Reopening Schools 2020

TO: Marysville School District Families

FR: Jason Thompson, Superintendent

RE: Reopening Schools 2020 - Update

August 4, 2020

Espanõl: haga clic AQUI (Este mensaje fue traducido usando Google Translate. Perdone cualquier tergiversación de palabras o frases. Gracias.)

The Marysville School District is committed to getting students back into schools with as much face-to-face time as possible with their teachers and peers, however, any decision regarding the reopening of our school buildings needs to align with the guidance from our local public health professionals and with our primary duty to keep our students, families, and staff safe and healthy.

 I know you want to understand what distance learning will look like for the 2020 - 2021 school year. We have reviewed survey responses from the most recent family and staff surveys, and from the spring surveys. Your feedback is appreciated.

 We have listened to your feedback and are making changes to the distance learning plan (Continuous Learning Plan 2.0) for grades K - 12 for the fall (the Early Learning Center will be in contact with parents and guardians for students enrolled in preschool) :

 What did we learn?

Based on feedback from staff, students, families, and community members, we recognize that our Continuous Learning Plan 2.0 must address the following feedback topics:

  • A significant percentage of students, families, and staff reported that they do not feel safe returning to in-person instruction this fall;

  • Marysville School District teachers’ perception of student engagement during distance learning last spring was low;

  • Families and staff identified the need for clarity around expectations and accountability;

  • Families’ perceptions of student progress during distance learning last spring was low;

  • Students, families, and staff reported that there were “barriers” to accessing distance learning last spring;

  • Staff and families identified that the use of multiple platforms negatively impacted student engagement.

What are our primary considerations when we consider reopening? 

In response to this feedback, the district will create an action plan that examines these claims through the following primary considerations that were developed by our reopening schools community committee:

  • Safety

  • High-Quality Instruction

  • Equity

  • Sustainability

  • Community

These primary considerations will be used for the purpose of developing a Continuous Learning 2.0 plan that engages our staff and community to meet the instructional and social-emotional needs of all students in a safe and supportive way.

Our main focus over the next couple of weeks will be to further develop our plan and systems, provide training for staff, and ensure that all students and families are connected to their school, their classroom, and their teacher to begin learning on the first day of school. Another question I anticipate you may have is how and when we will have students return to in-person learning? We will continue to collaborate with Snohomish County Health District and Washington State Department of Health to help guide our next steps and decisions. Our goal is to continuously review the return to school benchmarks set by the Snohomish County Health District. We anticipate planning for a quarterly review to determine if school will continue as distance learning, move to a hybrid model, or fully return to school in-person. We believe this provides a predictable timeframe for our families to coordinate their schedules and childcare while our system can prepare for the potential return to classrooms for our students.

 Thank you for your continued support and understanding.