This week has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases here in town and in the schools. As a community, we moved from green to yellow (9/30/20) and have remained there (10/7/20).
These numbers are concerning and as a result, the Bedford Board of Health has created a FAQ about contact tracing and other frequently asked questions. If you did not see the letter please view it at Bedford BOH COVID FAQ 10/6/2020.
Additionally, we also received a joint DESE/DPH letter that clarifies key health and safety requirements. It can be viewed at DESE/DPH Joint Memo 10/7/2020. These changes require our increased vigilance when it comes to maintaining social distance, wearing a mask, and washing/sanitizing our hands.
Impact Aid Survey (PL 874)
This law entitles Bedford to submit a Federal Impact Aid application, it is however dependent on our collecting data from families that are Armed Forces personnel and/or parents/guardians who work on federal property. All Armed Forces personnel are eligible regardless of where they are stationed including overseas deployment as long as the family residence is in Bedford or on Hanscom Air Force Base. For your convenience, we have set up a dedicated website that can be accessed at Federal Aid Impact Survey PL874.
Technology
We continued to have challenges with ClassLink. As a district, we have decided to move away from ClassLink at the Davis School ONLY and give students and parents direct access to the applications students need. This weekend the technology department will be disabling the ClassLink codes and will be sending each family four codes for direct application access. Paper copies of this information will be provided to Cohort A, B, and C students on Thursday and Friday, while Cohort D students will get their paper copy when they pick up their Home Learning Kit. We apologize for the inconvenience and frustration that these issues have caused and are working diligently to address them.
Hybrid/Remote Model Changes
Please note that for families facing COVID-related changes such as isolation quarantine or illness every effort will be made to make a change immediately. For all other families who would like to make a model change be sure to check with your school’s administration prior to making any changes to your child’s learning model. We are very tight on in-person space and remote capacity making unplanned changes very challenging for students and teachers. Please speak to your child’s school administrator prior to making any changes so that we can ensure that we have the capacity for a change. Changes can take up to three to four weeks to complete. We appreciate your assistance.
Technology information
The technology department continues to work diligently to keep all of our technology up and running. We appreciate their efforts and know that they are on heightened alert to assist individuals, families, teachers, and each school with technology-related issues. If you have an issue please contact [email protected]
Massachusetts and Bedford COVID-19 Information
We continue to use Governor Baker’s enhanced community data map which tracks COVID-19 cases and gives a colored rating from clear through red. This information is also being utilized by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to alert school communities about the risk in their particular city or town. That information can be found at MA.GOV Covid Dashboard as part of the COVID Dashboard information. Here in Bedford, we are fortunate to receive weekly COVID-19 updates from Town Manager Sarah Stanton. The updates are on the Bedford Home News and Announcements page at Bedford Home News and Announcements.
As always, thank you for your patience, your participation, and your continued commitment to our schools.
Wishing you continued health.
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