KIPP Texas revised school restart plans based on new TEA guidelines
Dear KIPP Texas Families,
I have an important restart update that I wanted to share with you before the weekend. There have been important developments in our fall restart planning including: our start date for the school year, a virtual start to the year, and our in-person start date.
Here’s what you need to know:
All KIPP Texas Public Schools will start the school year 100% virtual; classes will begin on Monday, August 24, 2020.
Our hope is to return to in-person learning with a staggered, phased-in start beginning October 12 for families who choose in-person learning for the second nine-week instructional cycle.
All KIPP Texas families need to continue to fill out the method of learning survey as it includes reserving a laptop and internet access that your child will need during virtual lessons AND in-person classes. Deadline to log into SchoolMint and complete this survey is July 22.
In September, you will have the opportunity to confirm or change whether you would like to choose 100% virtual or in-person learning for your child after the in-person learning option starts in mid-October.
Curbside Grab & Go meals for KIPPsters, their siblings, and children in our communities will continue through July 31. Click this link for details and locations. Starting August 24, we start the National School Lunch Program and transition to curbside Grab & Go meals exclusively for KIPPsters.
Please take 15 minutes to read below for details:
TEA Mandate CHANGED
As we mentioned earlier in the week, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced last week they would only provide funding to districts that offered a 100% in-person method of learning. KIPP Texas fundamentally disagreed with the Governor and the TEA commissioner’s decision. Our goal of “building a better tomorrow” should never come at the cost of the health and safety of our KIPPsters. We believe that the power to open our schools should rest with local authorities and school districts, who are better positioned to make informed decisions about their communities.
Due to our advocacy, and the voices from school districts, teachers, and parents, including KIPP Texas Team and Family, around the state, the TEA has changed their mandates, allowing us more flexibility in how we start the year. We now have the option to provide 100% virtual learning for the first several weeks of the year. This gives our communities the much-needed time to flatten the curve. As a result, we have been able to adjust our restart plans. Thank you for coming together to help us advocate for the safety of our KIPPsters, Little and Big.
New Start Date &100% Virtual Learning
All KIPP Texas Public Schools will start the school year 100% virtual; classes will begin on Monday, August 24, 2020. Our hope is to return to in-person learning with a staggered, phased-in start beginning October 12 for families who choose in-person learning for the second nine week instructional cycle. In the next few weeks, we will re-evaluate what options we provide families for in-person learning, based on the new allowances by the TEA.
We share our anticipated start date for transitioning to in-person instruction because we know KIPPsters, their families, and our Team & Family need a date to be able to plan. However, please note that this date may change based on the development of the virus over the next three months and changing mandates from the TEA. We will continue to work closely with local health authorities to protect the health and safety of our KIPPsters, Little and Big, and will amend this decision if necessary.
Reserving Your Child’s Laptop/Internet Connection
This week we launched a form in SchoolMint for our families to provide their choice on the method of learning and transportation and technology needs. Our KIPPsters, pre-K-12 will need laptops and internet connections to work virtually AND will be asked to bring those devices to class once we return to our school buildings in October. Please complete this form by July 22 so that we can understand your technology needs for our virtual start to the school year and your preferred method of instruction once we start to phase-in in-person learning starting October 12th. You will have the opportunity to confirm or change your child’s method of instruction before the in-person instructional option begins.
Grab & Go Meal Service Will Continue
Curbside Grab & Go meals for KIPPsters, their siblings, and children in our communities will continue through July 31. Click this link for details and locations. Starting August 24, we start the National School Lunch Program and transition to curbside Grab & Go meals exclusively for KIPPsters. Since March, we have distributed more than 530,000 meals to KIPPsters, their siblings and children in our communities.
This is a lot of information and some significant changes to digest in this lengthy email. We appreciate your grace and flexibility as we all navigate a rapidly changing environment. Even if it means changing our direction or reversing decisions, our commitment to you is to keep safety for all of our Little and Big KIPPsters as our top priority. This means that we may change course if we find a safer way, like we have done today.
We know that you still have many questions, and we are still working out lots of details behind the scenes. Please know that we are working very hard to ensure the strongest virtual start to our school year on August 24, and the strongest in-person start for families who choose that option beginning October 12. We are moving as fast as we can to make decisions and iron out details, while making sure that we are being incredibly intentional, smart, and thoughtful.
Though none of us could have imagined a year ago that we would start this new school year virtually, we are absolutely thrilled that we will get to “see” our KIPPsters online in just a few short weeks. We are busy planning joyful, academically rigorous lessons and ways that we can connect and build community in our virtual classrooms. We are determined to make this school year a great one for your KIPPster!
We will continue our weekly updates on Mondays with the next note scheduled on Monday, July 20.
With gratitude,
Sehba Ali
Chief Executive Officer
KIPP Texas Public Schools
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