Hello Families,
As we approach the end of this unusual school year, we have considered the opportunities to leverage the state’s Safe Learning Plan for the benefit of our students, staff and families. One of the allowances in the Safe Learning Plan are transition days for schools to use between learning models.
Because we were successful in minimizing transitions between learning models this year, we can use these days to intentionally transition from the challenges of the current school year, to look ahead and serve our students best this summer and next fall.
We will move the last day of school for all students to Friday, May 28th. Students will be dismissed at 12 noon.
The first four days in June will be staff in-service days to address the following:
- Review of student learning and behavioral data from the past year and beyond. What were our learning losses during COVID-19 and where does our focus need to be as we move forward?
- District-wide alignment of academic standards: How do we take the data we have from the past year, focus on the standards and plan for a successful return to learning in the fall? How do we plan for all students to be on-track after the variables this year?
- Social-emotional learning and behavior management: The COVID-19 pandemic required significant focus on virus prevention and mitigation measures. As we return to normal, we will renew our focus on the priorities and commitments in our Continuous Improvement plan, including a focus on behavior management as a strategy to support student learning.
- Summer Enrichment Sessions: Part of our COVID-19 funding is allocated to these new, free sessions for our students this summer. One of the main goals of these sessions is to recover learning loss from the past year. We will use some of our time the first week of June to prepare for the six weeks of summer enrichment this summer.
Thank you families for your efforts to minimize the impact of COVID-19 in our schools, and your continued flexibility as we navigate this adjustment. I know this is a significant change to the district calendar, but truly believe that taking advantage of these days is in the best interest of our students and staff.
We look forward to finishing strong this spring, and preparing to serve students and families best next year.
With Gratitude,
Shane Tappe
Superintendent
P.S. For information on essential-only childcare for grades K-5, email adventures@isd2170.k12.mn.us.