Positive COVID Sanborn
December 15, 2020
Dear Families:
We were notified of a positive COVID adult case at Sanborn. All of the contact tracing is complete. Close contacts have been notified. Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best,
Laurie
Superintendent's Message
Two Positive COVID Cases: CMS and CCHS
December 13, 2020
Dear Families:
Tonight, we learned of a positive student COVID case at Peabody and a positive student COVID case at CCHS. Both students have not been in school for over a week due to quarantine so we do not have any school contacts. This bring our total case count for staff and students to 42.
Have a wonderful night.
Best,
Laurie
Updates and Information
December 11, 2020
Dear Families:
I wanted to follow up on the Concord community dashboard posted last night. The high case count this week is a result of the outbreak at the prison where there have been over 250 cases with a large portion of those still active. In this document, the town officials provided the data in their typical Concord Carlisle Data Dashboard format which shows 29 cases this past week versus 45 the week before. They believe that if the prison data was excluded, Concord would have remained in the yellow at-risk category rather than changing to red. That is not a sign that the virus is slowing. Care and viligence is a must given the rates found throughout the state.
You will see on the last page of the Concord Carlisle Data Dashboard is an overview of the phases for vaccine distribution. Educators are listed in Phase 2 which is targeted for February through April. The general public is listed in Phase 3 outlined from April through June. We are working closely with the health officials and will be engaged in the plan for distribution.
Finally, you will see a statement below regarding pending legal action as happens on occasion. Since it is information available to the public, we wanted to be open and transparent about it within the constraints of what can be shared.
Have a great weekend.
Best,
Laurie
Statement
District leaders and the Concord-Carlisle Regional School Committee have recently learned of its involvement in a legal action filed by a former student of the CCRSD and pertaining to CCTV, Inc., the former independent local cable access organization that provided programming and broadcast services to the Region. While CCTV, Inc. was an independent corporation, its operations were based on CCRSD property. The former student did not attend school with any current CCRSD students, and the District leaders have no reason to believe that any other current or former students of the CCRSD were involved.
We respect the rights of the plaintiff to pursue their claims and are carefully looking into this matter with the assistance of counsel to ensure that it is handled appropriately. To protect the privacy of the former student, and on the advice of counsel, we are unable to offer further comment on this pending litigation. However, all members of our community should know that the safety of our students, teachers and staff remains the District’s top priority.
One Positive Case CCHS and Community Color Rating
December 10, 2020
Dear Families:
Today, we learned of one positive adult COVID case at CCHS. Contract tracing was conducted this afternoon and is complete.
Tonight, you may have seen that Concord shifted to the red, high-risk category in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s weekly community data release. Earlier today, I was contacted by the local health officials and town leadership since much of the case count leading to that risk level is still a result of the prison outbreak. The numbers will be broken down over the next day or so in order to have a more accurate picture of the community virus rate.
Have a great night.
Best,
Laurie
On Site and Accessible COVID Testing
December 9, 2020
Dear Families:
At last night’s School Committee meeting, the Committees supported a new opportunity for the schools to both facilitate COVID testing and to offer it on site. This opportunity was brought to us through the Concord Fire Department who has contracted for on site testing for the past several months. We know this will not only be convenient but also have our students and teachers in the classroom more and further our efforts at safety.
This vendor is located in Cambridge where COVID PCR tests are available for institutions and municipalities who contract with them. Appointments at the Cambridge site are available seven days per week, both days and evenings. Appointments are made online. Tests are processed at the Broad Institute with a turnaround time of 24 hours or less. The testing in Cambridge costs $80 per test for families in the school community and is available for symptomatic and asymptomatic reasons. This option is available immediately.
We are also working to create a centralized testing site at Concord Carlisle High School. Once we are up and running in January, we expect that parents can call ahead and bring symptomatic students to be tested at the school. We are fortunate to have an outside door adjacent to the nurse’s office allowing for the testing to be removed from the mainstream of the school. This onsite testing will be available for all students enrolled in the Concord Public Schools, Concord Carlisle High School, and the Carlisle Public School. The fee will be charged in the office. These tests also go to the Broad Institute. We have direct access to test results when they are conducted at the high school. We will provide specific details after the first of the year.
We are providing the testing information on an as-needed basis in order to ensure the Cambridge and CCHS testing sites do not become overcrowded. If you have a testing need, the contact information is available through the school nurses, principals, and superintendent’s office.
Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Best,
Laurie
Flu Vaccine Deadline Friday, December 11
December 9, 2020
Dear Families:
I am writing to remind you that the deadline to submit documentation of your child’s flu vaccine is Friday, December 11, 2020. Per state law, all students must have a flu shot in order to attend after January 1, 2021. Documentation should be sent to the school nurses. If we do not have a flu vaccine on record, students are not elgibile for in-person learning in January.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Best,
Laurie
Police Investigating Suspicious Person Strawberry Hill Road
December 8, 2020
Dear Families:
I write to share a message from Concord Police Chief O’Connor regarding events that occurred yesterday afternoon when a Thoreau school bus dropped students off. The police learned of the events last evening. We are actively cooperating with the police and will do everything possible to assist in the investigation. Please see the number below if you believe you have information. Please also let us know of your questions and concerns.
Laurie
Report of Suspicious Person
DECEMBER 8, 2020 BY CHIEF JOSEPH O’CONNOR
The Concord Police Department is currently investigating a report received on December 7, 2020 of a suspicious person on Strawberry Hill Rd.
It was reported last night that after exiting a school bus in the early afternoon on December 7, 2020 that a male in a vehicle motioned with his hand and called to a small group of children to “come here” from a vehicle.
The children did not respond to the male and went home and the parents were not told until the evening.
The male was described as possibly a white male in his 30’s with some facial hair in a dark colored vehicle possibly a Toyota Rav 4.
The facts and circumstances of this matter are currently under investigation. Anyone with any information are asked to call Concord Police Detectives at 978-318-3400.
2 New Cases and Updated Dashboards
December 7, 2020
Dear Families:
CCHS had two new COVID student cases today that were unrelated. All of the close contacts have been identified and notified.
The positive case column in the district dashboard is updated. We have had 4 new cases since Saturday. The current total of cases since we reopened is 39.
The Concord Carlisle dashboard is also now updated. There were 45 active cases in Concord and 4 in Carlisle on December 3, 2020.
We do ask that you consider carefully family gatherings outside of those who live in your household as well as social gatherings of families or just children. These increase the chance of exposure and transmission.
Thank you for your support!
Best,
Laurie
2 New Cases, Symptom Screener and Other Information
December 6, 2020
Dear Families:
I hope you had a great wintry weekend. I have a few updates tonight.
2 COVID Cases
Tonight we learned of a student COVID case at Willard and an adult COVID case at CCHS. Both were not in school during the contagious period so there are no school-related close contacts.
Recording of COVID Webinar
Friday’s COVID webinar is posted on the main district webpage.
Data Dashboards
Both the district and local data dashboards are posted on the main district webpage. With today’s two cases which are not yet in the dashboard, the total count since we reopened is 36.
Symptom Screener Issues
Should you experience issues with the symptom screener, please try these troubleshooting steps since most issues seem connected to the Chrome browser. If this doesn’t work and your child would screen in “yes”, please email the school nurse.
- Clear Chrome browser cache as far back as possible
- Log out of Aspen explicitly. Close the tab then log back into Aspen in a new tab and try the screener again.
- If the above steps do not work, restart the device and log into Aspen and try the screener again.
- If all else fails, try a different browser to access Aspen.
- If that doesn’t work, please email: parentportal@concordps.org
Reminders of Masks, Distance, and Groups
It is clear that we are in community spread. This requires extra care and caution. Even small groups of people familiar to you can spread the virus. Of course, we should all wear masks and physically distance.
Concord Free Library Sustainability Meeting
Let’s make the Concord Free Public Library more eco-friendly! Join us on Tuesday, December 8th from 7-8:00 pm ET for an idea and information session hosted by CFPLC sustainability committee member and CCHS student, Maggie Bowers. Learn about the sustainability committee’s work, ask questions, and share what changes you want to see in the Library. All are welcome!
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAqdeGtrzIiHtxopZPSEWngPTIu-eYzCnGL
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Have a wonderful evening!
Best,
Laurie
COVID Webinar Friday 3:00 PM
December 1, 2020
Dear Families:
On Friday at 3 p.m., I am offering a parent webinar along with the local health officials to talk more about the rise in COVID cases, our management of them, and other information that we hope will be highly informational. We will record the session if you are unable to attend. If you have questions and cannot be present on the call, please feel free to reach out at any time. The Zoom information is located below.
Best,
Laurie
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
When: Dec 4, 2020 03:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: COVID Parent Webinar
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://concordps.zoom.us/j/93237776402?pwd=dVUzK09heWZWdnBLRjFsT0xMUllLQT09
Passcode: 501189
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +13126266799,,93237776402#,,,,,,0#,,501189# or +19292056099,,93237776402#,,,,,,0#,,501189#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782
Webinar ID: 932 3777 6402
Passcode: 501189
International numbers available: https://concordps.zoom.us/u/ascytEQMd