Dear families,
Hello, and happy Friday! I hope you have had a good week!
Please click here to watch my video update this week, or continue reading below.
Student and staff well-being
This year has been incredibly challenging - unlike anything we’ve experienced before. We know that during these difficult times, students are likely to need even more support. They may be struggling with feeling isolated from friends and family. They may be feeling stress, anxiety or sadness. They may be struggling to find motivation for school, or having a hard time adjusting to the changes we’re all experiencing.
Please remember that our school counselors - and our entire school staff - are here to support our students every day, whether they’re learning remotely or in school. You can click here to watch a video with a message from our school counselors. At the end of that video is contact information for all of our school counselors. Please do not hesitate to reach out if your student is struggling. Our staff can help you connect with additional support - be it on a small scale or something to meet a more significant need.
As you know, the well-being of our students and staff is one of the priorities in our strategic plan. It’s a crucial element for students to thrive in their learning. But more than that, it’s about our entire staff caring about each and every one of our students. Please know that we are here for your students, and we are here to support them.
Save the date! Well-being webinar for families
We also believe it’s important to offer our families some additional support and resources to navigate this school year. Please join us for a webinar with Dr. Emily W. King, a nationally recognized child, adolescent and family psychologist, on Wednesday, January 6 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Dr. King will be speaking about supporting the social and emotional wellness of children and families during COVID-19. To learn more about Emily King, please visit her website. We’ll email out a Zoom link on the day of the webinar.
Hybrid learning schedule
Please click here to see the updated hybrid learning schedule calendar. This planning document was updated to reflect the enhanced hybrid schedule approved by the Board of Education and to balance the in-person learning days for each group. Please note that, in order to balance the calendar, the weeks after winter break (January 5) and spring break (March 23) will have hybrid group 1 at school in person on Tuesday and Wednesday. Those Wednesdays will be independent remote learning days for hybrid group 2.
At this point, our plan remains having students in our school-based pathway return to school after winter break in the enhanced hybrid schedule starting on Tuesday, January 5. We are continuing to work with our Medical Advisory Team to review local and county health data, and we will provide any updates if needed.
As a reminder, the hybrid learning schedule document is designed to serve simply as a planning guide for families for what the hybrid schedule might look like at any point during the second semester. The goal remains welcoming our students back to school five days a week as soon as it is safe to do so.
COVID-19 reporting reminder
If your student or another member of your household has a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, please notify COVID Nurse Coordinator Gina Rancitelli, RN, BSN, LSN, at [email protected] or 614-487-5035. Even during these weeks of enhanced distance learning and winter break, reporting confirmed and suspected cases will help keep people safe and to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community and school.
Even during these weeks of enhanced distance learning and winter break, reporting confirmed and suspected cases is important for a few reasons. It allows us to better support students in their learning while they may not be feeling well, to plan for their safe return to school, and to track their resulting period (90 days) of presumed immunity when they wouldn’t have to quarantine due to an exposure. We appreciate your support in helping us keep people safe and slow the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and community.
You can see this week’s data on our website dashboard.
Take care of yourselves and your students. Have a great weekend, and as always, go Bears!
Sincerely,
Paul Imhoff, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Upper Arlington Schools