Dear Olá Families,
It has been a tumultuous summer. We have been working hard to make decisions about the upcoming school year with the information readily available to us. Because COVID-19 has impacted staff and their loved ones in varying ways particularly as it relates to underlying health conditions, we had to assign staff to in person and remote assignments to accommodate existing health needs. While we are still working through staffing and student enrollment decisions school wide, it was necessary to finalize Olá student groupings so that we could then finalize staff assignments and prepare for family conferences while simultaneously preparing for the opening of the 2021 school year. As you know family conferences start the week of September 8th.
The dual language aspect of the Olá program provided an additional layer of complexity as not all Olá staff speak and teach the Portuguese language. Therefore in addition to accommodating health needs, we also needed to preserve the teaching of the Portuguese language by ensuring that the modified structure still supported the meaningful daily acquisition of the language for students enrolled in both the in person and remote programs. To add to the complexity, in person enrollment decisions are subject to social distancing requirements. Small groups are a priority.
Therefore, the districts’ back to school plan has resulted in some changes to the student groupings in the Olá program grades K – 5. These changes are a direct result of the in person and remote schooling choices selected by families at each grade level. We acknowledge that these changes were unexpected and might be difficult for students who were expecting a different teacher and will work with families to identify creative ways to help students with any adjustments.
Here is the structure of Olá for in person and remote based on the current student enrollment.
In Person Staff
|
In Person Staff
|
Remote Staff |
Larissa Turra
Grades JK/K
(English & Portuguese)
Para Group A: Renata Moreira
|
Larissa Turra
Grades JK/K
(English & Portuguese)
Para Group B: Tarciso Alves
|
Fabiane Noronha
Grades K/1
(English & Portuguese)
Para Support: Michelle Dias
|
Stacy Braga
Grades K /1
(Portuguese)
Para: Karen Candea
|
Nicole Larriu
Grades K / 1
(English)
Para: Maria Gonçalves-Cristo
|
Luisa Raposo
Grades 2/3
(Portuguese)
Para: Angela Afonso
|
To accommodate this model during the pandemic we are hiring 3 additional Olá paraprofessionals.
|
Jonathan Horowitz 2/3
(English – Remote/In Person)
Para: Angela Afonso
|
Ana Travassos
Grade 4 Portuguese
Grade 5 Portuguese & English
Tawnie Hespeler (4th Grade)
Laura Glass (4th Grade)
Grade 4 Olá students will receive English instruction from teachers in the KO monolingual program.
Para: Carlos DePina
|
Finalization of this plan was imperative to start the school year remotely on Wednesday, September 16th and in person on Tuesday, October 13th when some students transition into in person learning. If you have any questions regarding changes to the Olá Program this school year, please reach out to Principal Williams or Assistant Principal Waleska Landing-Rivera.
We look forward to working with our Olá families to make this year as productive, joyful and educationally rewarding as possible.
Yours,
Darrell Williams
Principal