Because our primary mission as an educational institution is educating youth, the bulk of our work over the last several months has focused on our effort to restart learning in the district. We have grappled with such topics as adding days to the calendar, accelerating learning, and making up for lost instruction. All of this is being done under extraordinary circumstances that seem to change daily, if not hourly. My team and I appreciate the words of support that have come our way over the course of this 'very long day', and in my response to you I have often described the work at times to 'juggling jello'! I'll also admit that even the criticism [for some of the decisions that we have made], has and does help us to refine our plans in a way that we hope drives us to be better.
I'll remind you all again: our plan as it sits right now is to open our brick and mortar buildings for students on August 24th. But as I have continually emphasized to our greater constituency, we are all going to need to become very comfortable with flexibility and dealing with constantly changing variables. With roughly five weeks before the start of classes a lot can (and will) change in the interim.
Today though, I want to focus not on those aspects of restarting the learning process (which does remain the most crucial of work we do), but instead on the actual physical process of reopening our school buildings. It is not so simple as re-activating the key-fob system and unlocking the doors. There are numerous important safety considerations and protocols that must be addressed. None of which are easy or without potential for disagreement.
Indeed for all the time we spend considering how to restarting learning and making up for lost instruction during this unique moment in our history; perhaps the biggest and most critical of components is the actual process of opening up our school buildings safely. The fact of the matter is this: unless you feel safe, and your child feels safe; learning will take a backseat. Our work right now has shifted to consider how to best go about that. Within the next week, we will release our first set of guidelines for reopening safely and sharing with you our mitigation plan. I anticipate these guidelines and processes will continue to evolve as we get closer to the start of the school year.
Nonetheless, we realize this is a tall order and will not come easy. The data from the survey we conducted last week perhaps offers a glimpse of where we might be headed in regard to the numbers of students who are planning to attend in person and those who might be more inclined to elect a remote option. Once we release our mitigation protocols next week, this hopefully will make people a little more comfortable. Or it could make people less comfortable. As you can see from the data point above, 32% of respondents have indicated they are either not comfortable or extremely uncomfortable sending their child to school in the fall. I suspect that will change once we release our mitigation plan. My hope is that it changes for the better. We are trying very hard in the district to strike an appropriate balance in terms of what is reasonable, feasible, and most important: effective.
Of the most vexing of issues to address (and what seems to get the most attention) is the use of face coverings for students. Unfortunately the guidance that we are receiving from regulatory bodies is inconsistent. Where one agency may issue a set of recommendations, it is often contrary to what a local county health department may suggest as the appropriate remedy. When situated with the guidance from the CDC, it leads to a very confusing and contradictory conundrum. The tension is further ratcheted up when the decisions become political as opposed to relying on scientific reasoning.
You can see the challenge, can't you? Regardless of the decisions we make here, there are going to be a number of people who disagree with our call. We understand the argument for face coverings. We also understand the arguments against face coverings. The fact is there is no answer that will appease the populace. Truth be told, face coverings are just one of the multitude of mitigation protocols we are grappling with, and where decisions ultimately made will be lauded by some and condemned by others.
When all is said and done though, keep in mind what mitigation is and what mitigation isn't. Mitigation simply means that we will be able to reduce the risk that someone will become ill. It will not eliminate those risks. That would be impossible and en exercise in folly to even make that claim. Regardless of how restrictive or permissive we are, there are no guarantees.
Following the release of our plan, we'll start to drill down and find out how many of our students will plan to attend schools in person, and how many might be interested in exploring alternative options, be them in a virtual or remote setting. It is my hope the release of our processes and procedures will provide information that reassures you and gives you peace of mind. The fact of the matter is that we truly want all of our students here with us in person come August 24. But understandably I can see that heavy seas are likely on the horizon. This is not going to get easier anytime soon. So let's make sure we are all strapped in tight, maintain flexibility, and remember that we are all in this together.
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