Greetings Thompson Community:
We hope that these early weeks of the summer season find you healthy, safe and happy. The past few months have certainly been very challenging for all of us and we greatly appreciate all that you have done to support our students and district family.
As promised, I am writing today to provide you with an update on our planning for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year. First, I want to thank you for sharing your thoughts through the recent survey opportunities that were made available. The feedback that you provided has been instrumental for us as we continue to plan for our return to school. Among the results, approximately 91% of our families indicated that they would be comfortable sending their students back to school with appropriate health and safety precautions in place. In general, the comments that were submitted were distributed across three main concerns: having a safe environment for school communities, the importance of getting our students back into a physical school setting and a focus on how the district’s virtual learning process can be further improved.
We firmly believe that students are the most successful when they are able to receive in-person instruction. Each of our staff members is dedicated to providing a great education in a caring and nurturing environment.
Because of this, our district team is focusing its efforts on a plan that will allow our students to fully return to our schools and campuses this fall.
We are working closely with county health professionals to do all that we can to make this a reality and to ensure that we have the organizational structure and safety precautions in place that will allow this to happen. Our staff is also working to ensure that we will have on-line educational opportunities in place in order to provide maximum flexibility and options for our families. Please know that we need to balance public safety and education. We will make decisions as new guidance comes out and new state and county orders are issued. We recognize that when in-person instruction was closed down at the state level this past spring, it placed a huge burden on our families. Students learn best when they are at school and that is why we are working hard to restore a full return for the upcoming school year.
Of course, one of the things that our community learned this past spring is that situations can change quickly. Because of this, we are also putting plans into place that will allow the district to be flexible with how we educate our students if for some reason we are forced to adapt once again. The safety of our students, families, staff and community is always our number-one priority and every decision that we make will be grounded in that dedication. I assure you that we will always work to ensure that students are able to be at school and on campus as much as possible.
Please note that the school experience is going to look and feel different for our students and families when they return. Physical distancing measures, restrictions to entrances and exits and other items will likely need to be in place in order for us to manage the campuses properly.
Next month, I will reach out once again with an update on our work. At that time, we plan to have further details on what the return to school will look like. We are also planning on holding at least one community forum prior to the start of the school year to provide you with an opportunity to ask questions directly to members of my senior leadership team. It is important to us that we are not only transparent and timely in our communication, but also responsive to answering your questions and providing as much clarity around our planning. These continue to be very uncertain and complex times and we want to serve as a partner with our community as we navigate our current realities. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us by replying to this e-mail. Your support during these challenging times has been steadfast and inspiring. Thank you for all that you continue to do for our entire district community.
Regards,
Dr. Marc Schaffer
Superintendent
Thompson School District