That state plan allows individual districts to guide their re-opening plans by county-by-county infection and illness statistics, a plan that may make scientific sense to most but still was too ambiguous for others.
“I think the approach from the governor and MDE-that was a little bit of a surprise,” said Spring Lake Park Schools Superintendent Jeff Sonneberg. “Yet, we’ve been planning since May, engaged our families, and received really valuable feedback from our families last spring about their experiences with distance learning.”
Spring Lake Park Schools, which also include schools in Blaine, will offer hybrid learning, but families can opt for distance learning. Superintendent Sonneberg said once families are locked into what the district calls “extended flexible learning” plans, they have to remain so committed until the end of the first tri-mester.
“I think for everybody there’s going to be that patience, that understanding,” Sonneberg said. “We appreciate that support we’ve always had from our community and that’s more important than ever right now. We’re working really hard to create an engaging learning experience for each of our kids, whether that be in-person or in a distance learning format, and as we do that, how do we balance that to keep our students and staff safe?”
Spring Lake Parks Schools families need to let the district know their intentions by August 14.
In Centennial Schools, the school board approved a hybrid learning model for all students as well. Superintendent Brian Dietz also expressed surprise at the governor’s decision.
“I think we were expecting the answer to come, definitively, to say ‘this is what you’re going to do,’ and we’d all walk together in the journey, and, not having that just allowed for more time to review the plans again and start thinking about what does this truly mean and how do we move from here.”
Dietz said the district will continue gathering feedback from staff and parents about how to minimize risks.
“I think our big center point is always about the fact of student safety and staff safety–how do we keep people safe, and, then, more importantly, keeping that as more of a center point, then what’s the best education model to deliver services with that piece at the forefront of what we decide to do?” he said. “That’s where the journey starts: easier said than done.”
He also said parents gave tremendous feedback after the distance learning experience in the spring.
“Ninety percent of our parents–more than that–filled out the survey. that’s incredible,” he said. “Our staff stepped up and talked about what the concerns were, and that just helps us get better.”
