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Superintendent's Message

Alcohol and Vaping

November 22, 2019

Dear Members of the Concord and Concord-Carlisle Community:

At this time of year, we are grateful for the partnership between the schools and families. We also want to express appreciation for connections between the schools and Concord’s town leaders and services.

As previously referenced, the districts’ strategic plan highly emphasizes student well-being. This priority is why we write to share growing concern over substance use-related issues among high school students. This fall brought a series of alcohol-related incidents both at and outside of school events leading to unsafe situations that required police support. Underage drinking is illegal and leads to the deaths of more young people than all other drugs combined. Our concerns for student safety compelled us to compose this joint letter to our parent community to not only notify, but more importantly, to re-affirm our strong partnership and mutual commitment to student safety. We encourage you to share it with high school and middle school-age students. For those with younger children, we know that early education and awareness is critical.

CCHS and area high schools are also not immune to the national vaping epidemic dominating news headlines. In conjunction with the Concord and Carlisle Boards of Health, we want to increase awareness of the dangers of vaping, especially given the unknown causes of serious medical harm. Please see the Concord Health Division’s webpage: https://concordma.gov/714/Tobacco-and-Vaping for more information and resources on vaping. On December 3, the speaker series regarding vaping continues in Bedford sponsored by the Concord, Carlisle and Bedford Boards of Health. Information can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vaping-and-our-teens-what-do-we-know-about-the-risks-of-vaping-tickets-75932493131

Research is clear that parents have the most influence on student use of substances. Being a role model, sending messages as to your expectations, and providing information as to the dangers of drug and alcohol use does matter. Resources such as Pathways to Prevention (https://www.pathwaytoprevention.org/resources/parents/) can help you know how to navigate these challenging topics.

In conjunction with the Concord and Carlisle Police Departments and the local Boards of Health, we will continue to develop student instructional programs, opportunities for parent information, and implementation of both proactive and deterring measures.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,

Dr. Laurie Hunter, Superintende
Chief Joseph O’Connor, Concord Police
Chief John Fisher, Carlisle Police Chief
Susan Rask, Concord Public Health Director

School Cancellations

November 7, 2019

Dear Members of the Concord and Concord-Carlisle Community:

Welcome to November! We were very fortunate last month to not be impacted by electricity losses that interrupted school schedules in many communities.  The discussion of a few flakes this week means that the winter season will soon be upon us and so will a likelihood of the need to cancel or delay school.

Many of you will remember that last year we began to develop a plan for virtual school days.  Per the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, concerns over equity and access have put all of those plans on hold. As a result, all school cancellations will require additional days at the end of the school year.

We work very hard to minimize the loss of instructional time.   The option to delay school by one or two hours prevents us from losing the entire day when storms wrap up in the early morning hours.  I work collaboratively with the Concord and Carlisle Department of Public Works and Police Departments as well as our transportation manager, facility leaders and METCO Director to make the best decision possible.    The goal is always to decide by 5 a.m. so that everyone can plan the day accordingly.

Finally, the decision is announced via multiple methods.   Twitter is my first stop as it is efficient.  I also use Twitter to announce the thinking the night before if a storm is predicted so everyone is aware of whether the decision will be made at night or in the morning.    Following that, announcements are immediately made via text, phone call and email and also posted on the web page and local television stations.

Here’s hoping for a mild winter that makes all of this information less relevant!
Best,

Dr. Laurie Hunter, Superintendent

Follow me on Twitter @cps_cchs