Superintendent's Report to SC 11.4.20

 Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee

November 4, 2020

• Seesaw Family Training - 10/29/20

• About 10 participants

• Recorded and can be found on our website under “Family Technology Link”

• Seesaw Family Presentation (video)

• Seesaw Family Presentation (slides)

• November 3rd Professional Development

• Technology offerings included:

• Google Drawing

• Goog;e Forms

• Google Slides

• Google Arts & Culture

• Seesaw

• EdPuzzle

• ESPs and Tutors

• Zoom and Google Calendar

• Google Classroom

• Commissioner Call - 11/2/20

• Last week, I reported the Commissioner was concerned about the amount of asynchronous learning across the state for those of us in the 2:1:2 hybrid model.

• As a result, extensive data collection by this Friday on structured learning time.  

• Seriously, considering moving ahead of DESE and into the 3:2 model beginning the week after Thanksgiving, Monday the 30th.

• Critical that families and students continue to adhere to the safety guidance during the long holiday weekend and gatherings.  

• We have seen how far-reaching one positive case can be.

• COVID-19 Case and Information

• We had our first positive case and the impact reached far and wide.

• All the appropriate legal and medical steps were taken at the appropriate time and in the appropriate order.

• The district cannot control what information individuals share with the community, only what we share and we have to be very careful.

• I understand the fear that is out there with “not knowing” all the information and this is a struggle for some people.

• We are bound by law and state guidance (in collaboration with DPH) with the protocols, quarantining, timeline, and communications.  The school district did not make up these rules.

• When DPH reaches out to families about being a “close contact” and the quarantine expectations, I would hope families would be kinder than I am hearing some are being when are health professionals are just doing their job

• Finally, a reminder to EVERYONE, that if EVERYONE; students, teachers, tutors, ESPs, coaches, custodians, administrative assistants, principals, directors, EVERYONE, is following our 6ft. social distancing and mask-wearing protocols, then that REDUCES the likelihood of the number of identifiable “CLOSE CONTACTS.”

• October 1 Enrollment Submission

• 6.22.20 Enrollment Data

• 10.1.20 Enrollment Data

• Enrollment Comparison by Grade

• Enrollment II Survey MASS

Superintendent's Update to SC 10.14.20

 Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee

October 14, 2020

• Cohort Assignments

• In order to meet the needs of families with children in grades K-8, we are dividing students into cohorts, alphabetically by last name, so that siblings are on the same hybrid schedule.  Cohort A will include students with last names from the first half of the alphabet and Cohort B will include students with last names from the second half of the alphabet.  Exceptions to placement in cohorts are being made for students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) so that these students can receive services with peers with similar needs. Siblings of students on plans will be scheduled with one another. 

• Middle school cohort assignments will be sent Friday, October 16th, while elementary and high school will be sent on Monday, October 19th.  

• Survey Deadline

• Unfortunately, the deadline for the survey will not be extended.  Many of you have communicated that you do not have enough information to answer the survey especially without knowing the cohort in which your child(ren) will be scheduled. Similarly, our administrators need information about your decision (whether or not to remain fully remote or participate in the hybrid model) in order to finalize the cohorts to adhere to the occupancy limitations of the learning spaces available in your building during this pandemic.  

• SPS Hybrid Plan

• In the Reopening Plan - ReUNITE 2020, which was also linked in yesterday’s letter and published on the website in August, the Hybrid Learning Model was outlined at each level in detail beginning on Page 23. 

• At that time, the elementary schools proposed two plans either an AM/PM model or the 2:1:2 model.  The AM/PM model can be found on pg. 24 while the 2:1:2 model which can be found on pg. 25. The middle school proposed an AM/PM plan that can be found on pg. 26. The high school hybrid model is the same as was proposed back in August. 

• As much as we all want our students in school more often and would prefer the AM/PM model we MUST keep the health, safety, and welfare of our students, staff, and faculty at the forefront of our decision making. As a result, in collaboration and many discussions with our Occupational Health Nurse, our School Nursing Department, and our Director of Facilities it was determined that the facilities would be unable to be appropriately cleaned and sanitized during the AM and PM cohorts. Therefore, the 2:1:2 model is the most sound decision for health reasons during this pandemic, which I will note is the only substantive change to the original plan that the middle school created in the original document. 

• Here is the SPS Hybrid Plan beginning on October 26th.

• Live Streaming

• Our district technology department is made up of three full-time employees:

• Lytania Mackey Knowles - Director of Technology, Digital Learning, and Innovation

• Vlad Akim - Network Manager 

• Stephen Silbert - Senior Technology Specialist

• If you look at the webpage on our website for this department there are other staff listed, however, these are part-time positions with these staff members in other full-time positions in our district.  https://sites.google.com/swampscott.k12.ma.us/digitallearning/home

• For those who are questioning why we didn’t prepare to live stream immediately when we transition to the hybrid model the answer is we made another difficult choice. 

• Our first priority was to address the device needs of our students for Remote Learning. This small but mighty Technology Department, along with the help of our high school Tech Ninjas, prepared and deployed approximately 2,200 1:1 devices to students in our district K-12. Our inventory is now over 3,000 devices to be managed and repaired by this department. 

• In addition, committing to “live streaming” on the same day (10/26) when approximately 1,000 students will be returning to the buildings for the first time in eight months is just unrealistic. Our first job is to assist students with the new safety routines and expectations and teach them how to move around safely in and around the buildings. 

• We also planned our E-Rate cycle. We could not foresee that COVID would stall the approval of these projects. Our approval just came through last week to upgrade our network cabling so that we can support more bandwidth. The E-Rate window opened again so that we have an opportunity to get more bandwidth at a cost that is not outrageous.

• Finally, we are working with a consultant to figure out our firewall. Our firewall-which stops ALL traffic into and out of SPS to check it for compliance with CIPA- only handles 1 gigabyte right now. We are trying to find an expansion option so that we can support increased bandwidth. 

• We have not ruled out remote students viewing live through Zoom, however, as with our entire approach during this pandemic, it will be a phased-in process.   

Superintendent's Update to SC 9.23.20

 Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee

September 23, 2020

Occupational Health Nurse:

• Mrs. Amanda Mulcahy is an RN with 13 years of experience in the medical field working as a Medical Assistant, EMT, and Nursing Assistant.

• We have developed a robust 30-day Entry Plan which includes meeting with the lead nurse, nursing staff, visiting buildings, reaching out to the Health Dept. and reviewing COVID-related policies and procedures we already have in place.

• Amanda is part of my Central Office Team, District Crisis Team, HSAC Committee, and Leadership Team. 

• Workplace Welcome Letter and Faculty and Staff survey

Opening of Schools:

• School visits - Lots of teachers in their classrooms Zooming with students

• Faculty and Staff LOA requests from 75 to approximately 15.  Still in process and gathering more information.

• Glitch with Zoom and some of the Chromebooks - Tech dept on it

• Glitches with some high school students’ schedules

• Happy we are following a phased approach:

• Sanitation signs

• Room occupancy/capacity signs

• The first cohort of High Needs students - Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Raymond

Kindergarten Screening:

• Completed at the elementary level.  Article in the Lynn Item about Clarke’s screening under the tents.

Facilities Update:

• Water fountains being replaced with sinks. Hadley (2) Stanley and Clarke (1 ea)

• Medical Isolation Rooms (SHS)

SHS, Stanley, SMS Exhaust systems installed

• Kick-off meeting with mechanical contractor last week, this week the work began.

• Exploring the fluid in the middle school heating system to glycol instead of water to avoid freeze-ups and pipe bursts.

• Invitation School Committee members to visit the buildings with Mrs. Raymond & me in the next few weeks.  

Educational Materials Distribution - Director of Teaching and Learning, Dr. Bacon

Reading and Math Assessments (3 & 4) - Director of Teaching & Learning, Dr. Bacon

Superintendent's Update to SC 8.5.20

 Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee

August 5, 2020

SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS (SIPs)

• “Regular” business of the district continues

• The District Strategy and Action Plan are in development

• Building level School Improvement Plans, Action Plans, and Needs Assessments

• SIPs will be presented at the September 9th School Committee Meeting

REOPENING FALL 2020

• Article in Commonwealth Magazine & Call with the Commissioner Monday, 8.3.20

• 90% of school districts hybrid or full in-person 

• There is a distinct possibility of additional federal monies that will have strings attached to hybrid or in-person learning

• If districts choose full remote - athletics are in jeopardy

• If districts choose full remote - DESE Board will be going out to districts and auditing - accountability

• Comprehensive Plan Submission

• Originally due August 10th

• Many, many districts have School Committee meetings scheduled for the 10th, 11th, 12th like we do

• For this reason the Commissioner was open to districts requesting an extension for submission until August 14th

• Our submitted request for the extension was approved by the Commissioner

• Time on Learning

• Typical Year/School Year 2020-2021

• Student Learning Time for Students = 180/170 days

• Structured Time on Learning Requirements

• 900/850 hours for elementary/middle school students

• 990/935 for high school students

• These additional days to provide sufficient training and preparation time for educators and staff prior to the start of the school year

• Must begin instruction to students no later than September 16, 2020 or apply for a waiver.

• Updated 20-21SY School Calendar/Early Release Days

• Substitute Data for the Fall

• August 3rd - Substitute Data

• At least seven more being hired - the pool is growing

• Updated Building Protocols

• Self-Certification Forms

• Swampscott Employee Log

• Swampscott Guest Log

• Finishing our School Department Safety Plan

• Reopening Plan Fall 2020

• The reopening of schools is complicated with many, many layers

• As I’ve said before - no two districts are alike

• We were directed by Jeffrey Riley, the Commissioner of Education at the Department of Elementary Education, on many conference calls NOT to release our plans until on or before August 10th.  

• Our district has followed that directive.

• Lots of meetings, lots of feedback from parents and families

• No plan is going to be perfect for all

• WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR STUDENTS?

• DATA? EQUITY? SOCIAL EMOTIONALLY?

• SPS Fall 2020 Reopening Plan

Superintendent's Report to SC 7.22.20

Superintendent’s Report to the School Committee

July 22, 2020

DESE Summer and Vacation Learning Program Grant: - Dr. Bacon

Points of review from 6.24.20 School Committee meeting:

• Last week, we submitted an “Intent to Apply” for this grant by the due date of June 18th

• On June 19th the grant was posted. 

• Hundreds of districts have shown an interest in this grant and the district and schools that submitted an intent to apply will be considered first.

• This is a new, competitive, federally-funded grant established to help local school districts...develop, expand, or enhance high-quality, in-person, remote, or hybrid programs for the summer of 2020 and/or school vacations during the 2020-2021 school year and/or support the development and implementation of weekend learning programs to take place during the 2020-2021 school year.

• The district is in the process of writing this grant which is due July 2nd.

• We were notified this week that Swampscott Public Schools has been awarded an FY21 Summer and Vacation Learning Program Grant of $11,320.

Grants, Grants, and More Grants: - Ms. Sybert

Athletics:

• The MIAA COVID-19 Task Force recommends the MIAA BOD adopt Sept 14, 2020, as the start date for fall sports that are allowed to be played in accordance with the forthcoming DESE and EEA guidelines.  (K. Crowley/B. McCann) *This is the start date for the pre-season of the sports determined viable to play at this time.

• More guidance coming early August according to Commissioner Riley.

Fall Re-Opening:

• Communication has and will continue to be the key to our reopening success.

• Union and Central Office Leadership meetings have continued throughout the summer.

• My Tuesday Talks have also continued with the district faculty and staff this summer.  

• These webinars are live but I am also recording and sharing out to faculty and staff so they can watch at their leisure.

• SPS Reopening Schools Fall 2020