Dighton Rehoboth Regional In Person Learning Update

Dear Dighton-Rehoboth Families,

My hope is that this communication finds you all well. We appreciate the timely manner in which you responded to the School Feasibility Survey- Spring 2021 Update. There was a 92% response rate. As you may know by now, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Jeff Riley has asked school districts to begin the process of providing full in-person opportunities for students beginning with elementary students on April 5th followed by a phased in approach for middle and high school students (see below).

In order to understand physical capacity and feasibility for full in-person learning throughout the district, we needed your feedback. The information from this survey will help DRRSD develop next steps in determining the model for instructional delivery for your child as outlined by Commissioner Riley. Soon, you will be receiving another survey from your child's school. This survey will confirm your choice of learning model for your child (in person or remote) and confirm bus transportation. Please note, this confirmation results in a commitment to learning model/transportation. Due to logistical constraints, a change could take up to six weeks to implement.

Each building has a structured Phase IV Committee that will be meeting very soon to discuss the specifics of how the guidance for in person learning will impact each building. We will be using the 3’ distancing as opposed to the 6’ distancing as we navigate students returning to full in person learning. Commissioner Riley has indicated that for this school year only, families may continue to choose remote as a learning model. The following represents the timeline the DRRSD will follow for in person learning based on the DESE guidance:

• Elementary school phase (grades K-5): For elementary schools, the hybrid learning model will no longer count towards meeting the required student learning time hours as of Monday, April 5, 2021. As a result, districts and schools are required to shift their learning model for elementary school grade levels to full-time, in-person instruction five days per week effective Monday, April 5, 2021. Although our 5th grade is considered middle school, we have decided to begin the 5th grade transition on Wednesday, April 7th.
• Middle school phase (grades 6-8): For middle schools, the hybrid learning model will no longer count towards meeting the required student learning time hours as of Wednesday, April 28, 2021. As a result, districts and schools will be required to shift their learning model for middle school grade levels to full-time, in-person instruction five days per week, effective Wednesday, April 28, 2021.
• High school phase (grades 9-12): We will announce the details and timing of the high school phase of the plan in April. Districts will be provided with at least two weeks in advance of the date for high school students to return to full-time, in-person instruction, but should start making such plans now. We are extremely excited to announce that we will be offering a full-time, in-person instruction five days per week for our 12th grade students beginning on Wednesday, April 7th.

Finally, we look forward to welcoming our students back to full-time in person learning and will continue to work with our staff to make this next phase of learning as smooth as possible. Thanks for everything you do for our children and our school community. Stay safe.

Sincerely,
Dr. Anthony C. Azar
Superintendent of Schools
Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District