Reopening Plan: A Phased Approach to Bringing Students Back to the Building
February 5, 2021
Dear Creative Minds Families:
Over the last 11 months you have shown my team and me an incredible amount of grace as we grappled with the question of when to reopen the school building.
I’m writing today to share a phased approach to resuming in-person classes that will begin next month. An all-remote schedule will remain an option for the rest of the school year; no students will be required to participate in in-person learning.
We believe that a safe but limited return to the building is possible. Local COVID-19 metrics are moving in the right direction. We expect these metrics to improve and stabilize.
We know that a wild card is the COVID-19 variants now showing up in states across the US. We will continue monitoring the public-health situation and be ready to respond if the data warrant a change in course.
Vaccination has begun, and some Creative Minds staff members have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or have signed up to be vaccinated. We are coordinating with DC Health on the vaccination of more staff members. Please consider vaccination for you and your family as more doses become available.
Our back-to-school plan has been approved by our board of trustees and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Health and safety will remain our top priority. Read more about our measures for health and safety.
Overview: Reopening Plan
March 1: Creative Care classes begin. These are remote classes in the school building for up to 50 students who most need in-person support.
Students in Creative Care classes will receive direct academic and social-emotional support from teaching staff as they participate in the same remote learning as students who remain at home.
Our Instructional Leadership Team is calling families of eligible students today, February 5, offering spaces in the Creative Care classroom; accepting a space is not required.
We selected students for Creative Care on the basis of academic need, using data and teacher feedback to determine which students could most benefit from in-person support.
April 1: Target date for bringing students back to the school building for in-person learning. An all-remote schedule will remain an option for the rest of the school year.
The type of in-person schedules we offer will depend on the number of families that request spots and what’s best for our students’ growth, learning, and well-being. We don’t yet know how many spots we’ll offer; this will also depend on family interest, as well as the number of staff available to support students.
These classes may start later than April 1 if we determine that the date should change for reasons of safety.
When We’ll Share More information
The week of March 1, we’ll send another email, which will include the following:
- A link to a survey through which families can request an in-person spot.
- An update on whether April 1 is still the target date for starting in-person learning.
- Information about how we’ll select which students are offered in-person spots.
- Details about the in-person schedules we’re offering, the logistics of the in-person school day, the health and safety protocols that will be in place, and other topics that will help you make an informed decision about whether to request an in-person schedule.
What We Know Now
Here’s information that we can share right now:
- Over the next week, staff are being surveyed about their interest in returning to the building. If they prefer to stay remote, their jobs will not be in jeopardy.
- We have determined that we can safely accommodate six to eight students and two teachers in each classroom.
- For in-person schedules, we will offer sibling priorities and work to accommodate families that request them.
- Students in Creative Care classes will not need to bring their Creative Minds-issued tablets and laptops to school. We’re still determining the technology that students participating in in-person classes will use.
- Our meal-delivery program will continue through the end of the school year. We’re still working on the logistics for students who attend classes at school.
- We are not requiring staff members to be vaccinated before returning to the building, nor are we mandating that vaccinated staff work at school.
- Though negative COVID-19 tests will not be required of returning staff members, we are offering staff COVID-19 surveillance testing at school. We’ll expand this testing to all students and families participating in in-person learning; testing will be optional.
Join Us for a Town Hall
We’ll discuss our reopening plans at two town halls, and we encourage you to join us:
Thursday, February 11
6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Register
Saturday, February 13
10:00 a.m.–11:00 a.m.
Register
Questions?
We expect that you have questions now, and we’d like to answer them. Please submit your question through this form, which will help us manage inquiries.
Thank you for your ongoing patience over the past 11 months. I’m confident that we are prepared to safely welcome back some of our staff and students to the building and that no matter where and how students are learning, our high-quality program will continue.
Best,
Chuck Jackson
Executive Director