Dear Wilmington Families,
The Wilmington Teachers' Association represents the teachers, counselors, librarians, educational assistants, administrative assistants and other support staff employed by the Wilmington Public Schools, and we strongly advocate for reasonable working and learning conditions for teachers, students and their families. Thank you for your patience and support as Wilmington educators, counselors, and other support staff worked hard to provide a distance learning experience for your children—our students.
When we left our classrooms and offices on March 11th, we believed that we would be returning to our students the next day. Now, we find ourselves closing in on the final weeks of our school year still in distance learning. Throughout this process, we have sought creative means for making personal connections with our students and your families remotely. The WTA has been working for some time now on planning a parade for our students. With an overwhelming number of our members interested in having a car parade around town, traffic would have been backed up in Wilmington for hours. So to cap off the year and demonstrate our appreciation for your support of our remote learning efforts, instead of coming to you, we invite you to “parade” by us!
Our “Reverse Parade” will take place on Monday, June 15th from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm on Carter Lane between the Boutwell Early Childhood Center and the Wilmington Middle School. Staff members will be standing on both sides of the road, and families are welcome to drive on through! For those “parading” by, WPD will be on site to direct traffic. Please enter Carter Lane from Boutwell Street and exit onto Shawsheen Avenue.
Staff from the “West” side of town (Boutwell, Shawsheen, and West Intermediate) will be in place from 10:00 am - 11:45 am, while staff from the “North” side (Wildwood, Woburn Street, and North Intermediate) will be in place from 12:15 pm - 2:00 pm. Members from the Middle School and High School will be joining during those times, as well. The Wilmington Police will be on site to help with traffic and safety.
As you parade by, feel free to beep and wave to us; however due to the safety advisories in place, you will not be allowed to stop and there will be no physical contact with staff or other families. To help with safety and to keep traffic flowing, we are asking that you do not walk through the route. Please do not congregate with your neighbors and be sure to practice safe social distancing at all times! Should the weather be inclement, a rain date is scheduled for June 16.
We had all hoped to be back to our buildings and with our students before the start of summer vacation, but since that won't be happening, let's mark our last day of school by showing the community that we are all still in this together! We hope this will be a fun and exciting event for the students and families of Wilmington!
And thank you again for your continued support as we work together to overcome the challenges facing our community today.
Sincerely,
The WTA Leadership