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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AuthorMichael St. Jean, Archives
October 2024
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