Dear HGSD Parents, Staff and Community, July 10th, 2020
I hope this letter finds you all safe and enjoying summer. Even though we are only to July 10th, I’m sure many of you are looking to the months ahead and thinking about how we will begin the school year. We have all been inundated with news and information regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic and what implications it has on us, our families, and our community. We are working diligently to keep you informed regarding our reopening plans and what steps we will take to ensure a safe reopening of all our schools.
Our reopening committee has been meeting and is working on protocols for a variety of areas. Our goal is to have a final plan to you by July 31st, provided the state doesn’t change anything that might delay that. We are working off the assumption that we will be open 5 days a week and run normal start times. We are studying the guidance provided to us by the Department of Public Instruction, Sheboygan County Health Department, the American Association of Pediatrics, and the survey data we have collected to help us build our plan. As our plan develops, it is critical that it the right plan for Howards Grove.
As part of our plan we will have recommendations for all students and staff. We will have different recommendations based on the age appropriateness of our students. We realize that our students will need to be in an environment that is conducive to learning. As a parent of two incoming 4K students, I realize that the requirement of mask is unrealistic for all students at all times. Keeping our schools as normal as possible while maintaining a safe environment for all is our guiding principle. Practicing good hand washing hygiene, cleaning our facilities, education on identifying symptoms, and appropriate social distancing will be factors as we develop our recommendations. We also realize that we will not have the perfect plan for everyone as we are trying to accommodate as many concerns as we can. Ultimately, we want kids back in school safely.
Thank you to everyone who has taken time to complete the parent survey regarding reopening of schools. The survey will still be accessible until Monday July 13th if you still would like to complete it. We will be providing the results of our community survey on reopening early next week. The results will be posted to our district website.
Mr. Fritz and his team are continuing to work on graduation plans. We will not have a definite answer on graduation until the July 20th school board meeting. August 2nd remains the date for a potential formal graduation ceremony.
Don’t forget that we will be offering Virtual Summer School from July 27th-August 7th. This is a great option for some of our students who need additional support over the summer. You can access the course descriptions and online registration by going to any of the school websites, clicking menu, Virtual Summer School 2020, and selecting the "2020 Virtual Summer School Information" page.
Registration information for the 2020-2021 school year will be coming out soon.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out for help or support at any time. We are all in this together and are here to help.
Sincerely,
Chris Peterson, Scott Fritz, Heather Zizis, Jason Cole, and Tracy Bandt