Canton Public School Shares Information From February 4 School Committee Meeting

Press release from Canton Public Schools:

February 9, 2021

CANTON — Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Fischer-Mueller would like to share with the school community updates and information provided at the Feb. 4 Canton School Committee meeting.

A recording of the full meeting can be viewed here.

Additional meeting materials, including all documents shared at the meeting and the full Superintendent’s Report is available here.

“All-in” Back to School Process

It is the intention of the administration and school committee to have students back in school safely to the greatest extent possible. In preparation for this, Dr. Fischer-Mueller is in the process of establishing a Steering Committee. With the CPS Strategic Framework as the scaffold, the primary function of the “All-in” Steering Committee is to guide the process of refining the original “All-in” plan that was part of the August 2020 CPS Comprehensive School Reopening Plan in order to bring students and staff back to their school buildings safely, efficiently and effectively.

It is envisioned that the Steering Committee will take into account the experiences and insight of individuals from different groups such as parents, students, the Canton Teachers Association, health professionals and building and District administrators. The Steering Committee will periodically present updates to the School Committee and the general public, keeping all stakeholders informed of the progress and plans for next steps.

COVID Update

The Town of Canton is in the Commonwealth’s “Red,” “high risk” designation for COVID-19, where it has remained since Dec. 31, 2020, but is trending in a positive way toward the “Yellow” designation. As always, parents/guardians and students are urged to follow public health guidance. Students and staff are asked to follow COVID-19 Protocols, and are reminded of the importance of filling out and submitting the daily screener.

• Student COVID-19 Screening form

• Staff COVID-19 Screening form

COVID-19 Pool Testing

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) have introduced COVID-19 screening testing, using a pooled strategy in the school setting. Pooled testing involves mixing 10-25 test samples together in a “batch” or “pool” and then testing the pooled sample with a PCR test. This approach increases the number of individuals that can be tested using the same amount of resources as a single PCR test. If a pooled test result is negative, then all individuals within that pool are presumed negative and may continue to remain in school. If a pooled test result is positive, each test in the pool is given an individual diagnostic test to identify the positive sample(s) and all individuals in the pool must quarantine until the samples are retested individually.

The District’s application to the initiative has been submitted and accepted. The district plans to begin conducting pooled testing following February Vacation. The District will be working with an outside vendor, Concentric by Gingko, to finalize plans to implement the initiative. The expenses of the first six weeks of the initiative are funded by the state.

COVID-19 Vaccinations

The state has outlined a three-phase vaccine distribution plan. On Monday, Jan. 25, the state announced that it had restructured Phase Two of the vaccination distribution plan, which now prioritizes individuals age 75 and older as the first group to receive the vaccine. Through the adjusted plan, educators are in the third group to become eligible for the vaccine through Phase Two, which will begin in February and continue into March. The timing is dependent on completing vaccinations of phase one groups and receiving vaccine doses from the state. Additional information regarding the status of educator vaccinations is expected to be available at the next School Committee meeting on Feb. 25.

Everyone is encouraged to stay informed regarding the COVID-19 vaccination process. The following resources are recommended for the most up-to-date information:

• Town website: www.town.canton.ma.us/
• Massachusetts COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Timeline Phase Overview: click here
• Latest vaccine update in Massachusetts: click here
• Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions: click here

Canton Public Schools COVID-19 Dashboard

The new Canton Public Schools COVID-19 Dashboard has been published and is accessible. The Dashboard displays the positive cases and quarantining in the District during a designated time frame. The Dashboard will be updated on Wednesday nights and Sunday nights. The Wednesday Dashboard will capture the data from Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The Sunday Dashboard will feature the data from Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The cases listed represent the number of students and/or staff who tested positive on a particular day. The quarantining data represents the number of students and/or staff who entered into quarantine on the designated day due to COVID-19 protocols. The “close contact” identification and the subsequent quarantining may stem from school, family, community groups or youth organizations.

The CPS COVID-19 Dashboard can be viewed here.

The Dashboard will be accessible at all times as a link on the District and school websites.

Additionally, the link will be emailed to families and staff on Wednesday and Sunday nights, and the link will be included in the weekly school newsletters.

CHS 2021-2022 Program of Studies

Revisions to the Program of Studies

• Community Service Learning: Students are usually required to complete 20 hours of community service learning each year for a total of 80 hours. To accommodate for limitations caused by the pandemic, students in the Class of 2022 will be required to complete 50 hours, the Class of 2023 will be required to complete 60 hours, the Class of 2024 will be required to complete 70 hours and the Class of 2025 will return to the traditional 80-hour requirement.
• Performing Arts: College Prep Band will be offered at 6 credits rather than 3. This change will enable all students to have consistent rehearsal experiences with a consistent repertoire and is aligned with current practices in Orchestra.
• Visual Arts: No changes were made to course offerings, but some course descriptions were revised to better reflect course content.
• World Language: Due to staffing concerns, American Sign Language (ASL) 3 will not be offered next year. CHS will continue to offer ASL 1 and ASL 2.
• Social Studies:
  • U.S. History courses offered to juniors now include a civics project which reflects changes to the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks.
  • Political science will shift from full-year to a semester course.
• Science, Engineering and Technology:
  • The CHS Computer Science and Engineering courses may implement a new curriculum, Project Lead The Way (PLTW), which is part of a grant the school was awarded. If teachers are able to participate in in-person PLTW training over the summer, the new curriculum would be implemented next year, and the courses would be re-titled. If not, the two courses would still run and would utilize curriculum used in years past.
  • The description of AP Chemistry was revised to reflect changes made by the College Board.

Course Selection Timeline

The Program of Studies will be published soon. Grade-level assemblies will take place on Zoom and be recorded, along with a webinar for families. Students will indicate course preferences via electronic class “Exit Tickets” at the end of February.

In March, teachers will submit course recommendations. Eighth grade course selection day will take place over Zoom during the community block this year. Course selection forms will be emailed home and course override forms and selections will be completed at the end of March.

Additional Updates

Kindergarten Registration

The District is currently enrolling Kindergarten and new first grade students for the 2021-22 school year online. All Kindergarten and new first grade registrations are due by March 5, 2021. Additional details can be found on the registration website and on this enrollment flyer.

COVID-19 Calendar Update

February Vacation (Monday, Feb. 15 – Friday, Feb. 19) and April Vacation (Monday, April 19 – Friday, April 23) remain in place. Due to a snow day on Dec. 17, 2020, the last day of school is now Monday, June 21, which will be a half-day. The date of the last day of school is not concrete yet as the District still has two professional development days that may be built into the calendar for transition between learning models.

Canton Diversity Equity and Inclusion (CDEI) Committee

The CDEI committee has launched a new initiative for Black History Month where the committee will feature individuals who have made a difference in the community. The District is pleased to announce that Dr. Fischer-Mueller has recommended GMS Dean of Students, Mr. Karim Gibson, as an outstanding representative of the Canton Public Schools. The Canton Citizen will also be writing an article spotlighting Mr. Gibson.

MCAS Update

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has released the following MCAS dates for grades 3-8.

• ELA: April 5 – May7
• Math: April 26 – May 28
• Science Technology & Engineering: April 27 – May 28

The District is still awaiting confirmation of CHS testing window dates.

Junior District Festival

The following students auditioned and were accepted to the Junior Districts Festival, and will participate in the virtual junior festival on March 13:

• Hannah Isaac – Chorus, Alto (grade 9)
• Abigail Silvasy – Chorus, Soprano (grade 9)
• Rosalyn Grady – Band, Flute (grade 9)
• Gayatri Dixit – Band, Flute (grade 9)
• Lianna Camille – Orchestra, Viola (grade 9)
• Megan Cloherty – Band, Flute (grade 7)
• Tyler Goldowsky – Band, Trumpet (grade 8)
• Anthony Wang – Band, Trumpet (grade 8)

Trinity Episcopal Church of Canton, Canton High School Scholarship

The School Committee approved the offering of a scholarship for high school students by the Trinity Episcopal Church of Canton. The Church will offer two high school graduates in the Town of Canton a $1,000 scholarship. Students will be required to submit an essay on one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The next Canton School Committee meeting will take place on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. Each meeting is available to watch via Zoom and upcoming meetings are listed on the District website.

This press release was produced by Canton Public Schools. The views expressed are the author's own.