May 5, 2020

Dear parents and guardians,

I hope this communication finds you and your loved ones healthy and well.

As a follow-up to Governor Baker’s recent announcement that schools will be closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to thank you for your flexibility during this extraordinary time and to let you know about our continuing commitment to provide a high quality Catholic education for the remainder of this year and beyond.

When Catholic school leaders first began planning for the possibility of an extended period of remote learning in the early days of March, no one anticipated that we would be implementing those plans within a few weeks. Since then, I have witnessed leadership and teamwork at a level that is unparalleled in my years as a professional in educational settings.  I have seen a relentless focus on the needs of children whether those needs are academic or social-emotional in nature, and I have seen a remarkable level of collaboration within and across schools in the Diocese as remote learning is improved upon and modified to meet the needs of students and their families. Now that we know that remote learning will continue through the end of the school year, you can expect that your child’s school will ensure continuity of learning despite the challenges of not being able to convene in our schools.

Looking to the next school year, I am praying that we will be back in schools and classrooms.  However, it is possible that state and/or local regulations may require that we adjust classroom settings to allow for social distancing and may potentially require us to incorporate remote learning should there be any future waves of coronavirus.  We are prepared for such a contingency, and we will continue to improve upon our remote learning practices by sharing best practices and staying current with emerging evidence-based research.
As we approach the end of the school year, we enter the time of year when both Catholic schools and families begin to look towards the next year. Prospective parents are submitting applications and exploring financial aid options.  At the same time, Catholic school leaders are examining enrollment numbers for the coming year in order to inform staffing and hiring decisions for the upcoming year.  For this reason, if you have not yet committed to your child’s school for the 2020-21 school, I strongly encourage you to do so immediately.  Our ability to be prepared for the best academic experience for your child depends on it.  If you have experienced economic hardship or financial uncertainty because of the COVID-19 pandemic, please report that to your school’s principal.  We want to make certain that we have assessed staffing levels correctly as we head into the summer months because the number of staff we are able to hire depends on the number of students that will be served by each school.

If you have questions about your child’s education, whether it be this year or next, please contact your child’s principal.  If I can be of assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I can be reached via e-mail at dperda@worcesterdiocese.org or by telephone at 774-764-1019.

All God’s blessings,

David Perda, Ph.D. Superintendent of Schools
/documents/2020/5/Letter%20to%20Parents%20Diocese%20of%20Worcester%20Catholic%20Schools%20Office.pdf