We hope that this letter finds you doing well, albeit some very cold weather.听 We鈥檙e reaching out to provide some additional information about our new mass communication system, ParentSquare.听听

Overall, the implementation has gone well, and as can be expected with anything new, we have found that a number of questions have come up from users. Based on your feedback and questions, we鈥檝e created a resource, which we will also post to our school and district website. We hope that this is useful as you begin to receive more communications from the district and schools through ParentSquare.

ParentSquare is intended to be a 鈥渙ne stop鈥� communication hub, where the district, schools, and even eventually teachers, can communicate with families. The platform has an app, which is not required, however, with the frequency of cell phone users, we鈥檝e received feedback over the years that an app would be helpful.听 If you have multiple children, the app will provide 鈥渇eeds鈥� for each school.听 You will still get communications if you don鈥檛 have the app, so no worries if you have not downloaded it.

Additionally, in order to participate in two way communications (this feature is not active yet), you would need to accept an invitation from ParentSquare.听 We have a number of families that may not have accepted the invitation yet, or may have just joined.听 Again, if you do not wish to take advantage of two way communications, you do not need to accept the invitation.

As always, please feel free to contact our District Database Team at familyportal@lexingtonma.org if you have any questions that are not answered in the .

Best,

Thomas Martellone,听

Director of Innovation and Instructional Technology

Dr. Maureen Kavanaugh,

Director of Data and Strategy

In addition to the onsite visit, parent outreach is an important part of the review process. The review chairperson from the Office of Public School Monitoring will send all parents of students with disabilities an online survey that focuses on key areas of their child鈥檚 special education program. Survey results will contribute to the development of a report. During the onsite review, the Office of Public School Monitoring will interview the chairperson(s) of the district鈥檚 Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). Other onsite activities may include interviews of district staff and administrators, reviews of student records, and onsite observations.听听

Parents and other individuals may contact Dee Wyatt, Public School Monitoring Chairperson, at dee.wyatt@mass.gov to request a telephone interview. If an individual requires an accommodation, such as translation, to participate in an interview, the Department will make the necessary arrangements.

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Within approximately 60 business days after the onsite visit, the review chairperson will provide the district with a report with information about areas in which the district meets or exceeds regulatory requirements and areas in which the district requires assistance to correct or improve practices. The public will be able to access the report at http://www.doe.mass.edu/psm/tfm/reports/.

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  After filling out the CORI form, please bring a government issued photo ID to the main office of the school you select as your primary location.

Should you need help filling out the CORI form, you can view a tutorial that shows you how to fill it out. Translated copies of the tutorial can be viewed .

You can view the announcement .

The parent orientation will be held on March 9th, 2020 at 天美视频 High School, 251 Waltham Street, 天美视频, 02401 from 5:00 – 6:00 pm in the Science Lecture Hall.听

You may contact Ellen Sugita, Director of Special Education at 781-861-2580 or Moses Nduati, MADESE Monitoring Specialist, 781-338-3707 for further information.

We hope you can join us!

Last evening the 天美视频 School Committee approved the school calendar for the 2020-2021 school year.

You can view the calendar .听