April 27, 2020

North Linn Parents,

In my update to you last week, I stated that I would reach out to share some of our next steps going forward after we have had time to process the cancellation of school by the Governor. I know that you are fully aware of this, but for my own peace of mind, I do want to reiterate that as we adjust to our “new normal” our best laid plans will continue to be impacted by this virus and we can fully expect future changes to our current changes. New guidance has been and will continue to flow at a frantic pace from a number of different federal, state and local entities. This information will impact how we deliver and conduct our educational business for our kids. So please bear with me, but this is what we know at this time:

·Our continuous learning plan for our early childhood, primary and elementary children will remain the same. We will continue to offer literacy, math, writing and emotional/social learning opportunities. I would like to commend our parents and students for their due diligence with this format. Our participation rate for most grade levels is running much higher than we expected. This will make our student’s transition back to school easier this fall. The lesson format will continue through May 22nd.

·Please know that ALL of our elementary and middle school students will advance to the next grade level when we return this fall. We are in the process of developing a systematic approach to address missed concepts for all of our students before we fully dive into new learning this fall. When it lends itself to particular lessons throughout the year, we will provide additional or needed review as we begin these new topics. Rest assured, we will make every reasonable effort to ensure that all of our students receive the appropriate re-teaching that will allow them the opportunity to succeed.

·In May elementary instructors will spend time packing up your child’s items and any snow boots/shoes, etc. and this will be organized by classroom. Building principals and/or secretaries will be reaching out to you to assign a pick-up time for these items later in May. We will purposefully assign times so we can adhere to social distancing guidelines.

·When your time is assigned, we would truly appreciate that you also return any computer, hotspot or library books that your student may have borrowed. We will need to begin the process in June of cleaning and updating the machines and re-organizing our libraries.

·We will be offering elementary summer school opportunities in a similar invite format as in previous years. Due to the circumstances will be expanding our summer school grade levels from previous years and also the number of students that we traditionally invite. We need to take care of and address our most vulnerable children first. To meet the needs of all of our students, we will also be offering online summer school lessons taught by our teachers similar to what is currently being offered. We will make available devices and/or hotspots if this is needed for the online learning. This gives all of our students an opportunity to stay engaged if a family so desires. We anticipate starting this programming in mid-July and run this through the first week of August. Additional details will be forthcoming.

·There is the potential that our school year may start earlier for all of our students to address learning missed from the 4th quarter. We continue to work through this process and are waiting for additional guidance from our state and local levels.

·We have been working with Nurse Supple and the Linn County Department of Public Health to implement a re-entry plan for this summer as well as this fall to ensure a safe return for all of our children and our staff members.

·Our 6th through 11th grade students have through May 29th the opportunity to improve their grades if they desire to do so. Your student will need to contact their instructor(s) to work on that process. Please reach out to Mr. Beaty or your child’s instructor(s) if you have any questions.

·Also, at the secondary level, senior parents and students should have received an email from Mrs. Hilmer outlining information as our school year comes to a close.

·Included in Mrs. Hilmer’s email was a “Senior Pick Up/Drop Off” Google document that assigned dates and times for seniors to pick up their cap and gown and also drop off their Chromebook, any athletic apparel/equipment and books that need to be returned.

·Mr. Beaty will be reaching out in the near future to assign times to our 6th through 11th grade students to also report to the building to return their Chromebooks, athletic apparel or equipment and books that they may have and also retrieve their personal items.

·Prom is now scheduled for July 16th if social distancing restrictions have been lifted. Grand March will begin at 7:00 with the dance to follow till 11:00 p.m.

·Graduation is scheduled for Sunday, July 12th beginning at 2:00 p.m. Currently, we are planning for our traditional ceremony. If social distancing restrictions have yet to be lifted, we will organize an alternate plan depending on what is allowed by that date. So as the date approaches we will be sharing details.

·Please know and hopefully understand that Prom and Graduation dates were chosen to respect and avoid summer sports and post season schedules the best that we possibly could.

·A zoom meeting has been scheduled for seniors and their parents who may want to join in on April 29th at 7:00 to answer any questions that seniors may have. Mrs. Hilmer will forward a link on the 27th or the 28th.

·Senior Awards Evening has been cancelled. Mrs. Hilmer is exploring options into how we best showcase all scholarships and awards earned by our students.

My guess is that you will be hearing from me again next week as our planning continues. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me or one of our staff members if you have any questions and please stay safe!

Doug