Back to school call from Superintendent Binienda

 for those who didn't let it go to voice mail; I replayed it to get the main points

All students must wear face masks on the bus and inside every school. Masks are not required outside at recess.

All bus routes are posted in the parent/student portal as well as on the website: https://worcesterschools.org/current-families/bus-routes/

Due to the shortage of bus drivers, WPS will *not* be dropping students off at after school programs. Students will be picked up and returned to the same location.

We'll be monitoring bus routes these first weeks, and we may have to make starting and ending time changes over the next few weeks.

There will be no transportation provided to student athletes for *in city* practice or games during the school week. Transportation to *out of district* game locations will begin at 4:30 pm. 

During the 21-22 school year, WPS will be implementing Rights, Respect, Responsibility, an evidence-informed sexual health education curriculum. The curriculum will be implemented in an age-appropriate manner by trained health teachers according to the National Sex Education Standards and the Massachusetts Health Education Frameworks. 

Online information sessions for families (dates and links) can be found here: https://worcesterschools.org/sexual-health-education-curriculum-information-sessions/

Dates as follows:

Kindergarten-3rd grade students - Tuesday, August 31 - 6:00-7:00 p.m.

4th-6th grade students - Tuesday, August 31 - 7:00-8:00 p.m.

7th-8th grade students - Tuesday, September 7 - 6:00-7:00 p.m.

High school students - Tuesday, September 7 - 7:00-8:00 p.m. 

The opt-out form is also on the website.

School starts Monday, grades 1-12; Thursday, preschool and kindergarten.