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superintendent's updates

Superintendent Update 09/27/2021

9/27/2021

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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. 
  • Single symptoms such as fatigue or headache can be attributed to other non-COVID factors. 
  • School nurses may assess students who report or show a symptom using the documented medical history to determine if testing and isolation are necessary.
  • If a healthcare provider, such as pediatrician/Medical Doctor (MD)/Nurse Practitioner (NP)/Physician’s Assistant (PA), provides documentation of an alternate diagnosis, isolation and testing may not be recommended.

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
  • The State of Rhode Island and the Department of Health recommends that “People should get tested three to five days after travel AND stay home and self-quarantine for a full seven days after travel.”
  • While North Smithfield Schools recommend that families follow the state guidelines regarding domestic travel, we will not require it as a condition of re-entry to the classroom. Minimally, families should self-monitor and/or be PCR tested as a precaution. 
  
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: 

  1. Don’t send sick children to school and, if unvaccinated, keep siblings apart if one is sick. 
  2. Get vaccinated (if and when eligible) as vaccinated students are less likely to contract COVID and are exempt from close contact quarantines. 
  3. Reduce reliance on riding the bus (if you can) until, and if, the DOH changes the quarantine rules.
  4. Following COVID guidelines, hand washing, social distancing, masking when in indoor spaces other than schools. 

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.   

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Superintendent Update

8/27/2021

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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
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Superintendent Update - Back to School

8/23/2021

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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.

  • We have invested in our HVAC systems and all classrooms exceed the RIDOH requirements for air exchanges per hour. Their minimal requirement is 2-3 exchanges, while our classrooms are rated at 4-6 exchanges per hour. 
  • We have well-established and proven cleaning protocols. 
  • We will be maintaining stable groupings of students from PK-6 along with distancing protocols to the extent possible. 
  • We have hired two Certified Nurse Assistants (through a grant) who, along with our nurses will be equipped to administer onsite rapid screenings as well as PCR screenings. 
  • To date, at least 40% of our eligible students, 12 years of age and older, are fully vaccinated. 
  • All this, along with universal masking, factors into reducing the extent of contact tracing and quarantining. 

Screening

We will be sending a link to a form for all parents to fill out. The form will have two parts…

  • Part One will replace the daily attestations from last year and emphasize that COVID screening begins at home and confirming that you will not send your student to school if he or she is sick. 
  • Part Two will include parental consent allowing our health offices to administer a rapid screening. This is the screening that was used with our student-athletes last year. It is simple enough to be self-administered by the older students, with a 15-minute result. 
  • Part Two will additionally ask for parental consent permitting a nurse or CNA to administer a PCR test onsite. PCR tests will be sent directly from the school to a lab for quick results. The PCR results will only be available to our nurse and the family. We hope this will save time having parents go directly to a testing center if a student comes down to the nurse’s office with multiple COVID-like symptoms. 

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):

  • If during contact tracing, a student is determined to be a close contact of a COVID-positive student, and the close contact is vaccinated, he or she will not have to quarantine. (screening and monitoring for symptoms will be recommended)
  • If during contact tracing, a student is determined to be a close contact, and the close contact had been diagnosed with COVID within 90 days, the close contact will not have to quarantine. 
  • If during contact tracing, 1) the COVID-positive student was wearing a mask (properly and consistently) and 2) the close contact student(s) were also wearing masks (properly and consistently), and 3) all the students maintained 3 feet or more distance, the masked close contact(s) will not have to quarantine, even if they are unvaccinated (screening and monitoring for symptoms will be recommended)
  • COVID-positive students will need to quarantine for 7 days and be able to return to school on day 8 with a negative PCR test taken on day 5. 
  • Those who are told they need to quarantine will have targeted, priority work (packets for the youngest students) assigned. While we won’t be live streaming classrooms this year, we are working on securing tutors to check-in and assist students who are quarantined if they are not too sick to work at home. 

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. 

​
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Superintendent Update 8/5/2021

8/5/2021

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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. 
  • Masking is highly recommended. 
  • Masking is required while riding the school bus as part of a federal public transportation order. 
  • There is currently no Executive Order mandating the use of masks in schools. While wearing masks continues to be highly recommended, it is not a state mandate, even among unvaccinated individuals. 
  • The district will follow state laws and RIDOH recommendations in developing appropriate protocols. 

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.

  • We intend to be open in full, 5 days a week. 
  • We will not be offering a North Smithfield full-time distance learning option. Our entire focus is to have all students back in the classroom for full in-person instruction. 
  • There will undoubtedly be positive COVID cases in classrooms. When this happens, during contact tracing, we will be asking for proof of vaccination. Anyone who is determined to be a close contact and can provide the school nurse their proof of vaccination, will not need to quarantine. Anyone who is a close contact and is unvaccinated will have to quarantine for at least seven days (return on Day 8 based on a negative PCR test taken on Day 5) 
  • We will not be live-streaming lessons from the classrooms or holding Google Meets. Assignments will be provided. Students who are under quarantine will have work provided to them to complete at home to keep pace. 

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 

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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.
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Superintendent Update and Thank You! 6/22/2021

6/22/2021

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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

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Superintendent Update 5/7/2021

5/7/2021

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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:

  • Weekly grade level, team, departmental, or subject area meetings to discuss curriculum planning, implementation, instruction, and student progress. 
  • Professional Development: Next year a major PD focus with our teachers will be to meet all the PK-12 literacy skills as outlined in the comprehensive Right to Read Act. Additionally, we will be conducting professional development on our new high-quality mathematics curriculum and will be continuing our professional learning series around student equity, culture, diversity, and social-emotional support. 
  • To provide the flexibility to accommodate other needs such as student before-school tutoring or parent meetings and communications. 

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
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Superintendent Update 4/14/2021

4/14/2021

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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: 


  • International travel: If you plan to travel internationally, the student must quarantine for 10 days or have a negative PCR result from a test taken at least 5 days after return, and may then shorten quarantine to 7 days with a return to school on the 8th day.
  • Domestic travel: If you travel outside of Rhode Island to a hot spot within the 50 states or DC, the student must quarantine for 10 days or provide proof of a negative result from a COVID-19 test taken after returning to Rhode Island.  A rapid or BINEXNow test is acceptable such as those offered at airports or through RI testing sites https://covid.ri.gov/testing/testing-k-12-students-and-staff.  These locations will also provide documentation of the negative test result which needs to be shared with your school’s nurse. 

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: 


  • With the COVID surge that I detailed at the beginning of this letter,  Monday has become an increasingly important public health break helping to reduce the overall transmission, contact tracing, and quarantining of our students and staff. Essentially the Monday DL Day is helping our schools remain open for in-person instruction Tuesday - Friday along with keeping athletics and, we anticipate, other spring events such as prom and graduation, going.     
  • Currently, about 20% of our students remain on full-time Distance Learning. Many of these students have underlying medical conditions preventing them from returning to in-person instruction.  Our full-time at-home learners still need to take State Assessments. These assessments have to be done in school. The safest time for them to be in school is on Monday, separate from the rest of the student body. As a result, RICAS English Language Arts, RICAS Mathematics, Next Generation Science, Alternate Assessments, as well as Kindergarten and other screenings, have all been scheduled on Mondays.   
  • Mondays also fall within two holidays and a previously scheduled Professional Development Day. 
  • Between assessments, screenings, holidays, etc. there are very few remaining unscheduled Mondays for the remainder of the school year. 

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

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Illness and Allergy Letter to Families

4/1/2021

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Dear North Smithfield Families,

As we have been closing out hybrid instruction and expanding in-person instruction, we have been reminding families that the intent of Distance Learning was to accommodate continuous instruction for full-time at-home students, students on the hybrid schedule, and students who have to quarantine. 

Unfortunately, we have received multiple reports of students falling back on Distance Learning because they: 
  • Slept late, 
  • Claimed they missed the bus, 
  • Decided on their own to attend classes online instead of in-person, 
  • Went on family vacations while school was in session. 

In these cases, Distance Learning was used as a convenience and not for its original intent.   

Our reminder was intended to end this behavior, and not to deny instruction to those with medical reasons and who may need to temporarily isolate at home

Quarantine, Illness, and Allergies
As you know, families are required to fill out a daily wellness screening before sending their children to school. Now that we have more than 80% of our students in the school buildings four days a week, this is especially important. We ask that you please be diligent about completing this daily screening. 
Children who are supposed to be learning in person are expected to be in school, and they are not permitted to participate in classes virtually when absent. However, if your child must be in isolation or quarantine, then participation in virtual instruction is permitted. Please follow these guidelines to help us support your child appropriately:
  • One Symptom: If your child has just one possible symptom of COVID, and it isn’t a symptom you associate with seasonal allergies, please keep your child home, call the school office to report your child sick along with the nature of the illness/symptom. If the illness aligns with any of the COVID symptoms, you may request online instruction. You should also contact your pediatrician for further guidance.
  • Two or More Symptoms: If your child exhibits two or more possible symptoms of COVID, please keep your child home, call the school office to report your child sick along with the nature of the illness/symptoms, request online instruction, and schedule a PCR COVID test. While your child isolates and waits for his or her PCR test results he or she can attend classes online. 
  • Seasonal Allergies - even if allergies are typical for your child - you must be thinking in terms of COVID when they first start. The first time your child has symptoms, keep your child at home, call the office to report your child sick along with the nature of the illness/symptoms, request online instruction, contact your pediatrician, and schedule a PCR test. If the test is negative, you may send your child to school daily as long as the symptoms do not change and additional symptoms do not develop. We will also accept official documentation from a doctor’s office regarding a seasonal recurrence of allergies. 
  • In all the situations above, while your child is self-isolating and waiting for a COVID test and/or test results, he or she is considered under quarantine and will be allowed to participate in virtual instruction. In all cases you must: 
    • Call the school office before the start of the school day to report your child sick along with the nature of the illness/symptoms. If the illness aligns with any of the COVID symptoms, you may request online instruction.
    • You should immediately schedule a COVID PCR test at https://covid.ri.gov/testing/testing-k-12-students-and-staff 
    • While you await test results your child may continue virtual instruction. PCR test results are typically available within 48 hours of testing. Please note that during any time of isolation or quarantine your child will not be permitted to participate in after-school extracurricular activities or athletics. 
    • Before your child is permitted to return to school in-person, you will need to provide to the school nurse an official doctor’s note or an official negative PCR COVID test result, as well as a completed Return to School After Illness Attestation form. https://health.ri.gov/publications/assessments/After-Illness-Return-Attestation.pdf
  • If your child does develop COVID, or if your child is identified as a close contact of someone with COVID, participation in virtual instruction is permitted for the length of your child’s quarantine. Please be sure that the school office is aware of the situation. 
  • If your child is too sick to attend classes, even online, also notify the school. Make-up work will be available when he or she feels better. 

While we all eagerly anticipate a return to normal, please remember that for us COVID is still very much our daily reality, especially as more students return to in-person instruction and the numbers of positive cases are again on the rise across the state. We want to continue to expand in-person instruction, and continue moving forward without risking a backslide. 


​As always, feel free to reach out to your school staff or school nurse with any questions. 

  • Michael St. Jean, Superintendent
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Superintendent Update 3/9/2021

3/9/2021

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Dear North Smithfield Families,

Friday, March 12th will be a Distance Learning Day as our district employees, bus drivers and monitors, kitchen workers, coaches, and everyone that works with our children, has the opportunity to receive vaccinations at the joint North Smithfield/Woonsocket vaccination clinic this Friday. Friday will be a synchronous day of instruction, meaning classes will still take place online. Teachers receiving their vaccination on Friday will arrange alternate assignments during the period their vaccination appointment is scheduled.  

Ending Hybrid Instruction starting with Grade 7:

We will be returning our remaining hybrid grade levels (7, 8, 10, 11) to four days a week in-person instruction beginning with Grade 7 which will return to four days a week instruction starting Tuesday March 16th. 

We will shortly announce a schedule for grades 8, 10, and 11 to end Hybrid scheduling. 

In order to do this, we will need everyone’s help and cooperation. For the remainder of this school year, we have to carefully manage our spacing and transportation. 

Buses are currently limited to 50% capacity, up to 36 students.  At NSES, with so many students returning from at-home instruction, several of our buses have reached the 36 student limit. We will continue to monitor and may have to adjust a few routes. 

For the MS/HS buses, we have some space on the buses to begin phasing out the hybrid schedule. We can’t do it all at once, but can ease into it and monitor our counts and make adjustments as needed. 

There is also a strong possibility that in the coming weeks the CDC and RIDOH will be issuing new bus guidance and raise the limits allowable on the bus.  

What expanding in-person learning will  mean (as of this writing)

  1. Monday, for now, will remain a Distance Learning Day for the district. We will still have students and classrooms moving in and out of quarantine. We have statewide testing scheduled on Mondays along with the previously scheduled professional development days and holidays.   
  2. Hybrid classes will no longer be an option. Students will either attend classes in-person or at-home Tuesday - Friday. We ask that you commit to one or the other as we can’t have students moving back between the two unless they are under quarantine. 
  3. At-home learning is only available only as a full-time parental choice due to a medical need or health concern, or when a student must quarantine. It was never intended to be used as a convenience.  
  4. We continue to welcome the return of our full-time at-home learners to in-person instruction. While we ask for a commitment, we understand that as more parents and relatives, who live in the same household as our students, receive their vaccinations, the risk to them is lowered and they will want their students to return to in-person learning. 
  5. With the return of our full-time at-home students and the remaining hybrid grade levels, students will be sitting closer in classrooms and in the cafeteria. We cannot maintain the recommended six feet of separation in every location. Fortunately, our schools have good ventilation and our mask-wearing, handwashing, and cleaning protocols are effective.  Additionally, as the weather gets warmer, we will move more activities outside.  
  6. Bus ridership remains restricted to 50% capacity. If you have access to alternate transportation to and/or from school we ask that you use it. As more students return to in-person learning, we may run out seats on the bus for those with no other means of transportation. As a result we will have to carefully manage our bus capacity, ridership, and routes. I am told that the CDC and RIDOH are reviewing this restriction and new guidance is forthcoming. Hopeful bus restrictions will no longer be an issue. 
  7. Specific school-related questions should be directed to your respective school administration.

Here’s to looking at the light at the end of the tunnel and finishing this year strong and together. 

Michael St. Jean, Superintendent 

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Superintendent Update 2/12/2021

2/12/2021

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Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,

I want to start off by wishing everyone a safe February Vacation and share a few updates. 

Facilities: 

Last Friday, we had to switch our middle school and high school to Distance Learning due to an exterior leak in the underground propane system that fed the middle school ovens and science labs. Despite the dramatic flames, people may have seen in the bus loop overnight and early in the morning, this was a controlled burn to empty the propane tank to begin repairs. I need to emphasize that at no point were our schools, students, or staff in danger. 

Not only did we have the leak repaired, but we also used this opportunity to implement other modifications and safety upgrades. The new systems have been fully inspected and will be back online shortly. 

February Vacation and Travel:

In previous years, our nurses always welcomed the February vacation as a firewall against the spread of the seasonal flu. We hope everyone will continue to practice caution during this week. 

We need to remind people that if you are traveling during this time, travel warnings and quarantine restrictions still apply:  https://covid.ri.gov/covid-19-prevention/travel-tofrom-ri

Student Returns:

Up until Thanksgiving, we opened grades PK-6, grade 9, and any student with an IEP and/or a 504 Plan to four days a week in-person. We were on a roll. The period of spikes between Thanksgiving and the New Year greatly slowed our progress, especially where entire grade levels were concerned. 

During this “pause” we did, however, prioritize additional students who were either on full-time Distance Learning, or in one of the hybrid grades, and offered families four days a week in-person instruction. Thirty students either switched from full Distance Learning to in-person learning or opted to increase their in-person days. 

Grade 12 is next. We are currently surveying seniors and their parents about their choice to expand instruction to four days a week or remain on full-time distance learning. This survey will help us to better assess capacity. Depending on the family and students’ responses, we may need to reschedule some students into alternate classes or sections to balance class sizes, find alternative locations for classes with larger enrollments in order to create more space for social distancing, and/or make adjustments to transportation, cafeteria assignments, and movement within the school. 

Going Forward: 

November and December were difficult months with contact tracing and the sheer numbers of staff and students who had to quarantine. Staffing classrooms on a daily basis was and is an on-going challenge. Thank you to all our teachers, instructional assistants, and administrators for your hard work and flexibility in keeping our schools open.

The Distance Learning week after the Winter Vacation was a welcome health break. We had comparatively few positive cases when we returned.  

Unfortunately, it has not stayed this way. At the end of last week, for example, we had 7 students and 3 staff who had tested positive with an additional 53 students and 19 staff under quarantine. 

Despite this mini-outbreak, we hold that our protocols and procedures are effective as to date,  transmissions of the virus appear to have all occurred outside of school and not from within our walls. 

Our goal remains to have all students returning to full in-person instruction.

We will be expanding our in-school BinaxNOW asymptomatic screenings. As the weather gets warmer, as more staff and people in the community receive vaccinations, and as guidance from the CDC and RI Department of Health is updated (with hopefully more relaxed restrictions), we will continue to evaluate the remaining Hybrid grades along with eliminating the Monday Distance Learning day. 

For the time being, we are still under restrictions that guide social distancing, classroom, and school layout and limit bus ridership capacity, cafeteria seating, and gathering sizes and locations.   

Community Support

We need everyone’s help maintaining a consistent schedule with the students. This is particularly true with the older students. Originally we required a quarter by a quarter commitment to full Distance Learning. After school reopened and based on numerous family requests, we relaxed this commitment and allowed students to move in and out of Distance Learning. Unfortunately, we are now seeing Distance Learning being used by some as a convenience and not as a health or medical necessity. For example, on days students are supposed to be in school, we have seen some instead attend classes online because they overslept. We have some student-athletes who have switched to Distance Learning and later learned that they did so because they did not want to increase their chances of being quarantined and missing a portion of the season. 

With this in mind, and based on phone calls, emails, and conversations with parents, students, and staff, I’d like to make the following observation: The changes and cancellations brought by COVID are difficult on our students. As adults, no matter the pressures we feel, the weight of our responsibilities, or how tired we are, we need to remember to remain positive and consistent and not unintentionally contribute to their disappointment, anxiety, or uncertainty.  For our children and students, we need to project positivity, engage their interests, and continue to nurture their natural curiosity and creativity. During a pandemic, in the cold and grey of winter, it is easy to forget to just let go and play and laugh with the kids.  

Everyone, please have a happy and safe February Vacation. Play, laugh, and anticipate the warmer and better days ahead. 


Michael St. Jean, Superintendent

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North Smithfield School Department
P.O. Box 72
​Slatersville, RI 02876 
P: (401) 769-5492      F: (401) 769-5493

Michael St. Jean, Superintendent
North Smithfield Middle School - ​Room 137
1850 Providence Pike
North Smithfield, RI  02896

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