Dear HGSD Parents, Staff and Community, April 17th, 2020
Again this week I am wishing all of you well. I hope you are all finding a way to stay healthy, active, and engaged in school as best you can. Your thoughtful and considerate support on behalf of your child, student, district and community continues to impress me.
By now, most of you had already heard the Governor Evers extended the “Safer at Home” order until May 26th. Including in the order is additional detail stating that public and private K-12 schools will remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. So while the Safer at Home Order continues to keep buildings closed, it does not close school operations. Please see the statement from State Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor below.
“The closure of school buildings does not mean the end of services to children. The Department of Public Instruction remains committed to supporting schools and districts as they continue to care for their students, advance continuity of learning, provide meals for students, plan for the remainder of the year, and begin to plan for summer school opportunities and next fall due to COVID-19.”
Virtual learning will continue for the remainder of the school year. Please continue to do the best you can. If you are having any issues, please reach out to your classroom teacher or building principal for help. We want every student engaged in learning during this closure. We are here to help.
Third quarter ends today, April 17th. At this time we are continuing to grade students as we have in the past. We are strongly considering other options for grading such as Pass/incomplete. We want all of students to continue to put in their best effort during this challenging time. Once we have worked out the details of a change we will notify everyone.
Free Bag lunches at the High School for any individual who is 18 years old or under will continue for the remainder of the school year. Pick up is from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. If anyone is in need of additional food, there are boxes of food items for families available during the lunch pick-up times. We have about 5 boxes that are available daily. Please take them if you need them.
We are still hopeful that we will be able to have graduation as planned on June 7th. We have identified two alternate dates in case we cannot hold graduation on June 7th due to the closure. Those two alternate dates are July 12th and August 2nd. Mr. Fritz will be contacting seniors in the near future to gather feedback on preferences for an alternative option.
Any fees that have been paid or milk/lunch accounts that have balances will be carried over to next year. Graduates or families leaving the district will receive refunds.
At this point, we are hopeful to still run a summer school program. The start date for summer school may have to be modified and/or become virtual. We are working on a plan for summer school and will keep you posted.
Finally, we congratulate Mike Stoeckigt on being elected to the School Board. Mike will officially begin his term on April 27th.
Continue to the best you can. We will get through this challenging time together as a community of learners. Thank you for your continued support of the Howards Grove School District. Stay safe and healthy. We miss seeing you all.
Sincerely,
Chris Peterson, Scott Fritz, Heather Zizis, Jason Cole, and Tracy Bandt