Parents and Guardians,
As you are all well aware, the situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic continues to change. This includes not only the number of cases, but also the guidance from health experts, mandates from the government, and the legal implications related to the situation. We are happy to report that despite all of these changes and complications, our Board of Directors approved a plan to reopen our schools this week with a few changes to the original plan.
With this new plan we are now able to offer our families several options for their student’s education this fall:
- Traditional Schooling - Students come to school as they would normally with the expectation that they will adhere to all of the requirements of the IASD Health and Safety Plan.
- Distance Learning - For any family who wishes to keep their student(s) home during this uncertain time, we are offering two types of distance learning to meet your needs:
- Synchronous Learning - Students follow a rigid schedule and attend regularly scheduled daily classes with a live teacher virtually, similar to a normal school schedule. The IASD curriculum will be followed and assignments, due-dates, and grading will follow that of the traditional classroom. Daily attendance will be expected.
- Asynchronous Learning - Students will follow a flexible schedule and may work when they want/can with teacher support being available when and where appropriate. Assignments, due-dates, and grading will be different from that of the traditional classroom, and attendance will be calculated based on a student’s weekly progress.
- The Health-Hybrid Rooms - We are providing virtual learning housed within our schools for those families who might have a child, or someone else in their household who has a health condition that elevates their risk of serious infection, but who cannot keep their children home due to their family situation. Masks will be worn at all times in these rooms regardless of social distancing, and the students will be completely isolated from the rest of the student population. Special schedules will be developed for busing, lunches, recess, and mask breaks so the students are not exposed to the other students. Learning will take place online, and can be done synchronously or asynchronously.
This image illustrates the options that will be available for families to choose in the new survey:
We are asking that each family complete the new survey by next Friday, August 7th, 2020. We hate to have to ask this, but so much has changed since the original survey was posted, including:
- The changes in the health and safety mandates from the state,
- The recent spike in COVID-19 numbers
- Confusion surrounding the "hybrid" models
- Parents wishing to change their response
- The District's ability to offer additional (synchronous) online options
Given these changes, we feel that it is only prudent to issue a new survey. We apologize for any frustration this might cause, and truly appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Respectfully,
Rob Heinrich
Director of Education, IASD