Return to Learn Family Update
September 9, 2020
A Message from Dr. Rudolph
Thank you for an energizing first days back to school! It’s been 186 days since we had students in our buildings. It was wonderful to have them back!! Please take a moment to view this week’s video update here.
It was a team effort to make our Return to Learning Plan work. The efforts of our entire community—students, parents, extended family members, civic organizations and local businesses helped to make it happen. From our partners at the cities, counties, and townships to our very own Bluejacket staff, there have been literally thousands of people involved in getting this school year started!
This is by far the most complex scheduling we have ever had, and while there are (and will be) challenges to overcome, we have proven that together, we can accomplish a lot!
One of the challenges that we faced was changing our entire transportation model away from a hub and transfer system. The problem we faced was 2000 students congregating at the transfer hub, which was out of compliance with Department of Health guidelines. There were no great alternatives. We surveyed families to find that approximately 60% were planning to drive rather than utilize busing. Unfortunately, for those families that still need to use transportation, the final system has increased the length of bus routes for many. This was the trade-off to keep family schedules together regardless of hybrid or in-person learning models while limiting the amount of daily disruptions. We regret that there was not a better solution, but it was cost-prohibitive to purchase additional buses to shorten routes. For more information on our district transportation system, visit our Return to Learn Website.
We are taking it slowly and being very intentional as we transition back to school. All of the safety routines we are putting in place have one goal: To Keep Kids In School. By being planful, building routines, and practicing protocols, we will be more efficient and effective in the long run. We will get better and better each day.
Now that school has started, we will plan less frequent updates. Moving forward, my video messages (every few weeks) will showcase the amazing students, staff, and community that we have in Cambridge-Isanti.
This is going to be a great year for our students. Together, we can accomplish amazing feats and continuously improve. In doing so, we will remain grounded in personal responsibility, self discipline, honesty, respect and compassion - The Bluejacket way.
Thank you so much for your support. Go Big Blue!
Nate Rudolph
Superintendent
First Days of School!
Next Week - Virtual Referendum Information Meeting
Next Wednesday, September 16, at 6:30 p.m., we will be hosting an online information session about our District’s proposed operating referendum that is on the ballot for this November. If you have questions you would like us to address during the meeting, please email the questions in advance to dist-communications@c-ischools.org. We will send out a link to the meeting next week
Cambridge-Isanti Schools
Email: dist-communications@c-ischools.org
Website: c-ischools.org
Location: 625a Main Street North, Cambridge, MN, USA
Phone: 7636896188