Hillsborough Responds
Information for our families during this unprecedented time
July 12, 2020
A MESSAGE FROM SUPERINTENDENT ADDISON DAVIS
Dear Families,
Thank you to all our families who have already taken the time to fill out the Declaration of Intent. I understand what a difficult decision this can be, but the information in the Declaration is so important for us as a district so we can make sure to properly allocate staff and resources.
For the families who have not yet filled out the Declaration of Intent, I am working to get you more details about our reopening plan so you can have the information to make the proper choice for your learner. My team is creating a video to show you what the school day will look like, and I am preparing a presentation to our School Board this Thursday afternoon to further discuss the reopening plan. We have also created an email address, HCPSreopening@hcps.net to address your reopening questions.
As we’ve said many times, the plan is fluid, things will change and we will have to make decisions based on those changes. Within just the past 10 days, I’ve had to make two very important decisions that I felt was in the best interest of the health and safety of our students and staff:
- Face coverings - After speaking at length with health experts from the University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital, I decided to require face coverings in our schools when they reopen in August. I believe requiring a face covering is the best option we have to provide an additional layer of protection for everyone on our campuses.
- Graduations – Again, with significant input from the health community, I made the decision to celebrate the Class of 2020 virtually. In-person graduations are wonderful, but no matter the provisions put in place, it’s inevitable our graduates will gather close together for pictures and hugs—and that’s just not in our community’s best interest at this time. More information about our virtual graduations can be found a little further down in this newsletter.
I continue to meet with our teachers, staff and health professionals to make decisions that are in the best interest of our schools and our community. Thank you for your flexibility and understanding as we work to provide our students with the best education in the safest way possible.
Respectfully,
Addison Davis
Superintendent of Schools
OUR REOPENING PLAN - SUPERINTENDENT DAVIS PROVIDES MORE DETAILS
At Tuesday's School Board Meeting, Superintendent Davis announced more details about certain aspects of the plan:
Campus Health Protocols
These are provisions put in place to make our school sites as safe as possible.
- Require face coverings for students and staff when social distancing is not possible;
- Install hand sanitizing stations in high-traffic areas;
- Increase deep cleaning and sanitation protocols with custodial staff;
- Screen all visitors and limit movement on the campus;
- Frequently replace air filters on HVAC systems;
- Frequent sanitation of high-touch areas throughout the day;
- Limit capacity in restrooms and confined spaces.
These are provisions put in place specifically for our classrooms, to provide sanitation and social distancing for our students and staff
- Require face coverings where social distancing is not possible;
- Handwashing breaks throughout the day;
- Minimize the use of shared items;
- Increase the use of digital instructional resources and 1:1 materials;
- Keep students together in the same groups, as much as possible;
- Maximize space between student stations.
Provisions in place to specifically protect our students
- Provide reusable face coverings;
- Increased sanitation stations throughout the school;
- Potential breakfast in the classroom and Grab-and-Go options;
- Single direction walking with proper signage;
- Reduced classroom seating when possible;
- Lunch outside or in the classroom when feasible;
Provisions in place to protect our students, coaches and staff during before and after school activities
- Follow guidance from Florida High School Athletic Association
- Conduct extracurricular activities virtually when feasible;
- Reduce ratios for before and after school care programs.
FACE COVERINGS WILL BE REQUIRED WHEN SCHOOL REOPENS
According to the CDC, face coverings have been shown to be an effective tool in stopping the spread of COVID‐19, along with social distancing, frequent handwashing, and cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces. Nothing regarding this requirement is intended to violate the ADA or HIPAA protections for our students and staff. Each school site will have an assigned COVID Point Person to address all COVID‐related issues.
Here are the answers to a few frequently asked questions regarding the face covering requirement:
- Will there be any exemptions? Yes. The following approved exemptions apply: Persons eating or drinking; persons for whom a face covering would cause an impairment due to an existing health condition; persons observing social distancing in accordance with CDC guidelines; persons who need to communicate with someone who is hearing impaired and needs to see the person’s mouth to communicate; teachers and students when face covering would be an impediment to instruction; and persons participating in recess and physical education classes while maintaining social distancing.
- What happens when a student refuses to wear a face covering? Face coverings will be required for all students, staff, and visitors unless social distancing can be maintained or if an approved exemption applies. Every attempt will be made to ensure that the student and the student’s parents understand the importance of wearing a face covering. The district will work with families to identify the more appropriate learning path if face coverings will not be worn.
- Can students and staff bring their own face coverings? Yes. Face coverings must comply with the dress code found in the Code of Student Conduct so that they do not disrupt school activities, are not obscene or otherwise inflammatory, and do not endanger the health or safety of themselves or others.
Find additional FAQ's about face coverings here
Watch Superintendent Addison Davis talk about his decision to require face coverings
Why are face coverings in school so important? Meet Gareth.
Gareth Everett is 12 years old and he is very excited to start 6th grade at South Tampa Academy in the fall. He got accepted into the computer science program and he can’t wait for August 10th!
Gareth also battles cystic fibrosis and has limited lung capacity.
On a typical day, you’d never know Gareth has any health issues. But during these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gareth has to be EXTRA careful to stay healthy.
On Monday, his mom Annie received a letter from the Cystic Fibrosis Center at Johns Hopkins, where Gareth gets treatment. It informed them that if there is no mandatory mask mandate in schools, it would be impossible for Gareth to attend.
Gareth was crushed.
Annie was dismayed. She has a full-time job and didn’t know how she was going to manage educating Gareth at home.
She signed up to speak at Tuesday’s School Board Meeting to plead with the District to make masks mandatory… Not just for her son but for ALL the children and teachers who NEED that extra layer of protection in order to attend school.
Superintendent Addison Davis made the announcement earlier in the day.
After speaking with medical professionals from the University of South Florida Health and Tampa General Hospital, business leaders, and teachers in our district, Superintendent Davis made the decision to require face coverings in our schools.
Annie said she felt extremely grateful when she received the Superintendent’s email informing families of mandatory masks. She can now send her son to school and feel like his health is protected… And she doesn’t have to worry about working while trying to guide her son through eLearning.
As for Gareth… there’s a big smile behind his red, white and blue mask. Middle school… Here he comes!
Local company donates hundreds of face shields to our schools!
DECLARATION OF INTENT - PARENTS MAKE THE CHOICE
The Declaration of Intent will let schools know which learning option you choose for your child:
- Brick and mortar classroom instruction
- Full-time eLearning
- Hillsborough Virtual K-12
It is very important that you fill out the Declaration of Intent. The District is busy finalizing reopening plans and it is critical that we hear from families as to which option they are choosing for their student.
If you have already filled out the Declaration of Intent, there is an option to change your commitment. You can do that until the window closes on Friday, July 17th at midnight.
As of Saturday, July 11th, the District has received 58,970 responses:
- Classroom instruction - 36,879
- eLearning - 17,436
- Hillsborough Virtual K-12 - 4,655
WHAT WILL eLEARNING LOOK LIKE?
eLearning is going to look a lot different from what we saw when schools had to close suddenly last school year. When we return in August, eLearning will be much more rigorous and structured.
Here are some additional details about eLearning:
- Students will maintain their enrollment status at their brick and mortar school;
- Students will attend school online during regular school hours and follow a standard school schedule;
- eLearning courses will match the engagement and rigor of the traditional classroom setting as much as possible;
- Teachers will provide “live” instruction daily utilizing web conferencing technology;
- Core courses and courses required for graduation will be offered through eLearning;
- Elective courses will be offered but will be limited based on staffing models needed for eLearning;
- Course offerings by school will be solidified by your student’s school in the upcoming weeks for special programs such as IB, AICE and CTE;
- eLearning is not an option for VPK and Head Start/Early Head Start Programs.
HILLSBOROUGH VIRTUAL K-12
Some families are confused by the differences between eLearning and Hillsborough Virtual K-12. The biggest difference is flexibility. eLearning will be more structured and have specific learning times. With Hillsborough Virtual K-12, students have more control of their time, place and path of learning.
The deadline for signing up for Hillsborough Virtual K-12 is July 24th - Find out more about Hillsborough Virtual K-12 and APPLY here.
Here are more details about Hillsborough Virtual K-12:
- Students are assigned to Hillsborough Virtual K-12 full-time and to teachers within Hillsborough Virtual K-12;
- Front-loaded semester-long syllabus for students to enable them to work at their own pace through digital content;
- Correspondence hours with teachers are flexible to accommodate students’ and family schedules;
- Interactions with instructors via phone, text, feedback/email and webinar;
- Students have nearly unlimited control of time, path, place or pace of learning;
- Options to include on campus and online courses within the second day for a personalized schedule.
VIRTUAL GRADUATIONS WILL BE PACKED WITH EMOTION
Earlier this month, after receiving significant input from health experts, Superintendent Davis made the decision to hold graduations virtually.
Each high school's virtual graduation will be available on Saturday, July 25th at 1pm via our district YouTube page. Principals will also be sharing each school’s commencement ceremony link via ParentLink email on July 25.
Right now, the Class of 2020 valedictorians and salutatorians, as well as high school principals, are busy recording their speeches for the virtual ceremony. It may be strange, recording in an empty auditorium, but the emotion and relevancy of the speeches are still there, maybe more than ever before considering what the Class of 2020 has endured.
We encourage our families to watch these virtual graduations and help us celebrate these amazing seniors.
Congratulations to our IB schools!
Our district just received news that our IB high schools have received huge honors when it comes to IB Diploma Rates!
- Congratulations to Hillsborough High School which has a 96% IB Diploma Rate – that is a 14% jump over last year and one of the highest diploma rates in the school’s history;
- Congratulations to King High School which has a 95% IB Diploma Rate with six of the last seven years above 95%;
- Congratulations to Robinson High School which has a 96% IB Diploma Rate. That makes seven consecutive years of the rate being 90% or higher;
- Congratulations to Strawberry Crest High School which has a 99% IB Diploma Rate. Strawberry Crest has been at 98% or higher since 2016.
Congratulations to our new Cambridge AICE schools!
Our official Cambridge International Magnet Schools are: Ferrell Middle Magnet, Franklin Middle Magnet, and Rodgers Middle Magnet.
Congratulations to these schools for all their hard work in receiving this prestigious honor.
Register now for the annual Back-2-School Health Clinics.
Families, do you have a child in need of a physical; immunization; shot records update; visions, and/or hearing screenings?
Registration just started for the annual Back-2-School Health Clinics.
Visit https://back2schoolfair.org to register.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON!
Students in Liisa DiTarando's Social and Emotional Learning Class at McKitrick Elementary were devastated when they couldn't perform songs from the popular Broadway play "Hamilton" at the end of the school year due to COVID.
Mrs. DiTarando used the play as a teaching tool for her students, some who are on the Autism spectrum.
Determined not to give up, one of her students suggested a Zoom performance instead. To make it happen, the class got help from an L.A. filmmaker, along with actors and actresses to make their performance shine on video. Now, it's getting a lot of well-deserved attention online, and was even retweeted by the actor who plays George Washington in Hamilton!
"There are a lot of wonderful Social and Emotional learning lessons built into the play. We explored concepts such as empathy, perspective taking, kindness, friendship, loyalty and communication, all while learning some great songs," said Liisa DiTarando.
She believes this musical gave her students a voice – and now they’re thrilled their rendition is getting rave reviews!
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Email: newsletter@sdhc.k12.fl.us
Website: HillsboroughSchools.org
Location: 901 East Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL, USA
Phone: 813-272-4000
Facebook: facebook.com/HillsboroughSch
Twitter: @HillsboroughSch