Superintendent's Weekly Memo - August 16, 2024

Dear Mustang Families, 

We are getting closer and closer to the official start of the new school year! This week, our central administration team hosted our annual administrators retreat in Bistro 489 at the Medford Technical Vocational High School. The two-day event served as a tremendous opportunity to align expectations and goals, focus on key measurements of performance and strengthen our commitment to the work ahead.

The week wrapped up with the Jumpstart Music Camp End of Camp Showcase! Students in Grade 4 and up performed in front of family and friends at the end of the two-week camp. The showcase served as an opportunity for students to enhance their band, color guard and orchestra instrument skills.   

I’d also like to extend a thank you to Mayor Lungo-Koehn and the Medford community for their donations to the Mayor’s Office summer back-to-school supply drive! We received all of the donated school supplies today and will be evenly distributing them throughout our school district early next week. Thank you for your continuous support.

With school starting in less than two weeks, I gently encourage all caregivers to restart a “school sleep schedule” this weekend to make it easier for your child to wake up early for school. As a reminder, Tuesday, Aug. 27, is the First Day of School for Students in Grades 1-12 and our Project Transition Program. Our Medford Early Education Program begins on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Kindergarten begins on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Arrival & Dismissal times for the 2024/25 school year can be found on the district website.

If you have any questions about the start of school, you can always contact your child’s school or the district registration office.

Today’s Memo includes:

• MHS Highlighted for Positive Work on Chronic Absenteeism
• Class Assignments & Student Schedules
• School Nurse & Health Reminders
• Fall Athletics Orientation Night
• Transportation Services
• Job Openings in Medford Public Schools
• Upcoming Events

MHS Highlighted for Positive Work on Chronic Absenteeism

Earlier this week, Medford High School was featured by the Associated Press about their work in lowering chronic absenteeism. Among many initiatives implemented by Principal Cabral and her team, students had the opportunity to use the gym during lunch hours for organized sports or other supervised activities - as long as they attended all of their classes.

This use of the gym space quickly gained popularity amongst the students, leading to MHS experiencing one of the steepest declines in chronic absenteeism among all Massachusetts high schools. We are so thankful for the collaboration Ms. Cabral, the staff at MHS, and our students have shown towards tackling this important issue!

Class Assignments & Student Schedules

Information regarding class assignments and Q1 schedules for the 2024/25 school year will be communicated by your child’s respective school.

To stay up-to-date on the latest news regarding your child’s school, visit www.mps02155.org, select your child’s school on the “Schools” tab, then visit the “News” tab.

School Nurse & Health Reminders

Our Health Services Department would like to share some important reminders as we approach the start of school.

Medications in School

In accordance with Massachusetts law and the Department of Public Health, the following guidelines must be upheld regarding medications in schools:

• Students are not allowed to carry their own medications to school, unless for emergency purposes and the primary care provider has written a letter so that the school nurse is aware (EpiPens, inhalers). This includes over-the-counter medications such as Lactaid, Tylenol, Motrin, cough drops, etc.
• Medications need to be brought to the school nurse by an adult. Students cannot bring their own medications to the school nurse for administration.
• All medications brought to the nurse need to be accompanied by a doctor's order form and a parent/guardian authorization form. The school nurse cannot administer medications without both of these forms on file in the nursing office.
• Medications should be provided to the school nurse in the original bottle. The prescription label needs to be readable with the student’s name and the specifics of the medication included. Over-the-counter medication should be in the original manufacturer's bottle.

Immunizations

If you are notified by the school nurse that your child is missing required school immunizations, the date for exclusion from school is Dec. 1, 2024. If you need help getting immunizations, please contact your school nurse.

Updating the School Nurse About Injuries

Any injuries sustained over the summer or at home that may impact your child’s school day or participation in recess or physical education classes should be reported to the school nurse. Students requiring mobility devices (crutches, wheelchairs) need to provide a doctor’s note for use in school.

Fall Athletics Orientation Night

On Monday, Aug. 26, all Medford Middle School & High School Fall Sports Athletes are invited to attend our Fall Athletics Orientation Night. This is a mandatory meeting for all caregivers of athletes ahead of the fall sports season. The event will be held from 6 - 7 p.m. in the Caron Theater located at Medford High School.

Transportation Services

Medford Public Schools provides free yellow bus transportation for students in Grades K-5 living more than 1 mile from their school and students in Grades 6-8 living more than 2 miles from their school. As we approach the start of the school year, a number of families have signed up for transportation who are not eligible for free busing because of the distance between their home and the school. To prevent overcrowding on buses, we ask families not to sign up for bus transportation if you do not live in a location eligible for free busing.

School transportation challenges continue to have impacts throughout the country. We work very closely with our bus contractor, Eastern Bus, regarding bus driver staffing for the coming school year. We anticipate that all driver vacancies will be filled by the start of school, but we ask for your patience and attention in case we need to make any last-minute updates to bus schedules or availability.

Visit Here for current Medford Public Schools Bus Routes for the 2024/25 school year. If you have any questions about school transportation, please email transportation@medford.k12.ma.us.

Job Openings

Come work with us! Medford Public Schools has a variety of job openings across the district. Consider applying today!

UPCOMING EVENTS!

• Aug. 22: MHS Freshman Orientation, 8 - 11 a.m.
• Aug. 22: Grade 6 Orientation, 9 - 11 a.m.
• Aug. 26: First Day of School for Staff
• Aug. 27: First Day of School for Students! (Grades 1-12 and Project Transition Program)
• Aug. 29: Kindergarten Mini Day
• Aug. 30: No School
• Sept. 2: No School, Labor Day
• Sept. 3: MEEP Pre-School First Day
• Sept. 3: State Primary Election
• Sept. 4: First Day of Kindergarten Classes

Yours In Partnership For Children,

Dr. Marice Edouard-Vincent, Superintendent