COVID-19 School Closure Update
March 25th, 2020
Distance Learning Transition
Dear Dewey Public School families:
Today, the Oklahoma State School Board of Education officially approved the closure of school buildings for the remainder of the school year. They also charged schools with developing and implementing continuous learning plans to begin April 6th allowing students to complete the school year at home. This approach has been described as "distance learning". As local distance learning plans are developed, they will be constructed with the hope that most students can be reached online. However, plans will acknowledge that not all students will be able to participate in a virtual environment. So in the coming days, you should expect to receive information from each Dewey School site as they share information about their planning process.
To date, 81% of the Dewey Public Schools' academic year has been completed. We cannot and will not attempt to replicate a regular school day. The approach moving forward will be focused on providing students with the most essential educational objectives that will support their growth as they prepare for the next school year or graduation. Student educational experiences will look very different over the next month and I think you'll recognize this shift when plans are provided.
I know this move to distance learning brings about uncertainty and it's truly understandable. Please be patient and more information will be available as the planning process takes shape.
In other business, the administration office days and hours will be adjusted to reduce the chance of COVID-19 spread and exposure to our staff. Beginning immediately, the office will be open to the public Monday - Wednesday from 8:00am - 4:00pm and staffed with a single person. All other work will be managed remotely. School site offices will remain open Monday - Wednesday from 10:00am - 2:00pm until further notice.
Please stay safe.
Sincerely,
Vince Vincent
Superintendent