After the governor extended school closures due to coronavirus, the Old Rochester Regional School District answered some of the critical questions that parents may have with an FAQ sheet on March 16 that answered questions about learning, special needs students, athletics, events, meal programs and teacher compensation.

District Superintendent Doug White said in a letter on March 13 that the district is headed into “uncharted waters” and urged parents, students and educators to be safe and follow all directives from state and federal leaders. 

The document said that the three weeks off don’t count as school days and for students, there will be no formal assignments or additional learning provided by the district or teachers in that time.

The district will share optional enrichment and academic resources in the coming days.

As it stands, April vacation for the district is still on, but this may subject to change per the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The last day of school will not extend beyond June 24.

The district will provide students with breakfast and lunch by having students pick up their meals by car at schools in the district.

Breakfast and lunches will be made available for pickup between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The meals will be available at Center School at the Hammond street/tennis court entrance loop, at the Old Rochester Regional High School at the main entrance loop, at Rochester Memorial School at the front main entrance loop and at Sippican School at the park street side door entrance loop.

The only information needed from students is their name. No documentation is required.

For special education students, the district will follow guidelines from the Center for Disease Control. Students who attend schools outside the district will not be affected, and services will not be offered to students, as is the norm during snow days. 

All events are cancelled during this period and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association delayed the start of the 2020 spring season to April 7.

The district is awaiting news from the state about MCAS ELA testing.

Teachers in the district will be compensated during this off-time, and paid time off scheduled during the next three weeks will not count against their number of allocated days off.