Mansfield Public Schools
June 3, 2020
Last evening, at the beginning of our School Committee Meeting, the following was read by Chair Kiera O'Neil on behalf of the School Committee and District leadership:
Embedded in our district vision statement is the idea that through our collective work, all students will achieve their personal best and become meaningful contributors to our society.
We remain committed to this belief, and even more so when watching the events of the past week unfold. The anger, sadness, outrage, and hurt felt by many members of our community and by many across the nation over the senseless deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd is real.
We acknowledge there are systemic forces in play beyond the scope of our schools to address. However, more importantly, we recognize the incredibly powerful and pivotal role our schools have in preparing our children for a more inclusive, diverse, and racially just future.
We ask each member of our school community - Committee members, administrators, staff, students, and families - to renew their commitment to achieving our district's ideal, to work together to acknowledge and address racial inequity in our schools and beyond, to speak up when hate is spoken, to support efforts that oppose racism and oppression, and to continue to work to create a safe learning environment that supports all our students achieving their personal best and contributing to a better future.
Kiera O'Neil, Chair
Lynn Cavicchi, Vice Chair
Linda Fernando
Lauren Scher
Jenn Walsh
Teresa Murphy, Superintendent
Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
Edward Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations
RETURN TO SCHOOL COMMITTEES
I am pleased to announce the formation of two committees to help with our return to school plan. The committees and their organizers are as follows:
Return to Schools Safely
Ed Donoghue, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Operations
Christine Dooling, Director of Health Services
Teaching and Learning Advisory
Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning
The Return to Schools Safely committee, comprised of 40 people, is tasked with researching and making recommendations in the following areas: schools as a workplace, academic space framework, extra and co-curricular framework, eating spaces framework, transportation, facilities and cleaning, and social emotional support for students and staff.
Examples of what these groups will work on include arrival and dismissal procedures, cleaning protocols, classroom configuration and communication and education materials to ensure all public health parameters to encourage behaviors that reduce the spread of COVID-19 are available, shared and understood.
Representatives include administrators, teachers, staff, parents and community members.
The objective of the Teaching and Learning Advisory is to provide advice and guidance in the school’s work to develop remote and flexible learning plans for next school year. This committee is also comprised of district staff and community members.
We are currently looking for two parents from each school to become representative members to the district committee. If you are interested, please email your child’s school principal by Friday, June 5th. In addition we will continue to engage our student leaders in these conversations and will ask for feedback from the community through surveys.
All meetings will be held virtually on the following days:
Wednesday, June 10 (4pm to 5:30pm)
Wednesday, June 17 (4pm to 5:30pm)
Wednesday, June 24 (4pm to 5:30pm)
Sincerely,
Teresa Murphy
Superintendent's Listening Tour
In order to provide families with an opportunity to share your thoughts about remote learning and to receive updates on how we are preparing for the 2020-2021 school year, we will host a virtual town hall style meeting on Monday, June 8 at 6:00 PM.
The goal is to listen more than talk during this meeting. We want to know what has worked for you and your children? What would you prefer distance learning to look like? Every grade, every subject, every student, every family is different and we are trying to meet all needs. This is an opportunity for us to hear from you as we prepare for September and beyond.
A link to access the meeting will be provided on Monday and will be posted on our district Facebook and Twitter accounts and our web page.
The tentative agenda is as follows:
Opening Remarks and Return to School Safely Update
Superintendent Murphy
Update on Teaching & Learning
Michael Connolly, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
Audience Comments and Feedback
Contact Information
Email: school.notifications@mansfieldschools.com
Website: www.mansfieldschools.com
Location: 2 Park Row, Mansfield, MA, USA
Phone: 508-261-7500
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mansfield-Public-Schools-508839202499633/
Twitter: @MansfieldSchool