Your Feedback Requested: Superintendent's Update to Families – November 23, 2024
November 23, 2024
Dear Shrewsbury Families,
On this rainy Saturday – perfect to visit our SHS Robotics team's holiday craft fair and pie sale at Oak Middle School from 2pm-5:30pm! – I would like 1) to invite you to give your children's schools some important feedback; 2) provide you with information regarding our Season of Giving campaign to help families in need, 3) make you aware of an opportunity to serve on our upcoming Artificial Intelligence Study Committee, and 4) a reminder about the "no homework" period during Thanksgiving break.
School climate and culture survey: As part of our ongoing work to improve supports for students social, emotional, behavioral, and mental health, and as part of our review of our district's bullying prevention and intervention plan, I ask that you complete the anonymous survey found HERE. Please note:
- Most of the survey items are quick multiple choice responses, and there are optional opportunities to add comments.
- The format and most items correspond to a survey that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education gave to students who took the MCAS tests last spring, so that we can compare their perceptions with yours as parents and caregivers (we will publish a summary of the results).
- Please note that the survey is designed to give feedback on one school – if you have children in multiple schools, you can complete separate surveys for each.
- This survey is intended to collect general perceptions of your child's experience at their school. If you have a specific question or concern about your child, please contact the school directly for assistance.
- I would greatly appreciate it if you would complete this survey by Monday, December 2.
Thank you very much for your feedback – it is important to our work to ensure our schools are supportive and safe for students.
Opportunity to help Shrewsbury families in need: The Shrewsbury Public Schools district-wide "Season of Giving" campaign is underway. We are seeking gift cards from between $10 and $50 each that we will provide to Shrewsbury families experiencing economic hardship during this holiday season. Students may bring donated cards to their school office in an envelope marked "Season of Giving," you can drop them off at the School Department at Town Hall, or you can conveniently purchase directly from Amazon and have them delivered to us by clicking HERE. Last year, we helped over 90 families; if your family is facing financial struggles, you may confidentially request assistance HERE. For more details about the types of cards needed, click HERE. In my experience, our Shrewsbury community has been very generous to our neighbors who are experiencing difficulty – thank you for your consideration.
Seeking parents/caregivers to serve on the district's Artificial Intelligence Study Committee: Our school district is convening a committee to study the impacts of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on teaching, learning, and operations in our schools and to make recommendations regarding practices and policies related to AI. We are seeking a few parents/caregivers with expertise in AI to serve on the study committee, along with SPS students, educators, and leaders. The study committee will be meeting about twice per month via Zoom, typically Thursday afternoons from 3pm-4:15pm starting in mid-December and continuing through April, with some work in between meetings. If you are interested in participating, please complete the form found HERE.
Finally, please be reminded that the upcoming Thanksgiving break is a "no homework" period for students, with no homework due and no assessments requiring studying ahead of time being given on Monday, December 2.
Please accept my best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Respectfully,
Joe Sawyer
Superintendent of Schools