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Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
Before I share some details of our plan, I want to thank all of our families, students, and staff for their quick and amazing pivot to distance learning last year. The dedication, innovation, and patience exhibited by all was truly remarkable. North Smithfield accepted the challenge and met it. We have another challenge before us: To reopen schools safely in the fall. The Governor’s Office and Rhode Island Department of Education have tasked school districts to develop reopening plans to cover a spectrum of possibilities.
We have worked within our own committees and neighboring school districts and attempted to follow the current Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) guidance. Thank you to all the parents who responded to our school reopening family survey. Our committees read your reopening concerns and suggestions. Our principals and assistant principals read your individual concerns about your child or children. I wish I could address all your questions and worries with certainty, but as you will see, there are still so many unknowns. Although we submitted three DRAFT plans, they are not set in stone. Many questions, issues, and unknowns remain and as a result, details are likely to change:
Reopening Plans Guiding Principles To support all stakeholders in reopening schools, RIDE and NSPS will follow five (5) guiding principles for the planning, decision-making, and execution of returning to school:
Common Elements to All Plans Cleaning, Social Distancing, Facial Coverings
Transportation
Distance Learning
Plan #1: Full In-Person RIDE Definition:
DRAFT Summary
Plan #2: Partial In-Person RIDE Definition
DRAFT Summary
Plan #3: Limited In-Person RIDE Definition
DRAFT Summary
As you can see, the logistics of reopening our schools, resuming a quality education, and ensuring the health and safety of our students, teachers, and staff is a daunting proposition while COVID-19 is still present within our community. I understand that this letter and the draft plan summary have probably created more questions than it answered so I have scheduled a virtual forum to discuss further. Topic: NSPS School Reopening Community Forum Time: Thursday July 23, 2020 at 6:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) https://zoom.us/j/95621651719?pwd=MDlwS1VSRXFKK1J4VHY4alJrNXBhdz09 Dial by your location +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) Meeting ID: 956 2165 1719 Password: 458291 To help us better manage the discussion of this important topic in an online community forum, we are asking that you enter your questions or comments beforehand. We will review and combine similar questions and provide as many answers as we can at the beginning of the forum. https://forms.gle/ZQuHMtXdKbGXg1A78 I mention at the beginning of this letter that I wish I could tell you with great certainty the plans RIDE wants us to submit will meet all needs and satisfies all concerns. But I can’t. What I can do is assure you that all of us at the North Smithfield Public Schools are committed to the health, safety, and success of all our students and will do everything we can in response to whatever situation or condition our community finds itself in August and beyond. Sincerely, Michael St. Jean Superintendent NSPS School Reopening Website: https://www.nsps.us/reopening.html 7/21/2020 School Committee School Reopening Presentation Slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tMBbW66jGLYIENGeuBUcWlGN9SI8jGe9/view 7/21/2020 School Committee School Reopening Presentation Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPYkWaUXMp4
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 Superintendent Update 7/8/2020 - School Reopening Information and Survey
North Smithfield Public Schools will be submitting to the Rhode Island Department of Education reopening plans to cover each of three specific scenarios:
We have committees working on:
We are also collaborating with school districts in our region and across the state. Our Initial plans are due to the Department of Education by July 17th. The Department of Education has hired a consulting firm to review plans and provide feedback. Regionally, we will be sharing the best solutions and coordinating our efforts to bring our students back to school safely. Our Goal: Our goal is to re-open with the “Full in-person for All” model. To that end we will be:
This is just a small list. In order to reopen safely, the overall changes and restructuring will be extensive. We will try and minimize any disruptions and ensure a smooth transition to instruction regardless if conditions in August allow us to re-open fully, partially, or we have to return to an improved distance learning. Once RIDE has reviewed our plans and we have submitted modifications we will share the plan with the community. We anticipate RIDE will be releasing finalized plans around July 30th. We will continue to reach out to the community for input as we work through revisions and changing State, DOH, and CDC guidance as we get closer to school opening. As of this writing, we have no determination from the Interscholastic League regarding a resumption of school athletics. Transportation and Family Survey: Transportation is a major concern as the current guidance for buses limits ridership to one student per seat, or approximately 25 students per bus. No district in the state has the means to simply add more buses and drivers. Superintendents have requested raising the ridership to at least two students per seat (face coverings on, looking forward, disinfecting hands when getting on and off the bus). If this new limit is approved we will be able to transport most students who typically ride the bus. We will still have to pull together and help out with carpools and other means of getting to and from school. Please take a moment to complete this short survey for each student your family in order to give us a better sense of the changes we may have to consider in order to transport our students to and from school. Included is a (non-binding) question asking would you would consider a distance learning option, if available, rather than returning to school in-person? We also want to hear your own questions, comments, or suggestions regarding reopening in the fall. https://forms.gle/uxF7d5NqVTHzXD4N8 For Further Information: We have bundled and will continue to expand our school reopening plans, guides, and templates at https://www.nsps.us/reopening.html. This site currently contains the RIDE Statewide School Calendar, RIDE Reopening FAQ (mental, physical, and social-emotional health, protocols), and RIDE Reopening Plan Guidance and will continue to expand as our own plans develop and new guidance is added. Thank you, Michael St. Jean, Superintendent Superintendent Update 4/29/2020: May/June Planning
Dear North Smithfield Families, Staff, and Students, Please review below updates and plans for May/June. Please keep in mind that situations and guidance may change and we may update or modify a few items along the way. May/June Statewide School Calendar May 06, Wednesday Planning Day for Teachers May 15, Friday Vacation Day May 20, Wednesday Planning Day for Teachers May 25, Monday Memorial Day June 01, Monday Planning Day for Teachers June 16, Tuesday Last Day of School Student pickup of personal items Each school will be bagging up the contents of student desks and lockers, labeling the bags, and releasing a time/date schedule for curbside pickup of student personal contents. Student return of textbooks, chromebooks, and instruments Students in grades K-11 can hold for the summer any textbooks, workbooks, chromebooks, musical instruments, or any school-owned property currently at home and bring it back on the first day of school in the fall. Graduating Seniors will be given a separate opportunity and time to return school-owned property. Families who move out of North Smithfield during the summer or plan to attend a school out of district, please call your child’s school and arrange for a return. Grading and Exams Due to the interruption of standard classes for extended Distance Learning, report card grades for K-8 students will be issued as Pass/Fail during the last semester/trimester. The report card grading for students in grades 9-12 will remain unchanged as their grades are connected with School and State graduation requirements, grade point averages, college admissions, and other considerations. For middle and high school students, there will be no scheduled final exams at the end of the school year. While teachers may give some form of assessment at the end of this semester, there will be no comprehensive final exams. Graduation and end of year activities and events I would like to send a special thank you to everyone who sent in their ideas and offers of help to celebrate our graduating seniors. The School Committee has pledged its full support and we are still holding onto the original graduation date of Friday, June 5th and are currently working on multiple plans and options to align with the Governor’s and DOH’s guidance. We all want to do something special and memorable for our graduating seniors. Our principals will send specific information to let you know how we will be handling events such as kindergarten registration, honors, graduation, etc. Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
We anticipate the Governor will make an announcement this week regarding schools opening or remaining closed, and if so, for how long. In the meantime, we are making plans, alternate plans, and backup to alternate plans on how we can handle honors, awards, and graduation. We want to make our students proud. North Smithfield High School Viewbook: It was my hope to have our NSHS Viewbook printed and distributed throughout the community as a celebration of North Smithfield High School, its students, faculty, and programs. For those who miss NSHS, or will be attending NSHS in the fall, or even if you live outside of North Smithfield and would like to attend NSHS through one of our Career and Technical Programs, below is a link to the North Smithfield High School Viewbook. In this booklet, you will see students, staff, a school, and a community dedicated to excellence. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1eKP4SyPXwcYf8KT0qeUtyZ25IDV9DTzG Parent Distance Learning Survey I want to thank the parents who responded to our Parent Distance Learning Survey. As a reflection of the innovative work our teachers are doing with your children, the majority of you responded very positively to the survey questions. The feedback you provided on striking a work/home balance, organizing assignments, and providing clear expectations has been invaluable. Your responses to the questions regarding instructional, social, and technical supports will allow us to work even more closely with your children to help them be successful. We especially appreciated the many thoughtful and insightful comments you included. Each principal has taken the comments specific to his or her school and is reviewing them with their leadership teams and faculty. Since this survey was anonymous, we cannot follow-up with the few individuals to address your specific issues or concerns. We can however encourage you to reach out to your teacher, case manager, school counselor, assistant principal or principal as we are all here to help. We are all working together in the current situation to accommodate all students' needs. Thank you for your assistance. Michael St. Jean, Superintendent Dear North Smithfield Families,
Last we sent to our teachers and support personnel a summary of Instructional Guidelines for Distance Learning. These Guidelines are based on parent and student feedback and best practices seen and suggested by North Smithfield’s teachers and administrators. We are sharing the guidelines with our families for review as well. Please take a look. At the end we are including a link to a brief survey form for your direct input and feedback. General Considerations
We welcome any further input by completing our brief survey: https://forms.gle/YdBAWPAfBfYcsT5c6 Michael St. Jean, Superintendent Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
Now that we know Distance Learning will continue for the month of April, we can expand our plans somewhat. I am including some general information below. New Statewide April School Calendar:
A few notes from the Commissioner and Governor
A Note on Distance Learning and Privacy In response to the COVID-19 health crisis, all Rhode Island Schools have been directed by the Rhode Island Department of Education to provide remote learning. In order to facilitate some of our remote learning classes, our District is utilizing various remote technology platforms. For the most part we are utilizing technology tools within the Google ecosystem. These have all been vetted for FERPA requirements regarding privacy concerns. However, the District may also utilize other platforms providing streaming video and schoolwork online through other systems, such as Screencastify, Video Chat tools, Zoom, etc. All these products will have the ability to capture video and sound within range of the camera and microphone within your home or any place your child uses the technology. Such information may also be seen or heard by other students sharing the distance learning platform. Also, portions of classes may be recorded and maintained as an educational record, such as music class performances. For this reason, we are asking that you be mindful of your child’s use of these technologies and protect your family’s privacy while classes are in session. Many of these technologies have provision to mute video and/or sound. Utilizing and logging on to these services will act as consent to your child’s use of the same. Each of our principals will follow up with school-specific information. Stay safe and stay connected and engaged. Michael St. Jean, Superintendent Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
We are wrapping up our first week of Distance Learning with a second week coming up. We have been told the Governor will announce if there is to be a continuation of Distance Learning after next week. With the support of our teachers, partners, and the community, North Smithfield Public Schools (NSPS) is prepared to deliver whatever is required of us to best support our students and families of our community. Expanding Meals With the assistance of our partners at Chartwells, NSPS this week expanded our free lunch and breakfast “drive and go” service to include any NSPS student whose family may need extra assistance, not just those who previously qualified for free or reduced lunch. We are further expanding this service to include with Friday’s drive and go pickup additional lunches and breakfasts to cover the weekend. We also realize that some families may have difficulty with transportation between the 11:30 - 12:30 pickup time so we have authorized Chartwells to distribute lunches to NS students regardless if they are in the car or not and/or if someone is picking up and delivering on behalf of another family. To help us determine how many meals to prepare, we ask that you fill out this confidential form at https://forms.gle/USmP7rgG7hJkGNnSA. Please register only if you intend on picking up a meal or can have someone get it for you, so nothing will go to waste. Technology Our technology team continues to shine and keep NSPS on the forefront of Distance Learning. In addition to highlighting their work troubleshooting technology issues and supporting teachers, students, and parents, this week they also:
This is a truncated list of all they did this week, so a big shoutout to our Technology Team on behalf of all NSPS employees, students, and families. Maintaining a Community One of the challenges with Distance Learning and working remotely is maintaining a sense of community. Our classrooms and hallways are now dark and empty of movement from teachers and students passing, building, and creating and our schools are silent of conversation, laughter, and song. Yes the school buildings are closed and we are physically separated from one another, but social distancing does not mean we cannot still be social and maintain our community connections. To that end we all have enjoyed Mrs. Daigneault’s daily morning announcements and Mrs. Salvatore’s stories and all the other posts and comments on Facebook. We have also laughed at some of the creative and joyful posts on NSMS’ Instagram site during their virtual Spirit Week this week. Just as our students have their Google Classrooms, there is a Google Classroom for teachers. In the teacher’s Classroom, there are videos they have posted sharing with their colleagues and friends their experiences from the day of Distance Learning. These videos range from extremely funny to insightful and informative. Not only are our teachers working to support their students and families, but they are also working to support each other. Whether through the use of social media, email, video conferencing, or direct calls and conversations from our social workers, psychologists, school guidance counselors, teachers, special educators, interventionists, and instructional assistants, we are holding onto our sense of community with our students and families. We have also received so many much appreciated positive, encouraging and supportive emails from families. It is these connections between school and home and each other that epitomizes North Smithfield and North Smithfield Public Schools as a community dedicated to excellence. Soon we should have an idea of how long Distance Learning is anticipated to continue. No matter the length of time, we have been discussing and planning for any possibility and minimizing any impact on student learning, recognition, graduation, and opportunities. Michael St. Jean, Superintendent Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
As we go into the final day of “April Vacation” and start Distance Learning on Monday, I want to extend to the community several assurances: Meals North Smithfield is expanding its "grab and go" school lunch offering beyond students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch. We will now include any North Smithfield student whose family can use extra assistance. To help us determine how many lunches to make, please fill in the linked form at https://forms.gle/Bra3dB5MvjDnKQXY7. All information will be kept confidential. The form also includes pickup times and alternate locations. Academic Our Distance Learning Page is at http://nsps.us/dl and it contains learning resources, information, and technical support. We will continue to add to the resources and information on this page. Distance Learning will be a new experience for many of us, at least to this extent. However, North Smithfield teachers and students are in a good position to make this transition. After the initial adjustment and practice period, I fully anticipate some creative and amazingly cool teaching and learning to happen. We do understand that flexibility is required and we are not expecting students to be placed in front of a computer for 7 hours straight plus homework. We understand that parents may also be working from home, older students may be caring for younger brothers and sisters, and many of our students may not even be in their own homes during the day as grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors are called on for childcare. We get this, especially as many of our teachers will also be working from home and assisting their own children with Distance Learning while they work with your children. This is a unique situation for everyone and collectively we will make it work. Social/Emotional While I am not as concerned about delivering instruction via Distance Learning (because our teachers and students will be brilliant), I am concerned about supporting our student’s social/emotional well being. To that end, we have asked our School Counselors, Social Workers, and Psychologists to monitor our students, to be in constant contact with our teachers, to reach out and support, and be available to any student who needs assistance. During distance learning, we are going to try and maintain our community connections. Some students may feel socially or emotionally isolated while they are maintaining physical distance. Fortunately we have good people who are available to talk, to email, or to conference with our students. On our Distance Learning Page at http://www.nsps.us/dl we have posted a social/emotional support letter from our specialists with additional contacts and resources for families. Special Needs While our special educators will be working collaboratively with our grade level and content area teachers, our case managers and instructional assistants will be reaching out to students and families to offer support and academic assistance. Please be advised that service delivery will look very different during Distance Learning, but our ultimate goal is the same; to have our students continue to meet with success. We will have to be very creative, but I am confident that we will work out the means to continue support and services. Finally, I’d like to ask for everyone’s patience, understanding, and cooperation in the coming weeks, but I also firmly believe that we are going to have some great educational experiences. Michael St. Jean, Superintendent Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
At noon today the Governor announced that all Rhode Island Public Schools will transition to Distance Learning for the next two weeks with a potential return date of Monday, April 6th at the earliest. North Smithfield Schools has prepared for this and is ready to continue instruction and support our students and families during this time.
All NSPS staff are fully committed to continuing instruction and to do the work that is needed to support our students and families during these challenging conditions. The past few weeks have seen among our teachers, staff, and administrators a release of creative energies and ideas as to how we can best serve our students in this evolving situation. We do, however, ask for your patience and cooperation as we walk this path together. We will keep communications open and we assure you that we will be here for our students. Please, everyone remain healthy. Michael St. Jean, Superintendent Dear North Smithfield Families and Staff,
Before we enter the uncharted waters next week and beyond, I want to share a timeline and extend my thanks and appreciation to everyone Timeline North Smithfield has been ready for this for a long time. Four years ago North Smithfield Schools began to refine our infrastructure, increase investments in educational technology, expand and streamline our resources, services, and applications, and focus our professional development to support Any Time, Any Place, Any Path, Any Pace Learning Two years ago North Smithfield Schools submitted an application along with comprehensive virtual instruction plans to the Rhode Island Department of Education in support of new legislation to offset snow days. We rescinded that application when it became apparent the Department of Education was not ready to approve any plans. However it did not change the fact that North Smithfield was ready. On Tuesday, in anticipation of a possible school closing, we re-opened our plan from two years ago and revised to accommodate emergency school closures for an extended amount of time. North Smithfield was ready. On Wednesday, our principals met with our department heads, team leaders, grade-level leaders and teachers to notify them to start ramping up for virtual learning possibilities. On Thursday, the Commissioner of Education sent an email to superintendents to submit virtual and distant learning plans by the following Friday. We did not wait a week. An hour later, North Smithfield submitted a comprehensive 30 page plan.. At 12:30pm on Friday during an emergency conference call with the Rhode Island Department of Health, we learned the Governor was going to announce schools are to close starting Monday. The purpose of the closure was to limit exposure to the Coronavirus and allow districts time to work on virtual instruction plans if school closures needed to be extended. By 1:00pm on Friday, as the rest of the State was learning of the imminent school closure, North Smithfield teachers had already prepared learning packets, issued students additional textbooks and workbooks, and distributed additional chromebooks to send home with our students at the end of the day. These physical materials will supplement the extensive online systems and services that our teachers and students have been using routinely over many years. North Smithfield was, is, and will be ready if needed. Thank you’s and recognitions I want to expand on my early thank you’s to our custodial staff for their diligent cleaning and disinfecting, and to our nurses for their knowledge, practice, and support of our students and families. Additional thanks goes out to Clare Arnold and Tracey Nangle and the dozens of teachers who developed our original Virtual Learning Application and plans. Thank you to our Technology Department who, even though many of our Chromebooks are now over 5 years old and in desperate need of replacing, have kept our equipment, networking, communications, and technical infrastructure finely tuned and at the ready. I thank our School Committee who have done so much to improve student learning opportunities, expand access, and made 1:1 computing a reality by continuously advocating for our students and helping to hold onto funds to push our programs and plans forward. I thank our principals and teachers for the work they did to prepare our schools for closure even before we knew we would close. I want to give special thanks and recognition to our senior employees, especially those teachers, instructional assistants, administrative assistants, and custodians whose long careers and age places them in a higher risk category yet they still came to work everyday to teach, support our students, run our offices, and clean and disinfect our classrooms. Your dedication to North Smithfield and our students is exemplary. And finally I thank our students and parents and the community of North Smithfield. Even as anxiety around COVID-19 increased every day, there remained a sense cooperation and community even as it became increasingly difficult to hold onto the calm. We will see where the coming weeks take us, but I am confident that North Smithfield will be okay due to our combined talents, capacity, and mutual support. Michael St. Jean, Superintendent |
AuthorMichael St. Jean, Archives
December 2020
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