All Ahead Flank: Schools Will Fully Reopen on August 24

To begin, I want to thank everyone for their support and understanding of this incredibly complex evolution that will come with the reopening of our schools on August 24th. We all understand your desire for students to return to our schools fully onsite as soon and as safely as possible. These intervening months have been the biggest challenge schools across the nation have faced in decades. At the same time, it is important to understand these challenges and difficult decisions are not yet behind us. 

This evening I am writing to inform you of our learning model to start the school year. The Board of Directors of the Hudson Community School District voted this evening to fully reopen our schools to all students on August 24. We based our decision on feedback we received from multiple surveys distributed to our community, questions we received from families who have reached out to the district and to the Board of Directors, and our Return to Learn Decision Matrix for the Hudson Community School District. 

Our intention is to provide a careful approach to starting the school year. Remote learning was the least popular of choices, especially those with childcare issues during the school day. While at some point another modality may be necessary, we believe at this time fully reopening is the best choice. We will try to work with families to reduce these challenges to the greatest extent possible.

When we begin school on August 24th, the majority of our students will not have been in our buildings, a school bus, or even on school property for 165 days. In that time, our community and families have experienced enormous hardships. While the virus has impacted us all, that impact varies greatly among our community members.

One piece of very consistent findings among the mountains of research on COVID-19 is that children need to be in school for their continued healthy development. Therefore, our focus has been and will continue to be making it safe for children to return to school, while providing choices like the Voluntary Offsite Learning Option to parents whose children have medical needs or who have the desire, means, and ability to support their child’s learning at home. Based on the actions of the Board tonight, we have extended the deadline for signing up for this option to Friday, August 14, 2020. For your convenience, you can sign up for that option here. 

We realize this decision isn’t popular with all, but we do so only with the very best of intentions and what we feel makes the most sense for students in the Hudson Community School District. 

In closing, I would like to again thank those of you who have reached out in person, electronically, through social media and in our surveys with notes of encouragement for our school team. Your understanding of our difficult position as educators and leaders in this situation means more than words can express. Additionally, thank you for supporting our teachers and other staff as they express concerns for personal safety in returning to onsite instruction. Everyone in the Hudson Community School District is doing their very best in these difficult circumstances and we appreciate your trust.