January 12, 2023
Good Morning Shrewsbury Families,
First, I encourage you to click here to view the morning "Wake Up Call" where the students in our Oak Middle School American Sign Language Club were featured on the WCVB Channel 5 Eye Opener this morning -- they will make you smile!
I also want to provide you with an update regarding the Sleep Health Advisory Committee's work. In order to gain the benefits of increased sleep for students, particularly adolescents at SHS and Oak, the Sleep Health Advisory Committee came to consensus regarding the schedule for school start and end times for next year that will be recommended to the School Committee next Wednesday evening, January 18. Please click here to view the recommended schedule and the key reasons why it is being put forward. Please note that the recommendation is a modified version of the "Option A" that was presented in December, with the elementary dismissal time moved earlier than what was proposed in response to feedback from elementary families and staff (from 3:40pm to 3:30pm).
I strongly encourage you to watch the presentation next Wednesday evening. The School Committee plans to review the recommendation and then vote at their meeting on Wednesday, January 25 on whether to change the schedule for next year. If you wish to provide feedback to the School Committee, you can email them at schoolcommittee@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us. Please remember that you can view all of the information presented by the Sleep Health Advisory Committee, stakeholder survey results, and the webinar from adolescent and child sleep expert Dr. Judith Owens here.
Respectfully,
Joe Sawyer
Superintendent of Schools