-21-87) The school department will follow and adhere to governmental orders and laws. Additionally, we will follow Rhode Island Department of Health policies and protocols. It is our hope that, despite disagreements within the community, our bus drivers, office assistants, nurses, and teachers will be able to focus on transporting, educating, and caring for the students without challenges or pressures over this issue. COVID Protocols Our resources are dedicated this year to full in-person instruction, 5 days a week. Kids need to be in the classroom. There are a number of factors that will allow us to achieve this.
Screening We will be sending a link to a form for all parents to fill out. The form will have two parts…
Contact Tracing and Quarantine As mentioned earlier, contact tracing and quarantining will be highly targeted. The RIDOH protocols we are to follow are located at https://www.back2schoolri.com/what-you-need-to-know/ These are different from those we followed last year and designed to keep students in school. Multiple factors including ventilation, cleaning, distancing, mask-wearing effect contact tracing, and quarantine. In brief (as of this writing):
Other issues that will affect us going into the school year with contact tracing and quarantining will include our community transmission rates, our community and student vaccination coverage, testing, and any related outbreak situations. Again, all this information and more, including athletics, and many of the “what-if” scenarios people may be thinking about, are available at https://www.back2schoolri.com/what-you-need-to-know/ Conclusion Our teachers are excited to be back in the classroom and see our students in person. We have good protocols in place designed to allow students to remain in school. We will have extra supports and opportunities for students during and after school. Despite some community disagreements, the passion to do what is best for our students is strong. That is a good thing. We are definitely a community that loves and supports our kids. With everyone’s support, I am positive that we can keep our students in the classroom, keep them learning, keep them socially engaged, and keep them safe and happy. Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
School Chairman Lombardi and I would like to give you an update on the Fall reopening plans. At this point, masking and COVID vaccinations are a family decision. To mitigate quarantining and help keep our schools open, we hope that families will consider vaccinating themselves and eligible children. The Governor's office and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) have published a new set of COVID guidelines for safe school operation. With these guidelines, RIDOH and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) are encouraging school districts to develop policies and protocols for the school opening in the Fall. At the July 20th School Committee Meeting, the School Committee mask policy was adopted for the first reading. This policy was prepared by our attorney and is consistent with what most Northern RI Districts are doing. The policy aligns with the masking requirements under the law.
During the coming weeks, we will have more information from the RIDOH regarding COVID, the Delta Variant, and school guidance. North Smithfield is and will be working with RIDE, RIDOH, and districts across the region to develop protocols. Until more information becomes available, we can share a few items to keep in mind for the coming school year.
Please keep in mind that all this is a snapshot in time. We are confident that as a school department and as a community, we will collectively meet the challenges ahead. Sincerely, - James J Lombardi III Esq CPA, School Committee Chair - Michael St. Jean, Superintendent ----------------------------------------------------------------- Memo from Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green August 3, 2021 As you have likely heard, the CDC updated its guidance related to mask-wearing in K-12 schools. The CDC now recommends that all people in an elementary or secondary school setting wear a face mask, regardless of their vaccination status. This change comes as a result of the growing prevalence of the Delta variant of virus that causes COVID-19, which spreads more easily and may cause more severe illness. While we no longer have the authority to mandate mask use, heeding this important warning from the CDC, RIDE in partnership with Governor McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Health, is now strongly recommending that districts implement a policy requiring every person in a school setting to wear a face mask indoors, whether vaccinated or not. I understand that this is a change in guidance from the state’s previous guidance, but it is our duty to adapt to protect our students and staff. The Delta variant of COVID-19 now has a significant presence in Rhode Island. The Delta variant spreads much more quickly than the strains of the virus that were predominate in Rhode Island even just a few weeks ago. Unvaccinated people are most at risk of getting and spreading the Delta variant, though even those who are vaccinated can spread it. Vaccines remain one of the most powerful tools to keep students safe and healthy, and learning in the classroom. It takes approximately five weeks to become fully vaccinated starting with the first dose; depending on your district, the start of school is currently between five and seven weeks away. Please, if you haven’t, get your first dose of the vaccine as soon as possible. Information on vaccination sites and schedules can be found on C19vaccineRI.org. Last year, all of us—educators, families, school leaders, community members, and more— were able to work together to lead the nation in providing in-person learning to our students without the major spread of the COVID-19 virus. I know that together, we will be able to replicate that feat and provide our students, families, and educators with the support they deserve. You can view the latest school guidance at back2schoolri.com. Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
Here we are in the last week of school after what has been a most unusual and challenging school year. But we did it. Together. I want to take this moment and express my appreciation and thanks to: Our teachers for their planning, expertise, and drive to meet the needs of our students whether those students were full time distance learners, in-person, hybrid, on quarantine, or every combination imaginable. Even when our teachers were quarantining themselves and attending to sick family members, many continued to teach their students remotely. Their drive and dedication was evident throughout the year. Our families for their patience and understanding and for working with our teachers on behalf of their students. Even through periods of uncertainty and frustration as we navigated changing situations, infection data, and concerns that we were reopening too quickly, or not quickly enough, our parents were there to support the students. When there were disagreements on our pacing, those disagreements came from a place of concern and advocacy for the children, which is deeply appreciated. Strong advocacy is always preferable over indifference. Our students for their adaptability and acceptance of new protocols, social groupings, and instructional methods. While some struggled, others proved exceptionally resilient and, with the help of their teachers, families, and friends, continued to excel. We were so happy to see our students return in person and we have great plans for our students over the summer and in the coming years. Our school counselors, social workers and school psychologists for counseling and comforting our students and families and maintaining personal connections during a school year and pandemic which emphasized social distancing and isolation. Our custodians for keeping our buildings clean and disinfected, our administrative assistants for keeping our offices open and communicative, and our instructional assistants for supporting our students and teachers in the classrooms and online. Our technology team for making online instruction possible with technology support and training and providing, troubleshooting, maintaining and improving our networks, bandwidth, audio and video devices, software and systems. They were instrumental in ensuring that anywhere and anytime learning happened. Our School Committee for their support and advocacy for the students and families for North Smithfield, by working between the school department and the community to provide support, resources, communications, solutions, and insight. Our administrators, who worked to organize new instructional methods, new health and safety protocols, all the while maintaining our mission of bringing our students in, keeping them safe, making them smarter, and maintaining a sense of calm and community in the face of uncertainty and constant change. Our bus monitors and drivers who maintained seating charts and quickly pivoted to new routes as their colleagues went in and out of quarantine and still got our students safely to and from school; and our kitchen staff who, despite interrupted deliveries and ingredients, still provided all our students hot and nutritious meals. …and a special thank you to our nurses. If there ever was a time our schools needed full-time medical and health professionals it was during a pandemic. Whether it was during the school day, during the early morning hours, in the evenings, or over the weekends or school vacations, our nurses were truly amazing at organizing, guiding, screening, contact-tracing, calling, emailing, consulting with the DOH and CDC. They did it all! We owe Mrs. O'Neill, Mrs. Pendergast, and Mrs. Ethier a debt of gratitude. We look forward to seeing many of our students and teachers in our schools this summer for extra academic and engagement opportunities. We will certainly be busy planning for a fully reopened, refreshed, and responsive new school year. Have a wonderful, restful and engaging summer and thank you again North Smithfield! - Michael St. Jean, Superintendent 5/7/2021
Dear North Smithfield Families, I am pleased to report that we have had minimal COVID cases since our return from April Vacation. With people remaining cautious, testing, and with vaccinations available to students 16 and older, I am again optimistic that we will finish this school year strong. Below are a couple of updates for the next school year: 21-22 Calendar We have posted the District School Calendar for the 21-22 school year at https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0B4pXf2-eHXpCNVh3bHhHQXNheGs. Our first day of school for students will be August 31st and the last day of school will be June 14th. This calendar is different in that it contains four Rhode Island Department of Education professional days. These four days will be asynchronous days in that students will have assignments to work on during teacher professional development. Our district professional development days, which were usually listed as “No School Days” for students, have been rolled into a new Common Planning Time detailed later in this email. 21-22 Schedule During this current school year, we ran a slightly shortened version of the usual student day to make room for additional preparation and work required by the mix of in-person, hybrid, and at-home learning. For the 21-22 school year we are returning to something closer to normal as we fully expect and are planning a return to five days a week, all in-person instruction. There will however be a slight shift in the school start times so we can accommodate a new Common Planning Time for staff. NSMS/NSHS: Student Start 7:55 Student End 2:20 NSES: Student Start 8:45 Student End 3:10 More information will become available around bus times, and student drop-off and pick-up by school. What is the Common Planning Time requirement and why it is important? One of the accreditation requirements from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) is that high schools provide teachers with Common Planning Time. Common Planning Time is also required by the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education. With an already packed student instructional schedule, this has proved very difficult to implement. Many districts have found a solution by implementing a Wednesday early release for students in order to hold Common Planning Time for teachers in the afternoon. Our solution is much more far-reaching, consistent, and not limited to just the high school. Instead of dismissing students early one day a week, our teachers will report for Common Planning each day of the week 45 minutes before the student school day begins. This morning Common Planning Time can/will be used for:
We are piloting this model on a one-year trial basis, followed by a review and decision for continuation. No district in the state has been able to implement this model with their high schools, let alone including all grade levels PK-12. Even with the addition of Common Planning Time, our schools are still exceeding the daily student instructional time defined in the Rhode Island Basic Education Plan. Thank you all for your support and have a great weekend. Michael St. Jean, Superintendent 4/14/2021
Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff, I wish I could be sharing better news with everyone. Since Easter, and as of yesterday, we have 9 positive COVID cases in our schools and 173 students and staff on quarantine. We are currently seeing the largest COVID surge in our schools ever. More concerning is that since we returned from the Easter weekend our school nurses have had to send home 32 students who came to school with COVID-like symptoms and these 32 students were just those who were brought to our attention. When students come to school with symptoms they potentially compromise their friends, classmates, teachers, and teammates. COVID cases are on the rise across Rhode Island with the more virulent UK variant taking hold. Young people are having the highest rates of infection. Among young people, student-athletes have the highest concentration. I am very concerned about what we will face after the April Vacation with so many having travel plans. I am concerned that the week we return from break, we start the spring sports season with 10 teams in play. With the trajectory we are on, I am concerned about maintaining spring sports and other spring events such as proms and graduation. While many districts are planning to end hybrid instruction after the April Vacation, we have already done that. In an earlier update, I expressed optimism that as we discontinued the remaining Hybrid grade levels we could end the year strong and together. Now I am concerned that as excitement builds for a “return to normal” our surging cases brought on by the new variants and COVID fatigue will force us backward. Family Travel During April Vacation Vaccinated individuals are exempt from the requirement to test or quarantine upon returning to Rhode Island after out-of-state travel. Unfortunately, none of our children are currently vaccinated so community spread is a very real and continuing concern. If you must travel during the April vacation, please refer to updated regulations from the Rhode Island Department of Health at https://covid.ri.gov/covid-19-prevention/travel-tofrom-ri. Below is a summary as of this writing:
If you must travel, please continue to follow established procedures and precautions and monitor for any potential symptoms. In all cases, please monitor your child for symptoms for a full 14 days after returning from travel. If your child does exhibit symptoms, he or she must stay home, isolate and be tested (PCR). Likewise, if any member of the family is exhibiting symptoms or received a positive test result, the student must also isolate and have a full PCR test. Mondays We have received inquiries about our plans regarding the Monday Distance Learning Days. We fully understand and appreciate the desire to return to in-person instruction on Monday. Our teachers want nothing more than for everyone to return to full in-person instruction. We are keenly aware of the struggles of some of our families to arrange coverage for children at home and we know the fatigue many feel supervising their children during Distance Learning. Last night I reluctantly made the recommendation to continue with Distance Learning Mondays, which was likewise reluctantly approved by the School Committee. Below are the reasons I shared:
I recognize the disappointment and anger some will feel with this recommendation and decision. We wish we could go back to five days a week in-person instruction, including our at-home learners. While some may feel otherwise, NSPS re-opened our schools faster, and remained consistently open, more so than many districts across the state. Despite the concerns I expressed above, all of us are truly hoping that, with everyone’s cooperation, we can get a handle on this surge and will indeed finish the year strong and together. Everyone, please have a restful April Vacation, and keep safe and healthy. Michael St. Jean - Superintendent |
AuthorMichael St. Jean, Archives
February 2022
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