North Adams Public Schools -

Elms College at BCC

Dear Staff, Students, and Parents/Guardians, I am writing to inform you that an individual in our Drury High School community has tested positive for COVID-19 after becoming symptomatic. Our first responsibility is to keep our students and staff safe. We have been planning for this scenario during our reopening planning process and have a comprehensive plan in place to sanitize the school, inform staff and families whose students were at risk of exposure or in close contact, and support the affected family as they navigate this stressful experience. Our student body and staff have been closely adhering to the safety protocols including mask wearing, hand washing, and physical distancing. We are grateful to our families for their continued efforts to keep students home at the first sign of symptoms. These measures, taken in combination, greatly reduce the risk of additional transmission. Though we cannot provide specific information about the individual who tested positive, North Adams Public Schools will be implementing our protocols for notification, disinfection, and quarantine for staff and students who may have been exposed. For this reason, the 7th and 8th Grade Academy classes will be remote for Thursday and Friday, March 4 and 5, 2021. School is expected to resume in the hybrid model for 7th and 8th Grade Academy on Monday, March 8th, 2021. Staff and students identified through contact tracing will be notified by School Nurse Leader Lauren Gage regarding testing, including using the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid results test. All other 7th and 8th Grade Academy staff are to report to Drury High School for remote instruction from their classrooms. Parents of students who were in close contact with the individual will be notified privately. All close contacts should be tested. We are also following all Department of Health protocols, including collaborating with our local board of health to complete contact tracing. Additionally, we are asking those parents whose students are tested for COVID-19 at their health care provider’s office or at the Stop the Spread Center located at 97 Church Street, North Adams to please report the results to the school nurse. For those students in 7th and 8th Grade Academy that have not been notified of a potential exposure, pool testing is still available to you this week. If you would like your student to be tested, and have completed a Pool Testing Consent Form, please email the school nurse Lauren Gage at lgage@napsk12.org and she will schedule you for testing. Testing takes about 5-10 minutes, and testing times would be before school at 7:15AM, and at lunch at 11:00 AM. In your email, please include your student's name, grade and preferred testing time. To complete a Pooled Testing Consent Form, go to: https://www.napsk12.org/page/pooledcovid19testing To further prevent transmission of the virus to other staff and students, we have sanitized the school with a focus on those areas frequented by the individual that tested positive. We will continue to be vigilant in adhering to all of the protocols that have been put in place in an effort to continue in person learning in the hybrid model. We are also providing remote learning for all students required to quarantine at home to continue to provide instruction, structure, and an emotional connection to the classroom during a time that we know will be challenging. For more information on COVID-19 symptoms and testing, visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-covid-19-testing#where-can-get-a-test?-. Please contact us immediately should you or someone in your home begin to show symptoms. We are committed to continuous communication with and support of our families. If there is additional transmission as a result of this case or a separate case, we will send out another message immediately. Thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Barbara Malkas, Ed.D.

Trust the facts. Get the vax! https://youtu.be/ieT9k83bDaA

Please click on this link to see information on the upcoming Miss Hall's STEM Program: HTTPS://enginmisshalls.Wordpress.com

COVID-19 – Stay the Course: Information from Mayor Tom Bernard and the City of North Adams the things we all can do to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our community and get back to the things we love as soon as we can. https://youtu.be/SbSt9kZ7f1o

COVID-19 Vaccination: Information from Mayor Tom Bernard and the City of North Adams about the vaccination process which is underway here in North Adams and across Massachusetts. https://youtu.be/0dbS4fYlrgM

COVID-19 Testing, Quarantine, and Isolation: Information from Mayor Tom Bernard and the City of North Adams about what to do if you’re directed to get tested and to quarantine or isolate due to possible COVID-19 contact. https://youtu.be/S7VGYQ16ju4

Updated detailed data report for COVID-19 as of 2/25/2021.

Youth Health Collaborative:

This is a reminder that the North Adams Public Schools have resumed the hybrid learning plan as of Monday, February 22, 2021 for Cohort A, and on Thursday, February 25, 2021 for Cohort B. The students in PreK and special education programs prioritized for in-person learning have begun their scheduled program as of Monday, February 22, 2021.

Please see March Grab and Go menus.

Please see North Adams Public Schools March menus.

This is a reminder that the North Adams Public Schools have resumed the hybrid learning plan as of Monday, February 22, 2021 for Cohort A, and on Thursday, February 25, 2021 for Cohort B. The students in PreK and special education programs prioritized for in-person learning begin their scheduled program as of Monday, February 22, 2021.

Please see the upcoming MA 4-H CES event.

Here is an updated zoom.us link to the 2/18 School Committee meeting scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm: https://napsk12.zoom.us/j/96581329649

Due to the impending storm, the dinner program at Brayton Elementary School has been cancelled for Thursday, 2/18, and Friday, 2/19. Thank you.

Youth Well-Being Check-in....Please see updated details.

Due to impending weather, all North Adams Public Schools meal distribution sites will be closed, Tuesday, February 16th, and instead will be open on Wednesday, February 17th. Thank you.

Williams College is pleased to host: An Evening with Michelle Alexander on Thu, February 18th, 2021. 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm. This event is free and open to the public. Event Zoom link: https://williams.zoom.us/j/98780551562?pwd=RDUva1ZjSFJqNXoxenNuMnA3T0taQT09. For more info: https://events.williams.edu/event/an-evening-with-michelle-alexander/

The Berkshire Vaccine Collaborative has created a centralized website for all information about its vaccination clinics in Berkshire County. We are holding clinics at three locations—Great Barrington, Pittsfield, and North Adams—and will continue to open appointments at new clinics as vaccine supply becomes available from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Please visit www.GetVaccinatedBerkshires.org for the most up-to-date vaccination information and to access the appointment registration system (also available en Espanol). You can also call the Berkshire Vaccination Hotline at 413-449-5575 for an audio recording summarizing the latest information. Seniors who do not have internet access can contact their local council on aging for assistance with appointment registration. Currently, Massachusetts is taking vaccination appointments for Phase 2. MA residents 75 years old and older (and anyone who was eligible in Phase 1) can register for a clinic appointment.