August 16, 2020
Dear Community:
What a busy couple of weeks its been preparing to come back this fall! I am very appreciative to all the parents who joined the Thursday night school committee and who have reached out since then with clarifying questions about reopening. Below I have highlighted some of the trending questions I have been asked since Thursday. Please don’t hesitate to reach out via email or call my cell phone 413-695-7893 with any further questions you may have about the fall reopening model.
- The three models in my reopening plan were developed in order to outline how the district may respond to changing health metrics. The district developed all three plans in anticipation that however we open in the fall, the district may have to move into either a hybrid or fully remote model.
- The Worthington School Committee voted on the FULL- In person model. During the first week, students on an IEP and kindergarten students will attend school all four days.
Worthington School District In-Person Learning
Phase in Schedule
| PHASE 1 | Faculty Training | August 24 – Sept 7 | All Faculty |
| PHASE 2A | In-person Plus | September 8 – 9 | *Special population, Grade 1, Grade 3, Grade 5 |
| PHASE 2B | In-Person Plus | September 10 – 11 | *Special population, Grade 2, Grade 4, Grade 6 |
| Phase 3 | In-Person Plus | Week of September 14 | All Students |
- The primary classroom will be outdoors. Each classroom will be assigned an outdoor tent that is 32×16 in size.
- Beginning in person will allow classroom teachers and students time to establish routines, expectations, and reestablish friendships. The district will assign a laptop to each student and students will begin learning how to efficiently work in Google Classroom in the event that the District needs to go Remote.
- If you do not plan on sending your child back at all this fall, families may choose the Remote Learning Management Model: This remote learning option is not the districts Remote Plan 3 outlined in my reopening plan.
- Families who choose the Remote Learning Management Model will need to make this choice for the entire school year. The district will purchase the licenses from the learning management platform Edgenuity https://www.edgenuity.com/, and there will be no costs to families. This is a Self-Paced Online Curriculum, and will bemonitored by a Remote Learning Coordinator assigned to your child. Making this choice keeps your child enrolled as a Worthington student, but this option is a stand-alone curriculum.
- The Remote Learning Coordinator will be a faculty member from Conwell who will be assigned to check in regularly with the student/family.
- If you decide to Homeschool your child, please call the front office to request homeschooling forms that you will need to fill out and send back to me in order for Homeschooling approval from the district.
A few reminders:
- Please complete your registration form no later than Tuesday, August 18, 2020.
- School Committee revised the Mask Policy to include Kindergarten students. They are now required to wear masks.
- Annual Town Meeting is August 29, 2020. It will take place in the parking lot of R.H. Conwell School.
- School begins on September 8 – 9 for students in grades K, 1, 3, 5. These will be FULL days.
- School begins on September 10 – 11 for students in grades K, 2, 4, 6. These will be FULL days.
- ALL STUDENTS WILL ATTEND THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 14, 2020.
Have a wonderful day!
Warmly,
Gretchen Morse-Dobosz
Superintendent/Principal
Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org