Dear CPS Community,
The Thanksgiving break is right around the corner, it’s hard to believe November will soon be over and our sights will be set on the new year! As next week will be a short one (school-wise), and I will not share a newsletter, I want to take this opportunity to express my continued appreciation for the cooperation and support of all in our CPS community working to make the 2021-22 school year a success. In many ways, this year is more difficult than last, as teachers, support staff, and building administrators reinstitute expectations and routines for learning with all students and staff back full-time, in-person this fall. I hope you enjoy some rest and relaxation with your family next week and enjoy a few days away from school. Happy Thanksgiving!
COVID-19 Pool Testing
I want to touch upon a few things this week as reminders to our CPS community as we continue to manage our schools with increased health and safety protocols given COVID. We just completed our 8th week of COVID pool testing. Since the end of September, we have administered 9,729 tests of students and staff in the district. Of those tests, 18 returned a positive result for COVID. That’s a 0.19% positivity rate, which is incredibly low. I appreciate the staff and students who have registered to participate in this free, weekly test initiative. You may still register your child(ren) to participate in future weeks. To do so, please complete the COVID-19 Pool Testing registration form.
Due to the Thanksgiving holiday break, we will not be conducting student and staff COVID-19 Pool Testing next week. It is not recommended to initiate Pool Testing on a shortened week, as we are unable to complete the entire pooled testing process from the initial pooled test through the completion of all needed follow-up tests. Pool testing will resume the week of November 29th when we return to school.
COVID-19 Test and Stay Program
In the event your child(ren) is identified as a “close contact” to a COVID positive individual in our schools, you must have previously provided consent and completed the registration for your child(ren) to participate in the district’s Test and Stay Program. Even if you are unsure if you would like your child(ren) to participate in the Test and Stay Program if identified as a close contact (instead of remaining home in quarantine), you must have consent and registration on file at the time of close contact identification. You may still register your child(ren) to participate in future weeks. To do so, please complete the COVID-19 Test and Stay Program registration form.
COVID-19 Vaccine Status
As more and more of our students receive their COVID-19 vaccine, our school nurses may best manage cases and close contact identification if they know your child’s vaccine status. Please take a few minutes and upload a copy of your child’s COVID-19 vaccine card to provide our school nursing staff with this information. To do so, after your child is fully vaccinated (2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna OR 1 dose of J&J), please complete the COVID-19 Vaccine Status form.
COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic for 5 – 11-Year-Old Children
We received an overwhelming response to our COVID-19 vaccine clinic for 5 – 11-year-old children. Over 350 children will be receiving their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today at the McCarthy Middle School. Children receiving their first dose today will be scheduled to receive their second dose before the holidays at the McCarthy Middle School. Our hope was that by providing easy access to the vaccine, our parents would register their child(ren) and take advantage of this great opportunity to be vaccinated locally. Because we had such a great response, we will be looking to schedule an additional clinic in the coming weeks for children who were not able to register for today’s clinic. Please be on the lookout for additional information in communications to follow.
Inclement Weather (Snow Day) Procedure
I have been receiving inquiries from parents, students, and staff about our plans for inclement weather this winter considering our ability to have “remote days” instead of no school days last year when inclement weather (snow, ice, etc.) required a school cancellation. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has not approved or issued guidance to conduct remote learning due to inclement weather as they did last year. We will be returning to a traditional inclement weather procedure for the 2021/22 school year.
If school is delayed or canceled this winter, the message will be communicated consistently with past practice as follows:
- An e-mail and telephone message will be sent to the primary contact number of each student and staff member in the district. This is a great time to verify the primary contact number in X2, our student/staff database, at which you desire to be contacted is accurate. If no message is received, school is being conducted as usual that day;
- A message will be displayed on the Chelmsford Public Schools main webpage notifying the public of the status of school for the day. If no message is displayed, school is being conducted as usual that day;
- A message will be displayed on local television channels 4, 5, 7, and 25. If no message is displayed, school is being conducted as usual that day.
To allow parents and staff a little extra time to plan and prepare for a school closure, whenever possible I attempt to make an announcement the night before when it is evident from the forecast that school will be impacted. This is not always possible and many times I need to wait until the early morning hours to make a decision for the district. Under these circumstances, I will endeavor to do so and make and announce a decision by 5:30 a.m. on a day school will be impacted.
Yours truly,
Jay Lang, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
