Wachusett News
Update from Superintendent Darryll McCall January 9
Helping Students through the events of this week
I shared the following document with our building principals this week as a means of helping our staff support our students in working through this situation. If you wish, please use this resource at home with your family where you can reaffirm their safety, hear how they are feeling, and validate their reactions to what occurred.
COVID Update
DESE Update on Structured Learning Time for Schools
On December 15th, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to amend the Student Learning Time Regulations. These changes included the establishment of minimum levels for live instruction and synchronous instruction. Specially the amendment includes the following standards:
- Effective January 19, 2021, districts and schools operating a hybrid learning model must provide at least 35 hours of “live instruction” over a 10-school day period, averaged across the grades in the hybrid model. Live instruction means the combination of in-person and remote synchronous instruction.
- Students must have an opportunity to interact each school day with teachers.
- Effective January 19, 2021, districts and schools operating a remote learning model must provide synchronous instruction each school day; and
- Effective January 19, 2021, districts and schools operating a remote learning model must provide at least 40 hours of synchronous instruction over a 10-school day period, averaged across the grades in the remote model.
School leadership and staff are currently working to make scheduling adjustments (where needed) to ensure that we are in compliance with this new state mandate. We wanted you to be aware that if there are changes in your child’s schedule it is due to meeting these new state requirements.
2021 Accountability and Assessment Update
Newsletters and translation
All newsletters generated through Smore are now able to be translated using Google Translate. Once you access the online newsletter, please look to the top right side of the newsletter at the Accessibility Bar and click on the "Translate Newsletter" option.
WRSD Website
Wachusett Regional School District
Email: feedback@wrsd.net
Website: www.wrsd.net
Location: 1754 Main Street, Jefferson, MA, USA
Phone: (508)829-1670