Greetings,
The links below provide updates on our process to plan for school in September.
English: https://www.smore.com/fw76z
Spanish: https://www.smore.com/hj4df
Punjabi: https://www.smore.com/4pmj9
Greetings Meridian Community,
I want to check in with all of you to provide an update on our start of school planning for September. We understand there are many questions about what school will look like, how the schedules will work, what safety protocols will be in place, how transportation will be handled and on and on and on. The instructional and operational aspects of the 2020-2021 school year have been consuming almost every moment for a many of us this summer.
Safely returning our students and staff back to school is still the goal. We will follow state and local health guidelines and requirements. We will also incorporate distancing parameters, face coverings, and health screening. Teachers, parents, staff members and administrators have worked together over the past 6-8 weeks to contribute to the design of both hybrid and online models to address learning.
Planning
We have been involved in meetings with the Whatcom County Reopening Advisory Team – which includes members from each of the seven public school districts in Whatcom County, the Whatcom County Health Department and representatives from community partners, health care, and more. Other groups we have been working with include the Whatcom County Unified Command, Whatcom Early Learning & School-Aged Care Recovery and Food Access and Security groups. There are many who are contributing to help us determine the best opportunities to develop our comprehensive plan for this next school year.
Changing Landscape
Thank you to those who provided feedback to our survey in early July. We received responses representing just over 40% of our students. Of those responding 76% are ready to return in the hybrid model. Of course, there are also those who are anxious and have questions about how things will come together – making up about 16% of our responses. There was strong support for the Friday non-student hybrid model and high willingness to transport students if the need exists. Your feedback is helpful in finalizing our plans.
When we started the process of determining what school would look in September we all hoped the infection rates would have slowed. Unfortunately, that has not happened. And, because of the trends, it has been difficult to balance the changing guidance, safety considerations, and the desire to return to school. We receive and consider guidance from the Governor’s Office, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Washington State and Whatcom County Departments of Health, Washington Association of School Administrators, local and regional superintendent groups, families, our teachers, and staff. As soon as we have a solution to share, we will.
As you know, the landscape has changed considerably. Our guidance also continues to change, making this process all the more complicated. We have engaged families, staff, and our labor groups to find a plan that will allow us to serve our students in as safe and comprehensive a way possible in this new reality.
Technology
One thing we are certain about is our ability to provide technology to all our students before school starts. We recognize the challenges with limited access to technology and remote learning in the spring. As a result, we have secured computers for each student so they may continue learning should we need to start or shift to remote learning. This provides additional learning resources while helping us to prepare for this particular scenario if we need to engage in improved remote learning. We have secured training opportunities lined up at the start of school to support our teachers and provide greater access for our students. We also recognized difficulty for many families to connect to the Internet and have been working with several groups to address this need. Expect information in early August about required documentation, permissions, and how we will provide devices to students for the start of school.
Thank You
I provide this update so you know we are still actively working to determine our plan. I want to acknowledge the anxiety families are facing during this time of uncertainty. Whatever plan we provide is subject to change. That being said, we want to minimize the number of times we are communicating a plan only to change it days later. We know each time we are required to change it has a ripple effect as families start planning. We appreciate your patience as we work through all of this. Thank you for your partnership as we work through this unprecedented time.