Daylight hours may have become shorter, but town meetings seem to be longer. Here’s a recap of what happened during the over 3 hour K-8 School Committee meeting on November 4.
- Enrollment predictions are pretty much on the mark. What is challenging is the shifting of students between the hybrid (partially in-person learning model) and the Stand Alone Remote Program (SARP, the fully remote learning model). When students shift from one to the other, staffing can become a challenge as well. A few grades have large class sizes in the SARP and additional teachers are in the process of being hired. Right now, there is a waitlist for students wanting to shift learning models.
- Overall, the elementary and middle schools are being creative for spirit events, food drives and annual programs in order to keep some traditions in place. Things like conferences and open houses were a little different this year, as they were held virtually. The focus is on connecting with students and parents and building those relationships.
- Now that students and teachers are comfortable with remote learning, snow days will revert to remote learning days, except if there is a power loss and internet connection is compromised.
- One topic that is sure to be discussed more, as school budgets start to be proposed in the next few months, is free full day kindergarten. A group of parents have been on a long journey to make this happen in Northborough. Many towns have already implemented it, including Southborough. The tuition, which is used to pay for teacher salaries, was originally going to be slowly absorbed over the course of a few years into the school budget and free Kindergarten would happen for the 2023-2024 school year. Without full time in-person learning this year, the tuition was waived. Parents feel now is the time to move this initiative ahead earlier than anticipated. Many families are dealing with unemployment and financial burdens that may not allow them to pay tuition next year. As one parent mentioned during her call into the meeting during audience sharing, the benefits of full day should be accessible to all, not just the families who can afford to pay.
- If you have a child age 0-21 at home, you are encouraged to sign up online to receive free lunches through the District for the remainder of the school year. Lunches are free when students are in person; and when they are remote, they will receive free meals for home. The more who sign up, the more funding from the USDA the District receives. The lunch programs are not part of the school budget and the funding based on use sustains the lunch program. Meals for remote days are distributed from Algonquin Regional High School or Melican Middle School on Mondays between 11-1. Refer questions about this program to Diane Cofer (for ARHS) at dcofer@nsboro.k12.ma.us or Kyle Parson (for K-8) at kparson@nsboro.k12.ma.us. This program is not the same as the free and reduced lunch program and parents who qualify for free and reduced lunches should still complete the necessary forms.
- COVID-19 updates were shared. The key thing to note is that out of 23 total cases in both Northborough and Southborough schools, there are no confirmed cases associated with in-school transmission. Keep wearing masks and washing your hands, and be careful of exposure outside of school. The next step for the District is screening asymptomatic students and staff, and how that can be funded is being investigated. Ultimately, this type of screening will not only make in-person learning even more safe for students and staff, but it can potentially help to move towards more in-person schooling and less remote learning.
The full meeting can be viewed at the Northborough Cable YouTube channel.