Dexter Community Schools looking at more in-person learning

Image

photo by Dexter Community Schools

The week of March 22 will mark a big change in Dexter Community Schools.

It marks a shift that will see each grade level have the chance to do more in-person learning inside their actual classrooms.

The decision to move forward in this direction came during the DCS Board of Education meeting on March 8, when the school board looked at confirming the COVID-19 Extended Learning Plan, which it’s done, as required, each month over this school year.

The Sun Times News followed up with DCS school board president Julie Schumaker about this coming shift in plans.

It will see a new option added into the overall plan that’s had some students doing a strictly virtual learning path while others have been in the hybrid mode of learning in-person two days per week along with virtual on the others.

This new option would see students in the higher grade levels of middle school and high school spending even more time inside their school buildings, which wasn’t a plan in the works for March 22.

The plan had been to give students in the lower grades the opportunity to get back to more classroom time starting that week and the previous one.

However, that’s changed to include all now.

“After much discussion at the March 8th school board meeting, the board approved a motion to offer at least 20 hours of in-person learning to all K-12 students who choose the Homeroom option beginning the week of March 22,” Schumaker said. “The particular schedule for students at each building will be determined by the district's administrative team and shared with families.”

Virtual learning is called the Home-based option in DCS.

There are various reasons behind this decision.

Schumaker gave some background.

She said in February, “the district had announced a plan to increase in-person learning for students who had selected the Homeroom option as follows: Anchor/Beacon students 5 days per week starting March 15th, Wylie on March 22nd, and Creekside on April 5th.”

“Students in grades 7-12 would remain on a hybrid schedule with the hope to increase frequency of in-person learning in mid-April if current COVID case rates continue their downward trend,” she said of the plan. “According to professional guidance, if cases move below 10 per 100,000, it is safe to increase the density of middle school and high school students.”

However, late last week, the Michigan Senate and House passed a series of bills and budgets to distribute stimulus dollars and state aid dollars that could impact school districts. Schumaker said the legislation calls for schools to offer at least 20 hours of in-person instruction to students starting no later than March 22.

She said this legislation impacts DCS by nearly $850,000.

Meaning, if the school district didn’t offer this option, it could lose out on that funding.

As of March 9, Schumaker said this legislation was awaiting the Governor's signature.

However, the governor could also veto it.

DCS is now in a fast-paced planning mode as it works to adjusts its plans and preparations for this new option. Both the school board and administration understand there are different needs and wants across the district.

“The district is aware that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to navigating learning during COVID,” Schumaker said. “While some families and students will celebrate the news of increased opportunities in-person learning, others may not feel comfortable with the increased density in classrooms. The district will continue to offer the Homebased option for those who feel more comfortable learning virtually from home during this period.”

In an update issued on March 10, DCS Superintendent Chris Timmis said, "That legislation was signed yesterday and prompts us to move up our timelines. We were planning to continue to increase more in-person instruction in two to three weeks regardless of this new legislation. We believe we can safely make some small changes to meet the requirements now and continue with the remainder of our previously planned expansion in April. We have decided to move up some of our timelines that are being supported by lower rates in our area."

Timmis said after significant considerations, here are the new plans:

  • Anchor/Beacon Homeroom students will move to 5-days per week of in-person instruction starting Monday, March 15th with school starting at 8:30 a.m. and drop off between 8:15-8:30 a.m. The school day will end at 3:05 p.m. with a rolling dismissal starting at 2:50 p.m. The schools will continue to use Driveline (the parent pickup system we’ve used this year). Home-based students will remain home-based.
  • Wylie and Creekside Homeroom students will move to 5-days per week of in-person instruction starting Monday, March 22nd with school starting at 8:30 a.m. and drop off between 8:15-8:30 a.m. The school day will end at 3:05 p.m. with staggered pickup times starting at 2:50 p.m. The schools will continue to use Driveline (the parent pickup system we’ve used this year). Home-based students will remain home-based. We initially planned to bring Creekside students in starting a week (of school time) later so we’re moving it up one week.
  • Mill Creek Homeroom students will continue on their A/B Day hybrid schedule with new times beginning on March 15th as previously planned. School will start at 8:30 a.m. Drop off will be from 8:15 - 8:30 a.m., and doors will open at 8:15 am. The school day will end at 3:05 p.m. Starting on Wednesday, March 24th, Mill Creek students who would like to attend In-person Learning Labs can attend from 8:15 - 3:05 p.m. on Wednesdays. Bus transportation for Wednesdays will be provided through the same bus routes as the other days of the week. Parents will be asked to notify us if their child plans to attend via a building sign-up form that is being sent out tomorrow morning so we can plan accordingly. Lunch will be provided as it is on other days. Sometime after April 12th or April 19th, we will likely be moving to more in-person days at Mill Creek with more students in the building at one time. Currently, we have a significant number of Mill Creek students in quarantine due to extracurricular activity exposures. We will use the coming weeks to work through safety protocols for a safer return to more days of in-person learning. Please look forward to further information from the building in the coming days.
  • Dexter High School: Starting Monday, March 15th, DHS courses will run from 8:45 - 2:45 on the current A/B schedule. Bus routes will be moved back to one run for all Dexter students instead of running the second AM bus run for high school students as we initially planned. Routes times will be available on the DCS website by the end of this week.
    • Starting Monday, March 22nd, DHS current home-based students will remain home-based in order to maintain class sizes that we are using to plan spacing based on current attendance. Another opportunity to move from Home-based to Homeroom will be made available in late April. Only current homeroom students may choose to attend on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays or choose to zoom into the courses. Classes will run from 8:45 - 2:45 on M/Tu/Th/F. Wednesdays will remain used for office hours and asynchronous learning.
    • To be clear, the max class sizes look to be around 27 in some classes while most are 20 or lower. We will work to keep 3’ - 6’ spacing between students in classes. We will work to keep 6’ seat distance during lunches but this will include seating for lunch outside of the cafeteria as the space does not allow enough students in at one time. We have established alternate seating areas for lunches.
    • There will be a change to the schedule during the week of April 12th to accommodate SAT/PSAT9/PSAT10/WorkKeys/MStep Testing. The test regulations will require a change in spacing in order to space students and proctor the tests according to test regulations. This is important in order to not invalidate student SAT scores for college admissions.
    • We also have a significant number of DHS students in quarantine tied to extracurricular activities. Please use extra diligence to keep everyone safe so we can continue to increase opportunities for in-person learning for students.
I'm interested
I disagree with this
This is unverified
Spam
Offensive