April 21, 2020
Dear Franklin Families,
Update on School Closure
Earlier today, Governor Baker announced that schools will be closed through the remainder of the school year. As such, FPS will continue with Remote Learning, following DESE guidance, for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. We anticipate additional DESE guidance will be issued towards the end of this week.
At the top of our minds at the moment is our graduating senior class; we are thinking of you and recognize the difficulty of hearing this news today. FHS administrators sent a message earlier today and conveyed that they are meeting with class officers and advisors later this week. We wish to emphasize excerpts from their message, which was shared with the Class of 2020 and their families:
“Even before this news we have been monitoring communication from the state as well as the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We are collecting ideas and have begun exploring different options for non traditional graduation ceremonies....
● We are considering ALL options for how to keep (or reinvent) traditions to maintain the once in a lifetime atmosphere of the end of senior year. We are considering alternate locations, timelines, processes, digital events, etc...
● And MOST importantly. We miss you all, we love you, our hearts ache for what you have already missed, and we are constantly brainstorming ways to recapture the magic of your senior year!”
Indeed, we miss our students and our hearts go out to the members of our senior class and their families. We will continue to communicate with the Class of 2020 as well as the community about the developing plans and celebrations.
With the announcement of school closure, we anticipate opening the buildings again, thereby providing students with an opportunity to retrieve items. More information will be forthcoming about this.
We have received several questions about refunds of user fees, in light of today’s announcement. As mentioned at the April 14, 2020 School Committee meeting, refunds for user fees are under consideration, depending on the type of fee. More information will be coming soon about this and we appreciate your patience.
Feedback on Remote Learning
The first two weeks of Phase II of Remote Learning have concluded and the District is eager to gather system-wide feedback from our families and from our students. We will use this information to guide conversations and make adjustments, as appropriate. Please use the following link(s) to complete the surveys relevant to your family:
Elementary Parent/Guardian Survey: https://forms.gle/r9DWe819k8cFBn1L8
MS/HS Parent/Guardian Survey: https://forms.gle/sHwju4Wy9pT8EjFq9
Parent/Guardian surveys will close on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 8 PM.
Tomorrow, a survey will be sent directly to students in grades 6-12 to their @franklinps.net email addresses to learn more from them directly about their remote learning experiences. Please ask your child to check their school e-mail address.
School Lunch
Our Food Services Department has just been awarded a DESE/USDA grant, allowing for expansion of our offerings. Please see the additional attachment with an important update about school lunch being offered, Monday through Friday, from 11 AM to 1 PM to any child 21 years or younger.
Sincerely,
Franklin Public Schools
Please contact the Superintendent’s Office at 508-553-4819 with any questions. Please leave a voicemail. Although we are working remotely, voicemails are sent to email and will be responded to in a timely fashion.
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| Franklin Public Schools: Update on School Closure |
