Politics & Government
Colonial School District: March 9 Update From The Superintendent
We are asking families to complete an Instructional Model Commitment Form by the end of the day, Sunday, March 14, 2021.
2021-03-09
Dear Colonial families,
Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Whitemarshfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
At the March 8th Special Board meeting, the Colonial Board of School Directors approved a return to 5-day, in-person instruction starting April 12, provided that the county is below the substantial COVID-19 transmission level for two consecutive weeks.
To prepare for this next transition, we are asking families to complete an Instructional Model Commitment Form to indicate their choice for the April 12-June 11 time period. We ask that you complete the form once for each child you have, and please submit it by the end of the day, Sunday, March 14.
Find out what's happening in Plymouth-Whitemarshfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Click here to access the form.
Please be aware of the following information prior to completing the survey:
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Two instructional models offered: Families will be asked to choose between 100-percent virtual or 5-days a week onsite. The hybrid option will no longer be feasible. As we return more students to in-person instruction, the hybrid option will cease to serve its original purpose, which was to limit the number of students in the building so 6 feet of physical distancing could be achieved. In addition, providing just two instructional models will allow for greater consistency in instructional delivery and also promote more consistent attendance (which is important for school security). Teachers will be more effective if they plan for two consistent groups (in-person or remote) instead of three.
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Physical distancing may be reduced: Though we will strive to keep the recommended 6 feet of distance between students and teachers, in some classrooms and school areas, distancing may be reduced to 3 to 4 feet to accommodate more students. The only area where this will not be the case is in the cafeterias and eating areas, where students must be 6 feet apart so they can take off their masks to eat. In some schools, we will be designating auxiliary spaces as places to eat so that all students can be spaced apart.
Bus ridership may increase: To date, we have been assigning one child per seat on our buses and that may increase to two students per seat. Masks will be required. Families who would like to continue to provide transportation for their children may do so, and we are grateful for their assistance.
Staff vaccinations planned: Approximately 25 percent of our staff has been vaccinated, and even more will receive the vaccine this Friday as part of Gov. Wolf's designation of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for education professionals (your child's principal sent an email today about Friday's early dismissal procedures due to this vaccination effort). Another round of vaccinations for school employees is planned for later this month, so it is possible the majority of our staff members would be vaccinated by the time school would resume 5 days a week. Voluntary rapid antigen testing is also being offered to staff three days a week as an additional layer of security.
County data is key: The District will continue to monitor COVID-19 incidence and positivity rates for the county over the coming weeks. We hope to notify families by April 6 as to whether or not five-day, in-person classes may begin on April 12. If rates do not remain below 100 incidents per 100,000 residents or below 10 percent positivity, we will not change instructional models. We are specifically looking for two consecutive weeks of low/moderate county transmission levels. If transmission levels increase for consecutive weeks once we are back to 5 days of in-person instruction, it is possible we might have to revert back to hybrid or virtual.
We will be making every effort over the next several days to add more information to our COVID-19 hub to assist families. Click here to go to the COVID-19 hub. You may also access the presentation from the March 8th Board meeting on that webpage. If you have a question that you would like answered in the FAQs, please email it to: question@colonialsd.org
This year has continued to present innumerable challenges for all of us. Thank you for your continued patience and support as we have worked to find solutions that we feel best address the many needs and perspectives of our students, staff and families.
Sincerely,
Michael L. Christian, Ed.D.
Superintendent
This press release was produced by the Colonial School District .The views expressed here are the author’s own.
