Amesbury Public Schools Update

Email: bartlettc@amesburyma.gov
Website: schools.amesbury.gov
Location: 5 Highland Street, Amesbury, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 388-0507
Facebook: facebook.com/amesburyschools
Twitter: @amesburypublic1

I don't know whether this is a blanket or a sweater, but it sure looks cozy! It is exactly what we need after getting all the snow last weekend and the ice today!

We are more than halfway through this school year and beginning to develop the budget for the next school year. We are hoping to build on the successes of this school year to help students feel supported and appropriately challenged. Each of the principals and directors have thought carefully about their requests and have provided the rationale behind their requests. I am excited to begin this work.

We know that the second half of the school year will be full of great events that showcase the abilities and talents of our students. Please follow make sure to read the principal newsletters, bulletins, and other forms of communication to ensure that you don't miss anything of interest.

In this newsletter, I have included some excerpts from reports done on our facilities. Overall, the news was really good in the buildings that we own. Please read below for more detail!

Take care, be safe, and enjoy the weekend,

Elizabeth McAndrews

Superintendent

On Monday of this week, we distributed the first round of tests to students whose families opted them into DESE's At Home Testing Program. We are thrilled at the number of students who have chosen to opt in. At the time of writing, we have had 524 students enroll. We placed our first order for student tests on Thursday, January 27th so that we could get them early this week. The students and families who opted in prior to that date, received their tests on Monday of this week. Those students and families who have opted in since that time will be included in our next order and next round of distribution. The next round of student distribution will take place on Monday, February 14th. The cut off to be included in this round of distribution is Tuesday, February 8th. Of course you can still opt in at any time using this form. Once you opt in, you will be included in each distribution until you inform us that you no longer wish to participate or the program itself ends. If you have any questions, please contact Alyssa Zarrillo at alyssa.zarrillo@amesburyma.org or your building nurse.

As we have stated previously, at home testing will take place any time Tuesday after the school day and any school events end. Please use this form to report a positive test result. Any questions, please contact your school nurse.

Since we have embarked on this new testing program, there have been many great questions. Our Lead Nurse, Kristin Tierney, created this newsletter to address many of those questions. If you have a question that is not included here, please reach out to your school nurse. If you haven't done so already, take a few moments to read through this informative newsletter.

This month's School Committee Meetings will be held on Monday, February 7th and Tuesday, February 15th. Agendas are posted by the end of the day on the prior Thursday on the city's calendar. We are meeting in person, but you can also stream live on Facebook or watch on ACTV.

We are heading into "budget season"! This means lots of conversations about teaching and learning, capital plans, and ways to best meet the needs of our students and our staff. Our first meeting takes place on Wednesday, February 9th at 6 pm. This is a Finance Subcommittee Meeting of the Whole. It is an open meeting and the agenda will also be posted on the city's calendar. This is just the very beginning of the discussion with the School Committee and will not include any decisions.

As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, we have several facilities related projects that are ongoing. One of the big requests was to have an air quality test done in all of the buildings. RPF Environmental Testing and Consulting Services performed tests in all five buildings on December 30, 2021. During that test, they found that "overall, the indoor total fungal spore airborne concentrations were low and are considered acceptable." The exception to that statement is in the basement of Amesbury Innovation High School, a place where no students or staff go. Mr. Bennett, our Facilities Director, has been in contact with the All Saints Church to inform them so that they can clean the basement and have it retested. It is important to note that pipes have burst twice in the basement in recent months. Below, please find the tables provided in the report from RPF Environmental Testing and Consulting Services. The full report can be found on our website.

Pursuant to the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA), the Asbestos-Containing Materials in Schools rule requires local education agencies to inspect their school buildings for asbestos-containing building material, prepare asbestos management plans and perform asbestos response actions to prevent or reduce asbestos hazards. Re-inspection is required every three years. On December 27, 2021, RPF Environmental Services conducted an asbestos re-inspection for all five schools. The full reports can be found on our website.

Some highlights of this report include:

• No new issues on APS properties.

• Continue to tape and wax hallway tiles at AES.

• Cashman Cafeteria will continue to be taped and waxed with the intention of adding this to our Capital requests.

• Our intention would be for this to be addressed during Summer Vacation.

• The church needs to address issues in a couple of areas (pipe insulation fitting in a storage closet and pipe insulation fitting in the boiler room as well as boiler insulation).

• No staff or students have access to any of these areas

There are several other projects that are in process:

• The shingle roof at AMS was replaced last week.
• We are waiting for quotes to repair the AMS roof. These would be patches as opposed to a complete repair. This would utilize the remaining capital funds allocated to the AMS roof.
• We are also waiting for quotes to replace the AMS roof, both as a complete replacement and to replace the roof in different parts.
• We are waiting for a structural engineer to review the weight bearing capacity of the CES roof prior to having two of the 8 HVAC units replaced. There is a 4 year plan to replace two units per year.
• We are waiting for a commissioning Engineer/Project Engineer to study and quote the handicapped doors at AMS and CES and the building envelope and window assessment at CES and AMS.

I certainly hope that you were able to attend the outstanding play at AHS this past Thursday or Friday night. The students were fantastic! It makes me so happy to see students doing things that they love! Below are pictures from a few scenes.