Covid-19 Update: April 17, 2020

April 20, 2020

Dear families,

I hope this message finds all of you as well as possible during this health crisis. For all members of the Milestones parent community who are healthcare providers and essential workers, we deeply appreciate your contributions. You are doing truly heroic work! Within Milestones, each week we are observing noteworthy progress in our students’ achievements with remote learning and services, and our faculty are continuing to show exemplary dedication and creativity with our virtual forum. Yesterday, we celebrated “student shout-outs” during a full faculty meeting, and compliments were flowing! Thank you for your ongoing commitment and collaboration with your student’s team to help make this learning environment as successful as possible.

This week we have a few administrative updates and a scheduling reminder.

  • April Vacation: As a reminder, Milestones will be closed on Monday of next week (4/20) in observance of Patriot’s Day. However, Milestones made the decision to remain open for remote learning on Tuesday-Friday, April 21st-24th.
  • MCAS Cancellation: Massachusetts schools received official confirmation from DESE that all MCAS exams (grades 3-10) have been cancelled for this school year. DESE had been waiting for approvals that would authorize Commissioner Jeff Riley to confirm a decision, and this authorization was reached.
  • Temporary Closure Future Announcement: DESE and maaps confirmed this week that Governor Baker will ultimately direct the decision about the re-opening of schools. This will be announced at the state level. As the
    present order requires schools to remain closed at least through May 4th, we expect to receive guidance soon. Milestones will also email all families after the Governor confirms an announcement to ensure that our parent community has been updated.
  • Special Education Parent Letter and Family Tool Kit Developed by DESE: Today DESE announced to special education public and private school leaders that they have finalized a parent letter and family tool kit that can serve as a special education resource for Massachusetts families. DESE requested that all public school districts share these materials with both their in-district and out of district families; therefore, you should receive these materials from your district liaison shortly. Milestones also received a copy of these materials, so please don’t hesitate to let me, Kirsten Esposito Balboni (Principal), or Gillian Warwick (Special Education Administrator) know if you have any questions after you receive the letter and tool kit.
  • Helpful Tips for Other Milestones Parents: During COVID-19, we are very mindful that there is an abundance of resources available through the media regarding supporting students’ remote learning, balancing work and family commitments, and fun family activities. It can be helpful as well as overwhelming! To help simplify positive ideas, we wanted to invite families to share with us directly if you have found any specific activities, strategies, or tips to be especially successful in your homes. If you would like to pass along ideas to share with other families, you are invited to email our Project Coordinator (Heidi Warren) at: hwarren@advancingmilestones.com We will be happy to circulate ideas and recommendations that are specific to the Milestones parent/guardian community.

We hope that you have a positive long weekend ahead, and we’ll look forward to resuming programming with your students on Tuesday!

Sincerely,
Kim