July: Update 1

Greetings, everyone.

I wanted to reach out with a few updates to give a sense on what we have been doing since school let out, as well as to provide some clarity on what we have heard on a variety of topics.

AP Results

Advanced Placement test results were available to students beginning on July 15. While the test changed and ultimately we do not, as of yet, have anything more than summary results, we are very pleased with the early returns. We hope to get more robust data back from the College Board in early August that will help guide planning for 2020-21, but, given the shifts in the testing this year, we will have to take some time to compare and analyze, given the monumental change.

Podcasts This Month

We will be releasing, starting next week, a podcast series that will enable our community to get to know our new teachers, as we welcome two new classroom teachers, a counselor, and a new paraprofessional to our team at UHS. We will also be releasing some podcasts and videos to help update the community, particularly as we get closer to the reopening of school and to help families understand the details and procedures being put in place for students, staff, and schedules.

Reentry Survey

Dr. Tiano sent out a reentry survey to parents, through which we hope to get a sense of what people are thinking with respect to school this fall. We have been disaggregating many of the responses and doing the best we can with respect to the situation of the pandemic. Fortunately, Massachusetts seems to be one of the states that is trending in the right direction. However, we know that those numbers can change instantaneously, and we still need to have precautions and plans in place for a number of scenarios.


Athletics This Fall

We are continuing to move forward with plans for athletics this fall as we await a final determination from the MIAA and the Governor. With the recent decision that sports like soccer and field hockey are in the third phase of athletic return-to-play, we are not sure where that will leave our fall season. The MIAA has a task force that has been meeting regularly and sharing updates, and there have been many solutions discussed. However, we have yet to get any formal update or decision made. Right now, athletics have been delayed until at least September 14, pending additional guidance.

Remote Learning vs. In-Person Learning

Some people have reached out with the question about what Remote Learning could look like as we move forward. Obviously, when we left school in March, this was not even something in our wildest dreams, and, comparatively, our students reported that the workload was manageable. However, our focus from the Department was only on what the state considered "essential standards," and, as we move into next year, we will have a far more robust set of guidelines and standards to follow, which means more robust forms of learning, be it remote or in-person.

Please know that there is no perfect solution. For those of us who strive for perfection and seek to ensure that everything rolls out with standards of excellence, this entire situation, starting in March and continuing through the summer, has been beyond difficult. For every student or family who felt that remote learning in the spring worked, there were those who wanted more, and differentiating between the two without any time to plan was, in a word, impossible. We will strive for something better this fall, should we have the need to go remote.

We will do our best to update parents, students, and families with the work of our reopening committees, which is comprised of students, staff, teachers, and administration.  We know and acknowledge that everyone wants answers, but with data changing daily and the circumstances completely unique, there is no perfect playbook. Please keep in mind that the Commissioner has our preliminary plans due to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for July 31, with plans due for August 10. We have been directed not to release them to the public before given permission by the Department.

I am grateful to be part of a school and community that cares so much about each other. Now is when we must leverage that care with evidence-based public health practices to ensure that our campus reopens safely with respect to both academics and operations. We will do so in continuing our work and in meeting the goals of our School Improvement Plan, while maintaining relationships and the personal connections that we know are so important to our students and staff alike.  In the meantime, we appreciate your patience, feedback, and understanding.

Spartan Podcast

Our Podcast channel has been updated with some "Meet the Teacher" introductions, as well as a July update. The full channel can be viewed at: https://anchor.fm/uxbridgehighschool