Friday, June 12, 2020

MERSD End of Week Update!


Dear MERSD Community,

This past week, students from Essex and Manchester participated in student-led peaceful protests and rallies.  I am very proud of our MERSD students for organizing and using their voices in support anti-racism, equity, and justice.  Whether through our curriculum, our literature choices, our social-emotional learning program, or our student activities, our faculty works deliberately to challenge and to develop students’ critical thinking by introducing the complex issues of race, civil rights, and inequity.  Through courses and programs, such as Facing History and Ourselves, Middle Eastern Literature, RULER, Women in Engineering, ADL’S World of Difference Program, the Humanitarian League and the Gay-Straight Alliance, MERSD strives to provide students with the foundation and opportunity they need to develop an informed world view that allows them to be active and engaged citizens.   I am optimistic about the future knowing that our students will be tomorrow’s community leaders.

As we begin to wrap up the 2019-2020 school year, I know everyone is anxious to know what the return to school will look like.  At this point, we anticipate that the fall school schedule will be a hybrid of remote and in-person learning and that we must be prepared to pivot to either a traditional model or a fully remote model at any time.  I believe that community and teacher input is critical to developing our reopening plan for the fall.  At this point, all planning for the fall is theoretical, and it will be more productive and efficient if we focus our feedback and community discussions on an actual framework.  With that in mind, I am hopeful that upcoming state directives will provide the necessary guidance for us to create a draft framework to be shared with the community for feedback and refinement.    Based on what is currently known, I am planning to organize a community conversation on this topic sometime early this summer.  Please watch out for communications from your school and from the district so that you can stay informed and participate in upcoming community engagement opportunities.

I ask for your patience and flexibility as we navigate the uncharted waters ahead.  It is likely that plans could change suddenly and move in a different direction from what we foresee at this time.   I will continue to keep you informed throughout the summer by sending out regular updates through email and social media.

Have a wonderful weekend.
Pam


Updates & Reminders

Annual Town Meetings
  • Essex Town Meeting – Tomorrow, June 13th/Outdoors @ Essex Elementary School/10:00am
  • Manchester Town Meeting – Monday, June 22  /Outdoors on MERMHS Hyland Field /6:30 pm
  • MERSD Annual Budget Book
Memorial Building Project Update:  The Memorial School Project continues to move forward on time and on budget for a Fall opening of the classroom wing.  Although it is exciting to think about the move this fall, it is sad to say goodbye to the school that served us well for so long.  Click Here for Full Post
School Closure:  All Massachusetts schools remain closed and we will continue implementing Remote Learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.  Because we opted to eliminate three days of April Break to continue remote learning through that period, the DESE has advised that we can end the school year on the 181st day of school.  That makes our last day of school June 19th.  

Food Assistance:
 Free Lunch is available to all who need it.
School Buildings: All buildings and fields will remain closed.
  • No access for students, staff, or the community.
  • During the shutdown, buildings will be cleaned and sanitized.
  • Construction at Memorial School continues under the guidelines for essential construction.
Remote Learning: The MERSD Remote Learning Plan and related documents are available on our Remote Learning Page.  If you have questions or concerns related to the implementation of the remote planning plan, I encourage you to reach out to the school using the MERSD Problem Solving Quick Guide.