November 20, 2020
Dear BPS Community,
This is Meg Mayo-Brown, Superintendent of Schools, with an important update about the return to school after the Thanksgiving holiday break. The Department of Public Health has released their weekly update. The Town of Barnstable is now designated as “red” with 145 new COVID cases in the last 14 days, combined with a 5.41% test positivity rate.
While the designation of red does not automatically mean schools shift to remote, it does warrant discussion. Barnstable is experiencing a likely “community spread” and although we have no evidence of in-school transmission, we are seeing an increase of students testing positive as a result of out of school exposure.
The community spread combined with travel that may be occurring next week is cause for concern. The health and safety of our students and staff remain our greatest priority. And, we will continue to make decisions that place health and safety at the forefront. It is for this reason that I am announcing that all cohorts will be remote on Monday, November 30, and Tuesday, December 1. Specific information about participating in remote learning will be sent from your child's school.
We expect to return to in-person learning on Thursday, December 3, consistent with DESE guidance.
In closing, the Massachusetts travel advisory indicates that all states, with the exception of Vermont and Hawaii, are high-risk states. If students or staff travel to a high-risk state, a return to school requires a negative PCR test or a 14-day quarantine. Additional information is available on our Reopening Schools Page.
Thank you for working with us to keep our schools as healthy and as safe as possible. We look forward to returning to in-person learning post-Thanksgiving.
Portuguese Update.pdf
Spanish Update.pdf
