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April 5, 2020

Dear Parents, Guardians and School Staff:

I hope you, your families and friends are safe and healthy. I write to you on this Sunday afternoon with a deep sense of gratitude for all the people who are supporting the Canton community, the state of Massachusetts and our country. The needs are great and our sense of community is strong. The challenges feel massive and the unknowns are unsettling, and yes, we will get through this and get back to school although I don’t know when. The purpose of my letter today is to give you an update on where we stand as a school system at this time.

After Governor Baker’s initial announcement on March 15 that schools were to be closed until April 7, he issued an Order on March 25 that schools must remain closed until May 4, 2020. Soon thereafter, Commissioner Riley wrote a parent/guardian letter.  The initial guidance from Commissioner Riley on March 15 was to provide optional learning opportunities for skill reinforcement and enrichment.  This new letter recommends districts shift to remote learning and for schools to “… develop and provide students with appropriately structured and supported ways to keep learning.” 

As I explained in my letter to you dated March 26, the School Committee and Canton Teachers Association will be discussing the next phase of school closures, and these discussions are now in process. We are seeking a shared understanding across multiple stakeholders and agreements on numerous issues relating to federal and state laws, regulations and advisories, and local School Committee policies and decisions. Once agreements are reached, we are poised to make a shift from all student learning opportunities being “optional” to remote learning being “expected.” There are a lot of details that come with this shift, but our goals remain the same. Without exception as your public school system, we are committed to working on behalf of your children and communicating with them and you, as appropriate, to access materials and tools for learning while providing support and engagement as a learning community.

We speak often of the value of a home/school partnership. True partnerships are mutually beneficial and dependent. We all have to work together and support each other in order for Canton children to be well taken care of while schools are closed.

I do not mean to oversimplify a very complex situation, but this is hard. The situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic is asking all of us to do things that are not our norm—don’t go to school, don’t shake hands or hug, don’t play basketball with friends, don’t gather for a performance, don’t come together as a class or school community—at least not physically. We must stay connected, even if it’s in ways that we’re not used to. We all know that students need to be connected to school for their overall well-being, including their learning. The community connections for our Canton students, staff and families have always been strong and we will need to rely on that now more than ever before especially while we are physically apart. 

As a parent and an educator, I can say, this is hard. I am refueled by the people in my life and a sense of hope and optimism. I know we will get through this and I believe when we return to our school buildings we will find ourselves with many new and previously unimagined ways to better serve our students.

I’ll be in touch when I have more information. Please stay safe.

With gratitude,

Jennifer Fischer-Mueller, Ed.D.
Superintendent

 

Please visit this link to read about the CDC’s recommendation of wearing a cloth face covering to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

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