Good afternoon everyone.

The board meeting began promptly at 9:00 P.M. last evening and lasted until, roughly, 4:00 A.M. this morning. I was not brave enough to stay up that late to hear all of the discussion. There were, however, over 260 phone-in comments that took over three hours to go through. The vast majority advocated for the delay to school and continuing to pay our hourly employees through this change. As you probably already know, they were both approved.

Below is a summary of what I know at this point. As I stated yesterday, I agree with this decision as it takes our teacher’s contracted planning time for instruction from 5 to 14 days. I know it may seem that teacher have all summer to plan for virtual learning, but they are not contractually obligated to do so. This decision allows our organization to be mindful about how we approach the 2020-2021 school year. More importantly, this decision gives us more time to make a better decisions and provide planning for the return of our students for a safe reentry to school.

For now you can expect our teachers to use this time to plan for virtual instruction, call and meet with parents virtually to ensure you and your children are fully prepared for virtual learning, and, of course, time to move into their studios (classrooms) so they may teach virtually from school. I believe this is what is best for our students and staff.

I am also including some additional information for your knowledge. On Monday, my administrative team and I will adjust our calendars for August/September, meet with our leadership team to review on Tuesday, and then be able to communicate with you in a parent/principal coffee on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 11th.

• Due to the teacher contract date being pushed back from August 11 to August 18th, we will not be calling parents or revealing class lists on August 11. As stated above, I will be able to provide more clarity Tuesday on when this till take place.
• Teaching assistants will continue to be paid. 
• Teacher pay will not be affected
• For now (this was reiterated this morning) teachers ARE allowed to teach in their studios when virtual learning begins.
  • Teacher Contract Begins: August 18, 2020
  • First day of virtual instruction: September 8, 2020
  • Last day of instruction: June 3, 2020
  • School days past May 26: 5
  • Minutes added daily: Elementary: 11 (more than likely added to the end of the school day….we will also make minor adjustments to our virtual schedule). Middle and High School: 10.

I realize you may have questions, so please ask them by emailing me or using the Parent/Principal Padlet. I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday and weekend.