PWN032521

MARCH 25, 2021
CITY ALERT:
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 13
A message from School
Superintendent Josh Vadala
PEABODY — School
Superintendent Dr. Josh Vadala
wishes to provide the community
with an update regarding
the district’s timeline for the
transition back to fully inperson
learning.
The School Committee voted
at its meeting last week to transition
the district’s elementary
schools back to fully in-person
learning on Monday, March 29
and its middle and high schools
back to fully in-person learning
on Wednesday, April 7.
Students and the families
who wish to continue to pursue
fully remote learning will have
the option to do so.
The district collaborated
with the Peabody Federation of
Teachers to identify the above
dates, and continues to work
closely with the organization on
details for a safe, phased return
to fully in-person learning.
This timeline is two weeks
later than the district’s initial
goal for the return to fully inperson
learning. However, following
discussions with the
community, it has been determined
that a slightly later return
will be beneficial as teachers
make their vaccination appointments,
the district continues to
finalize its facility preparations
and for families as they plan
their schedules and childcare
needs.
The transition is still a week
ahead of the state Department
of Elementary and Secondary
Education’s required timeline
for the return to in-person instruction,
through which elementary
school students must
return by April 5.
Educators became eligible on
March 11 for the COVID-19
vaccine. The district remains
committed to helping teachers
access the vaccine in the most
seamless way possible, and
will continue to share any and
all information available about
the sites and resources available
publically to seek out an
appointment once they become
eligible.
“It’s not lost on us how significantly
these transitions
and timelines impact our staff,
students and families, and
we’re deeply thankful for the
continued patience and understanding
of everyone in our
district as we work toward
the goal of reopening school
buildings,” Vadala said. “Our
teachers have worked tremendously
hard this year and we
are fortunate to have such dedicated
staff, who care very much
about the academic growth and
social emotional well-being of
their students. It has long been
a priority for our district to help
our teachers access the vaccine
once eligible and part of that
commitment means pushing
back this timeline slightly.”
More information on the return
to fully in-person learning
will be shared with all stakeholders
as soon as it becomes
available.
Vadala reports that the
Peabody Public Schools are
pursuing plans for a fully remote,
personalized virtual
learning experience for students
who wish to continue learning
remotely next school year and
beyond.
While the district has determined
it will be returning to
fully in-person learning through
a phased transition this spring,
district leadership has also
identified a strong desire and
need among some students and
families for a continued remote
learning option.
Virtual, informational community
forums were held on
Tuesday, March 16; Wednesday,
March 17; and Thursday, March
18 with links for participation
that will be shared with students
and families next week,
and members of the district
community will be able to ask
questions at the meeting as
well. Families will also be invited
to participate in a survey
following the sessions.
Students and families have
the option to continue remote
learning through the end of this
school year as well, and of the
district’s 487 fully remote elementary
schools students, for
example, approximately 320
students in pre-kindergarten
through grade five have opted
to continue learning fully remotely
this school year.
The district has also seen
students thrive in its remote
learning program this year.
Through district analysis of student
performance from the start
of the school year until January
2021 students district-wide
demonstrated 60 percent
growth in English Language
Arts and 66 percent growth in
mathematics. This district-wide
improvement was seen regardless
of students’ remote or hybrid
learning models.
“Our remote learning program
this year has been taught
by Peabody teachers, synchronously,
with Peabody students.
That’s a huge part of the
reason why I think our students
found success through our program,”
Vadala said. “They were
learning from our curriculum,
using district resources and
they maintained a connection to
Peabody Public Schools.
Students’ may opt for a more
permanent remote learning option
for a variety of reasons,
including medical reasons, social-emotional
needs, concerns
about the ongoing pandemic or
because they simply prefer it.
Regardless of their reason, we
know that we have the tools to
create an engaging, personalized
remote learning opportunity
for these students for years
to come and we’re excited to
begin planning for what that
will look like.”
The district has identified
two possible avenues for remote
learning to continue next
year, and will continue to consider
other potential options as
well. First, the Peabody Public
Schools could apply to the
Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education to open
a fully remote kindergarten
through grade 12 school, operating
as its own, separate school
within the district. The Peabody
Public Schools would be among
the first, if not the very first, districts
in the state to offer such a
remote program.
The second option is an
in-district program through
which remote students would
be linked to their current school.
Vadala has named current
Assistant Superintendent Dr.
Chris Lord as the executive director
of remote learning and
community partnerships. Lord
will oversee the development,
implementation and eventual
operation of the fully remote,
personalized virtual learning
program.
Lord has worked directly
with remote teachers this year
to offer support, as well as
oversee scheduling and logistics
for remote learning. He
joined the district three years
ago, and served as interim
principal at Veterans Memorial
High School last year.
He also played a key role in
the high school’s accreditation
process last year, through which
the school earned full accreditation
from the New England
Association of Schools and
Colleges.
“Our remote teachers did a
phenomenal job engaging students
this school year, and we
saw that our students can and
did succeed in a remote learning
environment,” Lord said. “This
is an opportunity for our district
to create a personalized virtual
learning program that can meet
students where they are, and
I’m looking forward to working
with our teachers and staff, students
and families to make this
happen.”
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