Last week the doors of our schools slammed shut for the remainder of the year with plans for education in the coming months being tossed into the laps of local school districts. We contacted our local supes to get a little info on what these plans might look like. The first one featured an interview with Grant’s Brett Zuver https://www.nearnorthnow.com/the-pulse/schools-closed-now-what Today we hear from Fremont Superintendent Ken Haggart Response to School Closures at Fremont Public Schools With the Governor’s Executive Order to close schools for the remainder of the year, Superintendents, Principals, teachers, and school boards are scrambling to put together a plan for how students will continue to learn at home for the next two months. The Executive Order is quite clear on a number of issues like the mandated closure, redeployment of teaching staff, attendance, lunches, staff pay, and evaluation. Clarity gets a little gray after that. All districts will create a Continuous Learning Plan for all students in grades K-12. Each district has to make a determination of the on-line resources that will be used in conjunction with hard copies of instructional materials depending on internet availability within a district’s borders and amount of bandwidth needed to run various on-line programs. Districts also need to determine how to manage and monitor the learning of students over this time period. Additionally Districts need to develop ideas for maintaining connections with students outside of the educational expectations, which include making sure our kids are safe, valued, and surviving in these unprecedented times. Mental Health for both students and parents needs to be the primary focus of school districts. At Fremont Public Schools our teachers and administrators have already been reaching out to kids and parents. We do this through phone calls, emails, letters sent home, Facebook, and home visits. We bus lunches to students across the district which allows us to drop enrichment materials, put notes in lunch bags, or talk to parents and students face to face (while practicing good social-distancing). Teachers employ ClassDojo, Zoom meetings, Microsoft Teams, and other programs which allow them to connect with their students. Over the next two weeks we will continue to work on the best learning options for our kids. We are working with staff, seeking community input, and using volunteers to assist in the learning process. We have a target date of April 20 to have a completed educational package ready to go that will also support student wellness. It takes a community to raise our kids. Here in Fremont, we have been blessed with a very giving and supportive community. Packer Proud! Ken
1 Comment
Vickie Luchies
4/6/2020 09:36:31 pm
It sounds like you have a great plan! Keep up the good work. Praying for all of you and your start.
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