P-CCS COVID-19 Preparedness And Response Plan Updates

Press release from Plymouth-Canton Schools:

P-CCS Families:

We hope this message finds you well as we conclude week three of the 2020-21 school year together. I am writing to provide you with updated information regarding our continued plans for the return of in-person learning for students in Safe Start Remote Learning this fall. Students in our P-CCS Virtual Academy will continue receiving instruction in a fully-remote environment.

With the approval of our initial remote start plan last month, we shared our intention to begin transitioning small groups of students back to in-person learning utilizing a phased-in approach. We indicated at that time that we would begin bringing back our most vulnerable students first, including students with IEPs and English Learners, as well as our youngest learners. We shared a plan to develop a new hybrid model that would allow us to better meet the recommended physical distancing guidelines of six feet in the classroom setting where feasible, as we continue to monitor data around the transmission rates of COVID-19 in our local and regional areas.

We began our phased-in plan for in-person learning in September with the following small groups of students:

• September 8: Select Early Childhood students

• September 14: Infant Preschool Special Education (IPSEP) students

Our New Hybrid Model Committee has been working on the next phase of the return to in-person learning plan, beginning with our elementary-age students, utilizing a half-day model. Students will attend four half-days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, in either the morning or afternoon. For the other half of the student’s day when students are not in-person (whether it be a.m. or p.m.), they will engage in remote instruction. In-person sessions on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday will run from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. On Wednesdays, elementary students will receive instruction in a fully remote setting while at home. Remote lessons will include new learning as well as extensions from what was taught in-person.

The proposed timeline for the following students to resume in-person learning using our new hybrid model is as follows:

• Kindergarten: Monday, October 12

• 1st and 2nd Grade: Monday, October 19

• 3rd and 4th Grade: Thursday, October 22

• 5th Grade: Monday, October 26

ELEMENTARY FAMILIES: We have more details and information specific to elementary families regarding this plan, and you can view this supplemental information here. (Direct URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1v-80-Te_kjOxHaEESDckljplZmBu8fBkZUjdoWThcJk/edit?usp=sharing)

Secondary students (middle and high school) will continue receiving instruction in a fully-remote environment as the committee completes its work on developing transition plans for the secondary level. We will update the community next month on our progress with secondary transition plans to in-person learning. We will continue to be guided in all of our decision-making by the following multiple COVID-19 data points in our local and regional areas:

• Weekly P-CCS Local Data

• Wayne County Schools COVID-19 Weekly Report

• COVID ActNow Wayne County Data and Metrics

In addition, we will continue to work in collaboration with the Wayne County Health Department to provide guidance and evaluate our safety measures and mitigation strategies as we consider a return to in-person learning. It is important for you to know that we would be prepared at any time to transition all students back to a remote environment should it become necessary to ensure the safety and health of students and staff.

We know that clear and comprehensive communication of this plan will be incredibly important to its success. We recognize how vital it will be to communicate early and often to all members of the P-CCS Community, both from the district and school levels. We continue to ask that you regularly check our official district website at www.pccsk12.com, particularly the Return to School Hub area (linked on the home page), as well as tuning into the ‘LPT in 3’ Podcast. It is also very helpful to stay connected with the conversations and decisions from our Board of Education meetings, which are all archived at the P-CCS P-CCS Official YouTube channel.

This plan will be formally presented to our Board of Education, in conjunction with our Extended Continuity of Learning plan, for consideration on Tuesday, September 29, at 7 p.m. Please tune in to follow the discussion. We are all excited to begin bringing our students back to in-person learning utilizing this gradual approach, and we will continue to keep you informed and engaged in the planning process.

Thanks for your continued support of P-CCS!

Monica L. Merritt
P-CCS Superintendent of Schools

This press release was produced by the Plymouth-Canton Schools>. The views expressed here are the author’s own.