The time has come. The start of the school year is here!
As we have traversed down this path of uncertainty this past spring and summer, the time has come for Marais des Cygnes Valley to roll out its "Back-to-School Plan."
As a district, we fully understand the apprehension, stress, and worry that may be at the front of our stakeholders' minds as we begin the school year. It is our intent to provide a clear, functional, and flexible learning plan that will withstand the pressures and unknown circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emblazoned on the front of our buildings and guiding us within our school improvement plans, the district continually has utilized the phrase "WE BELIEVE!" This time is no different. It is our intent to continue "believing" in our ability to overcome and create the opportunity for a successful school year.
WE BELIEVE WE CAN DO THIS!!!
With that in mind, it is important to note that our plan was developed to address three main purposes:
- Maximize the ability of the district to keep students, staff, and stakeholders safe.
- Maintain operations of the district so it can be as normal of a learning environment as possible.
- Have the ability to be flexible and effectively continue student education if a mandated district closure is given.
Therefore, the initial focus of Marais des Cygnes Valley will be to provide a safe, quality, and effective in-person education to our students. While remote learning options can be made available, our primary objective will be to provide an in-person education that addresses the learning gap that may have developed from the closure of schools in the spring, normalizes students to the "new normal" that comes with learning during a pandemic, and onboards all so that in the event of another district closure, education can continue effectively while remote.
To assist us in the ability to perform in-person learning, the district has taken the following specific steps:
- All school supplies will be provided to each student.
- Health related supplies like face coverings, holding lanyard, and water bottle will be provided to each student and staff member.
- A laptop or tablet will be provided to each student to utilize while in class or while performing remote learning at home.
- Resources are being developed to assist with internet accessibility for families without access.
- Upon beginning the school year, each student will experience training on how to effectively utilize their grade level online learning programs or platform.
While in-person learning will be our focus, making sure our students, staff, and visitors are safe while in our buildings is of the utmost importance. To maintain the health of our students, staff, and visitors and to prevent extended closures to school as much as possible:
- Masks or face coverings will be worn during the course of the school day and school-related activities, except for specified situations.
- Temperature and symptoms will be screened at the entrance to each school building, each day.
- Handwashing/sanitizing will be required upon entrance and throughout the school day.
- Social distancing methods will be encouraged as much as possible to limit exposure.
- Effective cleaning measures will be implemented during the school day and during off-school hours.
- Individuals exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms will be sent home and can only return after 72 hours symptom free.
- Quarantine/isolation will occur if individuals test positive or are deemed a close contact by the county health department.
In the event of confirmed cases within the district, the county health department will conduct appropriate tracing and dictate quarantine/isolation measures, contacting those affected directly. The district will only update the general population as necessary and appropriate. A single case or even multiple cases at one time will not necessarily result in the closure of schools. The closure of schools will be a last resort if it becomes apparent that community spread is occurring at a rate faster than manageable.
Please be aware that scheduling can be very fluid during this time and event specifics can change quickly. Be sure to monitor our website/app calendar, live feed, social media, app notifications and/or text/phone call communications from the district. Significant announcements will be made via text/phone call communication, while updates will be provided via app notifications, social media, and live feed. If scheduling changes occur, announcements will be given and the calendar will be updated as soon as possible.
At this time, the only known schedule change is the new first day of school for students - August 19th, 2020. All other scheduled events are current as of this posting. Please refer to the app/website calendar for details.
Obviously, this is an uncertain time and this plan will need to be updated, revised, or altered to meet the continuously changing needs of our community. However, WE BELIEVE we can overcome the uncertainty and conduct a school year that is beneficial in the education and support of our children.
To view the full district plan document HERE.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss the specifics of this plan with an administrator, please contact us immediately:
District Office: 785-549-3521, Superintendent - Joe Sample, jsample@usd456.org
MdCV Elementary School: 785-759-3512, Principal - Twila Wollenberg, twollenberg@usd456.org
MdCV Junior-Senior High School: 785-549-3313, Principal - Ben Gordon, bgordon@usd456.org