District News

It has been an excellent start to the 2026-2027 school year!

Barnstable Public Schools is abuzz throughout the year and the start of the school year is no exception. At this point in time, routines are established and students and teachers are engaging deeply through content. Athletic events and club activities bring excitement and connection after school. Theatrical performances are eagerly anticipated, with the BHS Drama Club bringing Beetlejuice Jr. to the Knight Auditorium stage November 5 -- 8, 2026. Field trips are being planned, teachers are applying for supplemental grants through the generosity of the Enoch Cobb Trust and Cape Cod 5 Mini grant programs. Professional learning and parent teacher conferences are also underway.

We'd love to share a few (but not all) recent highlights about BPS:

1. We are proud to recognize our BHS AP Scholars:

88 BHS Students Earned AP Scholar Recognition

⭐ 44 AP Scholars

2. Barnstable continues to lead Cape Cod in the number (43) and percentage (14.7%) of our graduates who have earned the Seal of Biliteracy. Barnstable recently received DESE's Seal of Biliteracy Star Award from DESE because of our results.

3. Barnstable Performing Arts Department recently opened a remarkable recording studio at Barnstable High School. The studio is a collaboration with the Mark Hennessy Foundation, which honors the late musician who was a lifelong Barnstable resident and well-known on Cape Cod for his music. It was recently featured on the cover of the Cape Cod Times!

4. Congratulations to BHS Girls' Volleyball coach, Tom Turco, who recently achieved his 800th win as a coach! Coach Turco further cemented his legacy as a 39 season coach that includes 18 Division 1 state titles and 10 perfect seasons. Notably the team has also won, for the 14th year in a row, the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic award, the only team on Cape Cod to earn this award in 2025-2026.

5. BHS was recently designated as a USA Blue School for its work for hands-on stewardship and ocean literacy. We are the first in Massachusetts! Blue Schools empower youth to connect with science, take action for their local waterways, and join a global movement for a sustainable ocean future.

6. BIS Drama, producing the Lion King Junior last year, was nominated for an impressive nine awards at the Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild Music Theatre Awards and won three: Best Hair and Makeup; Best Specialty Ensemble - the lionesses; Best Female supporting lead - Leah Pacheco as Rafiki. We are so proud of you!

Open and timely communication between home and school is vital to supporting your student’s learning and success. We are writing today to bring an important email delivery matter to your attention.

Email Security Filters & Message Delivery

Due to heightened automated security and anti-spam filter settings across various internet service providers and email systems, some incoming and outgoing email messages between parents and administrators/teachers are occasionally being misrouted to spam or junk folders.

While our technology team is actively working to ensure maximum email deliverability, we want to make sure that no family message goes unanswered.

Recommended Action Steps

If you have sent an email to a classroom teacher, counselor, or administrator and have not received timely a response, please take the following steps:

1. Reach Out by Phone: Please call our main office directly. Our administrative team will be happy to connect you with the teacher or pass along a phone message to request a call back.

2. Check Your Spam/Junk Folder: Periodically check your own spam or junk folder for replies sent from school staff email addresses, and mark them as "Not Spam" or add school domains to your safe senders list.

3. Verify Contact Information: Ensure your primary telephone numbers and email addresses are up to date in our student information portal, Aspen.

We appreciate your patience, understanding, and continued partnership as we ensure smooth communication between home and school. Please do not hesitate to call our main office if you need immediate assistance.

Thank you.

An original version of this message appeared in the Back to School Newsletter in August...

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Public School

Monitoring (PSM) will conduct an Integrated Monitoring Review of the Barnstable Public

Schools during the week of October 26, 2026 and November 2, 2026. Each school district, charter school, vocational school, and virtual school undergoes an Integrated Monitoring Review every

three years. The areas addressed during an Integrated Monitoring Review are

organized into two groups, known as Group A Universal Standards and Group B

Universal Standards.

The Barnstable Public Schools will be undergoing a Group B monitoring review that

addresses special education teacher and related service personnel licensure and

professional development; parent, student, and community engagement, including

compliance with Child Find requirements; facilities and classroom observations;

implementation and oversight of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs); time and

learning, and equal access. For additional information please also see Integrated

Monitoring Parent and Family Orientation.

The process includes interviews with district staff and administrators, a review of

student records, policies and procedures, and school building visits. The process may

also include parent/caregiver, student and teacher focus group meetings to gather

additional information. Interpretation will be provided, if needed.

The Department will also send a parent survey, in multiple languages and formats as

needed, to parents/guardians of special education students to gather key information on

the special education processes and procedures.

Parents/guardians and other stakeholders may contact Gillian Lange, Monitoring

Review Chairperson, at (781) 338-3246 or at gillian.e.lange@mass.gov to request a

telephone interview. If anyone requires an accommodation, such as translation, to

participate in an interview, the Department will make the necessary arrangements.

Within approximately 60 business days after the onsite visit, the review chairperson will

provide the district with a report that includes information on further actions that may be

required. The public can access the report at

https://www.doe.mass.edu/psm/tfm/default.html.

The elevator at Town Hall will be getting serviced starting on September 8 and continuing for several months. The Town Hall meeting room will have limited public access as a result.

Starting in October, the School Committee meetings will be held over ZOOM for several months while the elevator is in service. This is expected to last approximately 3 months.

The School Committee meeting schedule and agendas are posted on our website, which you can access here: School Committee Webpage.

Over the summer, the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) mailed out new chip/tap EBT cards to clients. Individuals/families receiving DTA benefits (e.g., SNAP, TAFDC cash benefits) must activate their new chip/tap card by November 29, 2026, before their old card is deactivated. After November 29, their old EBT card will no longer work.

To help clients activate their card and spread the word, DTA has created a handout and poster in multiple languages, partner guide and frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Questions please contact Alana Davidson at (617) 352-3506 | Alana.Davidson2@mass.gov

Bookmark this page for our 2026-2027 school calendar!

You belong in Barnstable!

Families need to begin the process online through the Aspen portal, and then they will make an appointment at the Family & Community Engagement Center.

If you have any questions - our general email is bpsengagementcenter@mybps.us, and our WhatsApp is 508-356-4906.