Dear Trustees, Park 6 Staff Members, Parents, and Students,
Our Reopening Task Force has been meeting on a regular basis since the school year ended in May with an eye on getting our students back into our school buildings. To that end we have developed this plan to meet the needs of students and staff, keeping them safe, number one, but also getting them back into classrooms, into our school buildings, in the most “normal” way possible. Someone coined the phrase that we are getting back to abnormal and truly things will look different as teachers and then students walk back through the schoolhouse doors.
Adapting to the challenges of COVID-19 has given us the opportunity to provide what is uniquely possible in the classroom while seeking new ways to fully use technology and strengthen our community partnerships. We understand the enormity of the burdens caused by school closures last spring. This is a moment when all of us - educators, families, and community members - must find ways to ensure that our students get back in the schools and make connections so important in their young lives. This includes not only the academic side, but equally important are our sports and activities in the lives of our students. We are working with our community partners and state organizations to bring as much as possible back this fall.
We are committed first and foremost to ensuring that we are effectively meeting our students’ academic and social/emotional needs as they return to the classroom. The past few months have been difficult for all of us and we have never felt more eager to see the start of a school year. There are still many unknowns, as you are aware, and to that end, our task force has developed a reopening plan that will take a tiered approach to the school year which takes into consideration guidance from the state and our local health officials. So as you go through this “Smart Start Plan,” keep in mind that our intent is to start with Tier One which assumes the current state of our community in light of the coronavirus pandemic. We intend to bring all of our students and staff back safely into the buildings with heightened hygiene and mitigation of virus spread efforts fully in place. This will include the use of face coverings when students and staff are unable to maintain the recommended six-foot distance. Please review this plan for further details about those measures.
Park 6 launched an app (“Cody Public Schools - Park 6” for iPhones and Androids) during school closure that allows us to get messages out to our staff, parents, students and community members instantly in an efficient and effective manner. Please continue to keep an eye on our social media outlets at the district and school level for updates. We also communicate often with staff at the Cody Enterprise and KODI radio. You will be receiving frequent updates between now and the time school starts for students on Monday, August 31, 2020.
Park 6 is committed to the individual development and the unique needs of each student and therefore is developing options for a remote learning platform for those families and students who are unable to return to school for medical reasons. Building principals will be back in their buildings the first week in August and will be able to help parents determine the best way to meet their student’s needs. Check our website https://www.park6.org/ and our district and school FaceBook pages for more information regarding school opening.
Stay safe and stay healthy,
Peg Monteith
Peg Monteith, M.Ed.
Superintendent
Below is a link to our reopening plan.