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Hanover Public Schools Updates 11/5/21

Posted on: November 5, 2021 - 7:16pm
Hanover H

Early November is always a busy and exciting time for our students and teachers (and families, too). It is a productive time in our classrooms, and all of our students and teachers have established the important relationships that support learning and growth for students of all ages. We are looking forward to celebrating Veterans Day next week across the district, and we want to extend our gratitude to all of our Veterans, active duty military members, and their families. Their service and sacrifice is deeply appreciated, and their courage supports and preserves our democracy. 

I want to share a few health and safety updates from questions we have received this week:

  • For the first time this school year, we had zero new COVID-19 student or staff infections this week, and all of our pooled tests were negative. There are a few students and staff who were out of school because of a prior COVID-19 diagnosis or close contact safety protocols, but there were no new school cases reported over the past five days. This is very encouraging news, and we are hopeful that this trend continues.
  • We continue to monitor vaccination rates at each of our schools (which will become more involved going forward with younger children now eligible for vaccination). Our focus has been on Hanover High School to determine if we will reach the 80% vaccination threshold (for all students and staff at HHS) set by DESE to apply for optional masking at school. As of today, using the data we have available from the Massachusetts Immunization Information System (MIIS), our student population at Hanover High School is 67% fully vaccinated. Our staff vaccination rate is being finalized, however, even if our staff rate is 100%, we will not be mathematically close to the 80% vaccination rate threshold (for all staff and students combined at Hanover High School) at this time.  We will provide more information in the weeks ahead.

We are very grateful for the appreciation that our community has shown for our teachers, administrators, and staff who are working harder than ever to support our students and to keep the focus on teaching and learning. It has been a challenging time for many families as we recover from the pandemic, and we all feel the pressure to “catch up” from all that we missed over the past two years. We are moving forward with important learning initiatives at each level, and our teachers are working on skills and strategies to strengthen instruction and improve student achievement while balancing the emotional wellness of everyone. This work is challenging, and the expectations are high to keep moving forward. To varying degrees, everyone feels the pressure and tension that is inherent during times of uncertainty, but this current feeling is palpable and requires attention and care to keep everyone well. I want to publicly thank our teachers and staff for their perseverance, adaptability, and their dedication to our students every day. I also want to thank our students for their exceptional effort and enthusiasm and thank our families for the patience and grace so many of you have shown to our staff. It is deeply appreciated.

Please have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Sincerely,

Matt Ferron
Superintendent