OPS Return to Learning 2020
July 14, 2020
Return to Learn Plan
Otsego students and families:
It is our promise to you that our plan is a plan designed with the health and safety of our students and our employees as the top priority, and based on public health information available at the time. This plan to return to school is student-centered, focused on the social-emotional and physical health and safety of our students and staff and designed to keep our kids learning at a high level. At Otsego, Expect Excellence is our Vision and we believe all students can excel; this goes for any type of learning environment. The 2020-21 School Year will look different, but it’s an opportunity for us to chart a new course for success when it comes to education. The Otsego Public Schools Return to Learn Plan was a group effort guided by our own team of teachers and administrators, local and state health officials, and Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap. In addition, we look forward to having you - our parents, guardians and community - as partners in this effort.
Currently, our region is in Phase 4 of the MI Safe Start plan. In this current phase, Otsego Public Schools will begin the year with a Hybrid Learning Plan. This means our students will be broken into two groups - blue and gold - and each attend in-person classes two days a week, and remote classes three days a week. Blue will begin school on Monday, August 24th; Gold will begin on Tuesday, August 25th. Blue attends school in person on Mondays and Thursdays; Gold attends school in person on Tuesdays and Fridays. Wednesday will be a remote learning day for all students with virtual intervention opportunities for those needing extra help. The two groups will be set by August 7th.
For families with additional health concerns, or those not yet comfortable in sending kids back to school in person, there will be an all-virtual learning option, Virtual Academy Allegan County. Students will join this online learning opportunity as Otsego students. More information will be forthcoming.
Next week, we will ask all families to inform us of their choice for returning to school, either hybrid or virtual.
Please know, this plan will most likely be adjusted as new guidance from the Michigan Department of Education, Governor’s Office, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Allegan County Health Department and other public health officials is received or as necessary to best support the health and safety of our students and employees. All updates will be posted on our Return To Learn web page and shared with our families and employees.
Should our region (Kalamazoo Region #3) in the MI Safe Start Plan move from Phase 4 back to Phase 1, 2 or 3 due to a resurgence of the virus, we will follow the MI Safe Schools Roadmap requirement to close our buildings and move to our Remote Learning Plan, 100% remote learning. If we move into Phase 5, we will adjust and plan to move to our Face-to-Face Learning Plan, all students back to in-person instruction, but do so with consultation with health officials. As a district, we are preparing for a variety of scenarios and, as always, we are committed to keeping you informed every step of the way.
We are excited to welcome back our students and staff and will always strive to make Otsego the best place to be! This document contains all of the information you need to know about returning to school plans and our safety protocols. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, or our Return to Learn email at returntolearn@otsegops.org. We are Otsego and we are glad that our bulldogs are back! Let’s make this a great year!
Sincerely,
Jeffery S. Haase, Superintendent
Otsego Public Schools
Learn more of what you can expect from us for 2020-21
NEW! First day of school is Monday, August 24, 2020
Otsego's RTL Hybrid Learning Plan
OPS will begin the school with a hybrid learning schedule. This schedule brings half of the students back at a time. Smaller class sizes will help reduce contact with others and allow for social distancing. This also limits the number of students in the hallways and cafeterias at one time. Given our current phase and guidelines, we feel this is a plan that best addresses the health and safety of our students and staff while resuming in-person learning.
Schedule:
OPS students will be in two groups - Blue & Gold. Households will be placed in the same group to help families with scheduling.
Blue - attends school on Mondays & Thursday, remote learning takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
Gold - attends school in person on Tuesdays and Fridays; remote learning takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The first three weeks of school are four-day weeks, so schedules will be slightly different.
August 24-Sept. 3
Blue - attends school in person on Mondays and Thursdays
Gold - attend school in person on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
Sept. 8-11
Blue - attends school in person on Thursday and Friday
Gold - attends school in person on Tuesday and Wednesday
Sept. 13 - Regular alternating schedule begins as follows:
Blue - attends school on Mondays & Thursdays, remote learning takes place on Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday.
Gold - attends school in person on Tuesdays and Fridays; remote learning takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Wednesday is chosen as the remote learning day for all students as this is our usual delayed start day; we are hopeful to be able to return to our regular school year calendar at some point in this year.
Special Education for Return to Learn
Students with 504 plans and students with Level 1 supports on their IEP, will follow the district hybrid learning plan schedule and be supported in the general education classroom by their special education teacher(s).
Students who receive speech and language services, occupational therapy, and/or social work services will continue to receive those services on the days they attend in person learning.
Students with Level 2 and/or Level 3 supports on their IEP will attend school all 4 in-person learning days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday). Students in these classrooms will be self-contained in their special education classroom, and will be able to socially distance every day due to the small number of students in the class. Transportation will be set up for all 4 days if needed.
Students in the ECSE special education preschool program will receive a letter confirming their schedule from their teacher. There will continue to be an AM and PM session 4 days a week.
Students with medical conditions that will impact their ability to participate in in-person learning should contact Alice Hoekstra, Director of Special Education
Health & Safety Information
Otsego Public Schools will abide by the required protocols, and those strongly recommended as possible, in Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap for Phase 4, the phase that our region (Region #3) is in currently.
Face coverings are required for:
Staff, except during meals
Students in grades 6-12, except during meals.
Students in grades K-5 unless students remain with their classes throughout the day.
All students and staff on buses and in common areas.
Hygiene:
Students will be taught hygiene protocols
Signage will be placed throughout the buildings to reinforce good hygiene practices
School Gatherings:
There will not be any indoor assemblies that bring together students from more than one classroom
Cleaning:
Frequently-touched surfaces cleaned every four hours
Libraries, Computer Labs, Art rooms, and other hands-on classrooms cleaned after every period
Student desks must be wiped down after every class period
Playground structures must continue to undergo normal routine cleaning
Busing and Student Transportation
Use of hand sanitizer before entering the bus
Drive, staff and student must wear a face covering during transport to and from school
Cleaning and disinfecting of transportation vehicles will take place before and after every route
Athletics:
Will comply with MHSAA Guidelines (not released yet)
Weight room use is suspended
Large-scale indoor spectator events are suspended
Large-scale outdoor spectator or stadium events are limited to 100 people
Childcare Needs for Hybrid Learning Plan
We are launching a new program specifically for students to enroll into for their remote learning days on the Hybrid Learning Plan - CARES (Childcare Assistance Response and Enrichment Service). We anticipate being able to offer this day-long care to 50 students at each elementary building.
Knowing this is still a “school day”, this program aims to provide the supervision parents need, but the setting that students will need to perform their schoolwork and connect with their classroom. Costs will depend on the number of students who enroll, but we anticipate the cost being $35/day per child or $5/hour.
To help us plan staffing and space, we will send you a survey to gauge interest in this service in our next update.
Virtual Academy of Allegan County (VAAC)
For families with additional health concerns, or those not yet comfortable in sending kids back to school in person, there will be a virtual learning option. Local district administrators within AAESA (Allegan Area Educational Service Agency) are working to launch this online learning option. It is being coordinated through AAESA but students would join this online learning opportunity as Otsego students. More information will be forthcoming and we will provide the link as soon as it's available.
Otsego Public Schools
Email: returntolearn@otsegops.org
Website: otsegops.org
Location: 400 Sherwood St, Otsego, MI, USA
Phone: 269-694-7900
Facebook: facebook.com/otsegops
Twitter: @otsegoschools