Dear Newton South and North Parents/Guardians,

As you may already have read from the High School Working Group email on Friday, November 13, we will be presenting our Draft Recommendation on Monday, November 16th at the School Committee meeting.  

The working group’s outreach continued this past week with more students focus groups, interviews with current staff in the buildings, and with teachers in other districts. We also had several emails from students this past week who re-affirmed their responses from the November surveys.  Our findings continue to show that, while returning to school for in-person learning is prioritized by students, we must continue to offer robust and equitable remote learning for students who are learning from home, and support staff who are unable to return to the building.  Outside districts have also shared that hybrid teaching is not the same as going back to school pre-COVID19 and that challenges in lesson planning and technology create a new environment for both teachers and students that must be considered in planning.  

Please join us to hear our Draft Recommendation on Monday, November 16th.  Follow this link for login information to the School Committee meeting, which begins at 7 PM.  For those unable to attend, the Draft Recommendation will be posted on our webpage after the meeting.  Your feedback is vital as we continue the development of our recommendations.  Please contact us at [email protected] and visit our webpage for updates on all of our work.

The High School Working Group
~ May Chiu, Newton South Parent Representative (NSHS PTSO co-President)
~ Janna Lacatell, Newton North Parent Representative (NNHS PTSO co-Secretary, NNHS PTSO Representative – Academic Standards Committee)