Dear Families,
Please see below for this week’s announcements.
COVID Scenarios, Approach and Testing
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Report Card
Upcoming Family Town Hall
Boston Prep Events/Announcements
Community Events/Announcements
Stay safe and be well!
Sincerely,
Sharon Liszanckie
Executive Director
I. COVID Testing - REMINDER
At Boston Prep, health and safety is our number one priority. We ask for your help, as families, in a few ways. Please read the following carefully for specific information regarding COVID scenarios, approach and testing.
Covid Scenarios:
We have received questions from parents in recent weeks about what happens when a student tests positive for COVID, and/or is identified as a close contact. Boston Prep follows the guidance provided by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The most up-to-date guidance from the state is attached here, for your reference. If your student has tested positive for COVID and/or is identified as a close contact, please email our Nurses at nurses@bostonprep.org and they will provide you with guidance on what to do. Keep your child home if they are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 or have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19.
We ask all families to continue to monitor their children for any COVID symptoms using the attached guidance above. Continue to commit to remaining diligent when ongoing the screening process.
Boston Prep’s COVID approach and testing:
· To participate in student pooled testing, parents/caregivers must complete and sign a consent form. If you have not yet done this (and would like to do so), please contact our Nursing Team at nurses@bostonprep.org
· Students with consent forms in place, as well as all faculty members, are tested on Monday (or Tuesday if there is no school on Monday). Students who are parts of positive or inconclusive pools retest immediately upon arrival at school on Tuesdays (or the day after testing)
· You will be notified by Boston Prep’s Nursing Team if your student tests positive for COVID. If you do not receive notification from our Nurses, you should assume that your child has not tested positive
If you have not yet registered your child for our FREE COVID testing program, please do so now!
Thank you for continuing to be our partners in ensuring the health and safety of the Boston Prep community.
II. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Report Card
We are pleased to include an overview of our school’s “report card” provided annually by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Report cards provide answers to questions about a school's overall performance and contain specific information about student enrollment and teacher qualifications, student achievement, accountability, how our school is performing relative to other schools in the district and the state, and the progress made toward narrowing proficiency gaps for different groups of students. Here is the link to the most recent report card.
As a school we remain committed to each individual student’s success and fulfillment of our mission to prepare all students to succeed in four-year colleges. As we return to in-person schooling, we have set academic priorities for all students to engage in rigorous, grade level work each day and meet expectations on MCAS. All of the data included in the report card helps us to identify students', curricular and programming strengths and areas in need of additional support.
For more information about our school’s report card or to request information about the qualifications of your child’s classroom teachers, please feel free to contact us at (617) 333-6688.
III. Upcoming Family Town Hall
Join us Wednesday, February 2, 6:00 PM at our Family Town Hall. Topic to be discussed will be: Covid Health & Safety. If you haven’t registered yet, you still have time to click on this link and Register. Visit our website to view our other upcoming Town Halls.
We are eager to have as many families as possible join us for this Town Hall so that we can continue to partner together to ensure Boston Prep is an excellent, equitable school for all.
IV. Boston Prep Events/Announcements
SFE (Semester Final Exams) for Grades 8-12 ONLY
There will be no remote exams. Students must take the exam in person. Any student
who is in quarantine during these dates will be able to make up the exam upon return.
ACCESS TESTING: ACCESS stands for "Assessing Comprehension and Communication in English State-to-State for English Language Learners." It's a test that's given to students from kindergarten to grade 12, to assess their progress in learning English. Access testing will be administered on the following dates:
Middle School: Tuesday, February 1st - Friday, February 4th
(make up sessions: February 7th - 11th)
High school: February 8th - Friday, February 11th
(make up sessions: February 14th - 18th )
Enrollment is OPEN: If you have a child that is entering grades 6-10 next fall and would like them to enroll at Boston Prep or know someone who is interested in enrolling at Boston Prep for the 2022-2023 school year, enrollment is now open. Siblings of currently enrolled students receive preference on the waitlist, but families must submit an application. Deadline to enroll is February 28, 2022.
Apply today and SPREAD the WORD! You can apply by heading to this link: application.
IV. Community Events/Announcements
Free AT-Home Covid test
The White House recently announced that it will begin taking orders for FREE at-home COVID-19 test kits this week. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. Order your tests below so you have them when you need them. The order website will open to the national public tomorrow, but families and community members in ZIP codes considered high risk for COVID-19 can place their orders TODAY, January 18th.
Test ordering link: https://nachw.org/covid-test-kit-order-form/
Orders that take place on January 18th will be screened based on an Equitable Distribution Index (EDI) and COVID-19 risk factor ZIP Code list required and compiled by the White House and CDC. Having reviewed the form, we know that many of our families' ZIP codes will qualify for early ordering.
The information needed for the order is first name, last name and household address.
One package of four COVID-19 rapid tests can be ordered per household.
Your order cannot use a place of business address.
If community members would like to track their package, an email address can be included. The same email address can be used to track multiple orders.
If you have any questions or need assistance completing the test kit order form, please reach out to Madelyn Ruizdeporras (Family Operations Manager) at: mruizdeporras@bostonprep.org
Free Walk Thru Covid 19 Testing: See testing location and times below
APPENDIX: FAMILY QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
Upcoming Dates
Wednesday, January 26 - SFE Exams start
Friday, January 28 - Q2 Ends
Wednesday, February 2 - Family Town Hall - Register Here
Monday, February 21-Friday, February 25 - February Break - No School
Have questions?
Please don’t ever hesitate to reach out with questions! You can contact your child’s advisor or utilize any of the email addresses below.
For questions about yellow school buses, MBTA passes, and transportation: transportation@bostonprep.org
To report an absence or tardiness: attendance@bostonprep.org
To submit a physical exam record or to discuss health-related topics: nurses@bostonprep.org
For information about resources, please familiarize yourselves with our boston prep resource page: https://www.bostonprep.org/resources
For other questions: info@bostonprep.org