August 9, 2020
Dear Community:
Hope this message finds you well. It’s been an incredible couple of weeks planning and preparing for the fall. I am writing with some updates on our planning process for the start of a new school year in the Worthington School District. Some of these updates are in response to parent emails I have received or comments noted in the survey.
- The district submitted the initial plans to DESE. There were Five hundred and sixteen plans reviewed for consistency with the guidance we have issued since June 25, 2020. The team shared a summary of trends seen across districts and schools along with a few additional reminders. This is good news for the district that the initial plan was in alignment with what DESE’s initial request was looking for in plans.
- The School Committee will meet Thursday, August 13th to discuss my recommendation and will vote on a plan for reopening this fall. We welcome you to join the Zoom Meeting:
- Meeting ID: 952 2326 8059
- Passcode: 410578
- Phone Number: +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
- The district is working with Nurse Leader Stephanie Faas and BOH on developing a family friendly version of the CDC guidelines for responding to COVID in schools scenarios. Please see the link for the complete guidance. Coronavirus/COVID-19: Guidance/On the Desktop Messages
- REMOTE LEARNING PLATFORM: If the district is providing in-person learning, an individual family may choose Remote Learning which will be a stand-alone, self-paced K-12 content that can be used by students to cover the basic curriculum standards on a largely asynchronous basis. I am reviewing the two options DESE presented to us and will share my recommendation for the district in the coming week. Families who sign up for this remote option would have to participate for the 2020-2021 school year. The district would assign a coordinator/teacher to monitor this learning platform.
- Please see the results from the parent survey~
How comfortable are you sending your children to school this year under the In-Person Model?
Least Comfortable Most Comfortable
| 34.69% | 10.20% | 10.20% | 16.33% | 28.57% |
How comfortable are you sending your children to school this year under the Hybrid Model?
Least Comfortable Most Comfortable
| 20.83% | 12.50% | 18.75% | 29.17% | 18.75% |
How prepared do you feel your child/family is to actively engage in a full Remote Model?
Least Comfortable Most Comfortable
| 34.69% | 14.29% | 8.16% | 12.24% | 30.61% |
If the decision is to return to the school in the In-Person Model, will your child(ren)attend?
Yes No
| 71.11% | 28.89% |
If the decision is to return to school in the Hybrid Model, is your family planning to opt-in to the alternative Remote Learning option?
Yes No
| 56.52% | 43.48% |
If you had to choose between the three models described in the plan, which would you choose?
| Full In-Person | Hybrid | Remote |
| 42.86% | 28.57% | 24.49% |
As always, thank you for your continued support.
Gretchen
Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
[email protected]