A Transcript Of Superintendent Merritt's Message To The P-CCS Community

Press release from Plymouth-Canton Schools:

Post Date:04/17/2020 7:08 PM

Good evening P-CCS families and staff:

This is Superintendent of Schools, Monica Merritt. I hope this message finds you well. Navigating through these challenging times together has brought new experiences for us all — and as a district, we appreciate your continued dedication to ‘staying home and staying safe’ so we can all do our part to slow the spread of COVID-19.

I want to thank our incredible P-CCS staff who have been available to work onsite when requested to ensure we are able to provide essential resources and plans for learning, pay our bills, keep our buildings clean, safe, functioning and secure, and help us further the important work of supporting our teachers so that learning continues for our students.

This week we reopened our meal distribution program and distributed more than 33,000 meals to families in need of this support.

We are intensely aware of the stress and emotional strain that can be caused during times of uncertainty. In response, we were pleased to launch this week a non-emergency Emotional Wellness Support Care Line for students and families who are experiencing anxiety, fear or stress during this time of challenge. Families may contact the Care Line by phone, leave a message and receive a follow-up contact by one of the district’s mental health team members or building level staff.

We remain committed to providing students, families, and staff with what they need during this time.

Teachers have been diligently working during the past few weeks to identify the essential skills students need from now until the end of the school year, along with creating learning experiences to support these essential skills. I am proud to announce that our Continuity of Learning (CoL) and COVID-19 Response Plan was approved by Wayne RESA this week. As previously shared, this plan is required of all schools by Executive Order 2020-35, which was released on April 2. Implementation of this approved plan allows us to receive our full state aid as we continue to provide learning opportunities for our students through a variety of remote platforms.

I want to thank the various members of our staff and community who came together during the past few weeks to develop this plan. We appreciate each of you and the time you invested to make the plan a success.

The implementation of our approved plan begins on Monday, April 20 and allows us to continue providing remote learning experiences that may now count towards instructional time for students. A written communication with more specifics about the plan, as well as a Frequently Asked Questions document, will be shared with staff and families on Monday. Building leaders and teachers will continue to provide more details during the week to come, including grading and credit expectations. Clear and consistent chains of communication have been put in place so all of your questions and concerns can be addressed.

One requirement of our plan is that we post it publicly and share it with our school community. Instructions on how to locate the plan will be shared through robocalls, emails, and social media postings, and the approved plan will be available via the district website at pccsk12.com starting this Monday.

These past few weeks have not been easy, but we are doing our part to keep each other safe, healthy, and hopeful as we look forward to a return to normalcy. We have embodied the word ‘community’ in our name, and that is what being P-CCS Strong is all about.

Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other. Thanks for your continued support of P-CCS! We’ve got this.

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