Learning Model Planning Update February 17, 2021/Actualización de planificación del modelo de aprendizaje 17 de febrero de 2021

In a conference call earlier this morning, the Deputy Commissioner of Education shared information later announced at the Governor’s afternoon press conference. In short, our current School Board-approved plan to return our middle school students, along with our elementary students, to in-person learning remains aligned with the State’s updated recommendation and guidance for schools who choose to do so beginning February 22nd.

As we prioritize the opportunity for a return to in-person learning for our students, we will continue to provide a distance learning option for families. As a community, we remain mindful of the importance of following public health guidance, including face covering and physical distancing, and continue to make available vaccination and saliva testing for staff as well as expect home screening for students. In addition, the State has strongly recommended families have their children saliva tested every two weeks before and after their in-person return. Free saliva testing locations can be found on the MDH website.

We continue to monitor the situation using our decision-making metrics and will respond to any federal or statewide developments in ongoing partnership with the MDE and MDH. Our primary focus remains on community and school-level viral activity as well as staffing capacity and coverage. Please visit our COVID-19 webpage for information updates and other related documents. We appreciate the planning efforts of all of our distance and on-site teachers and staff as well as the patience and support of our students and families as we prepare for a safe, successful, and sustainable return to in-person learning.