PARENT NEWSLETTER: SUMMER EDITION 2
July 24, 2020
Learn more about re-opening here: www.springisd.org/reopen
Select your child's learning option for 20-21
A survey was sent to your e-mail address. Please select your child's learning option.
School Year Options for Families
We are offering two options for the 2020-21 school year – Safety-First In-Person and Empowered Learning At-Home. Our goal is to provide choices for our family, while being responsive to the public health conditions.
The Safety-First In-Person option is designed to account for the potential changing COVID-19 contagion level in our community — allowing for more days of in-person instruction when there are minimal and controlled levels of COVID-19 in our area and moving to Empowered Learning At-Home if outbreaks of the virus are present.
Where possible, remote instruction will be delivered from a classroom setting so that teachers have access to instructional resources and materials.
We have developed an Operational Decision Meter to clearly outline how the district will determine when days of in-person can be expanded or when the Spring ISD community, or areas within our community, need to move to more virtual/remote learning to protect the health of students and staff due to localized outbreaks. Our current status is "red," which means all students will start the school year with remote learning.
We will ask parents to make a commitment on which learning option they prefer via an email survey iby Aug. 3. Here are more details on our two options:
- Option 1: Safety-First In-Person: This is a a blended learning model designed to provide students the greatest level of in-person instruction possible during the 2020-21 school year. As such, the number of days of on-campus instruction per week throughout our academic calendar will be directly determined by COVID-19 contagion levels in our area as outlined on our SISD Operational Decision Meter. In other words, when there is a minimal and controlled level of COVID-19 in our community as determined by local health officials, all students will be on a daily on-campus schedule. When, though, there are significant levels COVID-19 contagion in our area, student schedules will be modified to reduce the total number of students and staff in our facilities at a given time so that appropriate social distancing measures can be implemented to protect the health of students and staff.
Please note: Only when there is a severe and uncontrolled level of COVID-19 in our community as determined by local health authorities AND outbreaks are present and worsening, will the majority of students who are on our “safety-first, in-person” blended learning track be asked to move to a remote learning schedule until COVID-19 contagion levels improve. We understand that on-campus, in-person instruction is important. In fact, that’s why we developed our SISD Operational Decision Meter. By aligning our operational decisions to COVID-19 contagion levels, it’s our hope that on-campus instructional days can be optimized for our students over the calendar year. With parents and staff clearly able to see how decisions related to on-campus instruction are being made, our community can work together to ensure strong student learning occurs in the safest manner.
- Option 2: Empowered Learning At-Home: With this option, students will learn remotely five days a week receiving teacher-directed and teacher-supported instruction through a blend of synchronous and asynchronous delivery methods. Students and teachers will use Schoology, our Learning Management System. In this remote environment, teachers will use standards-based curriculum, resources and assignments creating an environment that more closely resembles a classroom experience. However, enrichment opportunities will be provided through Project-Based Learning Plans, which were used during the extended closure this past spring.
Please note that all grading and attendance policies will apply, regardless of the selection. We are committed to honoring each family’s request to the extent possible. If your preference changes, we will have a process in place to update your selection before or during the school year.
Families will ALWAYS have the option to move from the Safety-First In-Person option to Empowered Learning At-Home. Students wishing to move from the Empowered Learning At-Home to the Safety-First In-Person option may need to wait until the end of a grading period to make that transition.
We know there is much uncertainty, especially amid changing public health conditions. Please know that plans may need to change as we get closer to the first day of school on Aug. 17. We appreciate everyone’s support during these challenging times.
We know many of you have questions so please review our FAQs. We will be updating these as new questions or issues arise so check back often.
- Option 1: Safety-First In-Person: This is a a blended learning model designed to provide students the greatest level of in-person instruction possible during the 2020-21 school year. As such, the number of days of on-campus instruction per week throughout our academic calendar will be directly determined by COVID-19 contagion levels in our area as outlined on our SISD Operational Decision Meter. In other words, when there is a minimal and controlled level of COVID-19 in our community as determined by local health officials, all students will be on a daily on-campus schedule. When, though, there are significant levels COVID-19 contagion in our area, student schedules will be modified to reduce the total number of students and staff in our facilities at a given time so that appropriate social distancing measures can be implemented to protect the health of students and staff.
Didn't get the survey?
Please direct any questions or concerns about the surveys to survey@springisd.org or 281-891-6337.