Today the Sun Shines!

For those of you who are more accustomed to my normal pattern of communication, today's post may seem a bit off. However, with the sun shining and the cloudless blue sky I just couldn't resist! Last week I kept the curtains of my home office shut most of the week, which may seem pretty strange for a guy who doesn't have windows in my regular office to begin with. One would think that if given the rare opportunity, I would jump at the chance to see outside!

Now then, if you weren't aware, the world headquarters for the Hudson Community School District have been temporarily relocated to my home office. My wife Ann has learned what my assistant Sheila has known for quite a while now: The work of a school superintendent isn't all that exciting and consists of a lot of computer time, phone calls, and meetings (albeit virtually now). Sorry about that, I digress....

So, even though I have windows in my home office, for the most part the curtains were kept closed last week. I mean, there wasn't really much to look at considering it was cold, windy, and rainy a lot of the time. This morning however, Ann came in and suggested we open the curtains. What a difference in climate that has made! This warm spring day is a great reminder for me, and hopefully for all of us that we are going to be alright. After lunch and spending the morning working at my computer I took a short break to walk around the block. It was nice to see a few people outside and share some brief, but vitally important words of greeting with my neighbors.

Most of the time you probably don't care all that much about what I am doing on a day to day basis. Today I thought I would share: Making plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Why? Sooner or later things are going to return to normal. We need to be ready for that. #HudsonSchools

— Dr. Tony Voss (@AnthonyDVoss) March 30, 2020

This morning I posted on Twitter that I was spending part of my day today planning for next year. That's right. Patience is a virtue and sooner or later this difficult time we [now] find ourselves in will pass. Truth be told, my day today isn't a whole lot different than it would be at any other time in my regular office at the end of March. Things will return to normal and I look forward to being able to visit in length, enjoy one another's company, and the term 'social distancing' will no longer be part of our everyday lexicon. We are going to be ready for that day and at the same time won't spend these days stuck in a rut of despair. The fact is, late last week we finished hiring three new teachers that will join our ranks next year. In the coming days, we will start to develop and articulate our plans for professional development next year. The good news is a lot of that work has already begun and will continue unabated. 

At the same time this planning for next year is occurring, we can't lose sight of the great work that is going on right now. Our building principals and teachers are working incredibly hard to connect with students in new and unfamiliar ways. They are finding their footing on ground that shifted right out from under them, and very quickly I might add. Teachers have reported to me very high levels of student engagement, and this is based largely on the level of detail that has gone into planning  that was done on the fly. 

Springtime is my favorite season. While it also often comes with a lot of rain, wind, and damp cold it also comes with days like today. Very soon flowers will begin to bloom, trees will begin to bud and the grass will turn green. This is the promise of new life. Warmer days are ahead Pirate Nation, Warmer day are ahead!

Message to Community and School on Covid-19

There is no doubt we are living through a strange and challenging period in our nation, state, and community. At this time, our schools will remain closed until at least April 13. All of our lives and daily routines have been upended in a way that is uncomfortable and at times scary. I want you to know that in this time of chaos, the Hudson Community School District is here to offer support during these unusual times.

Tonight, the Board of Directors met and adopted Emergency Resolutions that ensure the continuity of operations that I hope provide a bit of peace and comfort to all our stakeholders. You can find a copy of those resolutions below. Additionally, you can now find a page on our website that is now dedicated to news from the district and our response to this pandemic. You can access that page here

Tomorrow we will begin to ramp up our operations as we enter a new unknown. You see, our schools are much more than the brick and mortar buildings we ‘go to’ daily. The fact is, our schools really are the people! They are you! It is then our intention to begin offering educational opportunities to our students remotely. This begins with our teachers making contact with you and your children tomorrow. This contact may be email, phone call, or through the CANVAS LMS system. They have been asked to do so by the end of the day. We will try things in the coming days that will be successful. We will also try things in the coming days that will not. Never before in the history of our country have we attempted to reinvent an educational system in the course of a few short days, and done so remotely. This is, for all practical purposes, an experiment. The overarching objective in this experiment is to serve you and to meet the needs of your children. The opportunities our teacher provides for you are optional. If they don’t work for whatever reason, let us know and we’ll try to do something different. If you need something specific, please don’t hesitate to let your teacher know. We truly want to be of service to you. 

If you need access to the building for medication or essential items needed for remote learning or band instruments your contact is Mr. Bell. Visits to the building will only be available March 24th between the times of 7:30am and 5:00pm and must be scheduled through Mr. Bell. In an effort to practice social distancing, you will be given a precise time to arrive and will have an escort at arms length while in the facility. For that reason, you must be on time and be prepared to be quick and targeted. Please fill out this form so we can coordinate these strategic visits to the facilities. If you are late, we are uncertain of the next time you will be able to access the facilities.

Our food service program is now up and running. Any child aged 18 or under is eligible to receive free meals under this emergency program. We have two pickup sites in our district: the Community Center at Country Terrace (11:00-11:30 Monday and Thursday), and at the back of the elementary school (11:00-11:45 Monday and Thursday). Sites will be operational two times a week where multiple meals will be distributed. To help give us an idea of how many meals to prepare, please fill out this brief form. 

Turning now to our students, I want to direct my following comments to them. We all miss you terribly. We look forward to seeing you fill our hallways again soon, to see you compete under our jersey, and watch you light up the stage in performance. We understand this is not the school year you envisioned and feel great empathy for the situation in which you now find yourself. Unfortunately the days of instruction you are missing right now will not be made up and the competitions we had scheduled are unlikely to happen. As for the upcoming prom and spring musical, it is in your best interest if we postpone these events.  

Finally to the Class of 2020. These are not the memories you wished for your senior year. But these are the memories you will have, and they will be strong. I encourage you to reflect on this time and look for the lessons that are certain to emerge. Apply those lessons, and someday you will be able to tell your grandchildren, ‘I remember when’. In closing I don’t want you to fret about graduating, we’ve got your back. I am very much looking forward to the honor of handing you your diploma and shaking your hand.