Good evening Jacket family,
As the Covid-19 outbreak expands across our state and our country, we continue to receive new information daily as we evaluate our response plan and adjust where necessary. Please read carefully. There is a lot of new information to share with you.
School Closure Extended Through April 17
Gov. Tate Reeves’ executive order today closed schools statewide through April 17 in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 .
Update from MDE; SBE Votes to Suspend Assessments, Accountability, Waive Missed School Days
The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) voted today to suspend all federal and state assessments for the 2019-20 school year and to submit a waiver request to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) for exemption of those federal requirements.
As a result of the suspension of federal and state assessments, districts will retain the accountability grade for the 2020-21 school year that they received in the 2019-20 school year.
Additionally, the SBE affirmed Gov. Tate Reeves’ executive order today to close schools statewide through April 17 in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus). As a result, the SBE voted to allow school districts to forego the requirement of a 180-day school year per state law for school closure due to COVID-19.
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has issued guidance to school districts who want to implement distance learning. MDE has partnered with Mississippi Public Broadcasting to provide online learning opportunities for students. However, not all districts have the technology to fully and equitably conduct online learning, so the MDE will be releasing additional guidance for school districts in the coming days.
All MDE COVID-19 updates are posted online: www.mdek12.org/covid19.
Continued Learning During School Closure – IMPORTANT New Information
Our belief that excellent classroom teachers are essential to our students’ success has never been more valued than it is today.
While nothing can replace in-person classroom instruction, our teachers have done an amazing job connecting with their students and families to share ideas for engaging classroom experiences at home. The standard for teaching excellence in our school district is incredibly high, and I cannot emphasize enough how very proud I am of the work our teachers are doing from home.
Our plan for flexible, continued learning is rooted in our commitment to equity and ensuring all students have an equal chance at success. Our goal is for our students to read, write, communicate and engage in continued learning experiences while our schools remain closed.
I know this transition has also not been easy for our parents. We are so grateful for the commitment you’ve shown to our students as your family adapts to learning at home.
As we prepare for the weeks ahead, I want to share a few details with you about our plan for learning at home.
Beginning March 30, your child’s teacher(s) will be available to you and/or your child at least 3 days a week during a 2-hour time block to answer questions and/or offer support if needed via one of the following methods:
Phone
And/or video conferencing
We are NOT requiring students to complete any assignments NOR are we requiring teachers to teach lessons digitally. This is an effort to provide some guidance and support to families if needed. I know many of our teachers are already providing this for their students and families.
Your child’s teacher(s) will communicate their times and schedules to you next week.
We understand not every child has access to wifi or a device, but we want to work to support our families and their at-home learning experiences. We will be offering wifi hot spots to students at accessible sites, and we will also be making at-home learning packets available. The first distribution will be on Friday, March 27. We will share more details about this next week.
Pace yourselves. We’ve asked our teachers to do the same. As parents who are managing work from home and your child’s learning from home, you don’t have to do everything at once. You do not have to become a digital learning expert, and we are not expecting that of your child’s teacher either. Give yourselves some grace and flexibility and extend that to your child’s teacher(s), too.
We’ve asked our teachers to use this time to connect with their students to build an even stronger school family. We want them to do what they know how to do as a teacher: love and support their students and their learning.
Learning Resources to Stretch Your #StarkvilleSpark at Home
As a reminder, our Jacket teachers & curriculum team have compiled an on-going list of excellent learn-at-home resources, organized by grade & subject.
Thank you to our curriculum staff for investing time in developing this list for our #JacketFamily and to our teachers who are sharing creative ideas with your classroom parents.
Check it out & show us what you’re learning! http://starkvillesd.com/covid19/learning-resources and please share these resources with your students and families.
Update on Report Cards
Since some teachers are quarantined for two weeks due to spring break travels, we have not completed grade verification for the 3rd nine weeks. When that is finalized, parents will be able to access their child’s report card through their Power School Parent Portal.
Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers will connect with parents to share their standards based report cards for the 3rd nine weeks.
Advanced Placement Testing, Dual-Credit/Dual Enrollment Courses
We continue to await guidance on how our students who are enrolled in these courses will proceed. There has been some discussion about online exams and online tutorials for AP students. However, we have not received any definitive answers. As soon as we have information to share, we will pass it along to you and to our students and families.
Covid-19 Email Hotline
Do you have questions about COVID-19, the SOSD response, & impacts for your family? We’ve set up an email hotline to try & answer them! Send to: covid19@starkvillesd.com
School Closure
It was and continues to be an extremely difficult decision to close our schools, and the decision to close reflects the seriousness and severity of this health crisis. Please remember this is not an extended spring break. It is imperative that we practice and model key preventative measures. You can help keep our schools and community safe for everyone by sharing accurate information. All of our District messages and resources can be found at www.starkvillesd.com/covid19. This page will serve as an ongoing feed of SOSD response updates, event changes and closures, and resources.
One of the many strengths of our greater school community is our love for each other. Our entire Jacket family sends our love and support to all of our families and students, especially our seniors. We know this is not how our seniors imagined their final semester of high school. We will celebrate the SHS Class of 2020 and their achievements!
We continue to work to provide additional resources for our EL families during this time. We plan to send translated materials to our EL families. Families can expect to receive those within the next 24 hours.
Thank You
There continues to be a lot of unanswered questions at this time. None of us can accurately predict what the coming weeks will bring. With certainty, however, I assure we are here to support each other, and your children, and we will get through this together.
Take care of yourselves! Your #JacketFamily needs you to be healthy!
Best,
Eddie Peasant
P.S.
Keep reading below for information about our Meals 2 Go program and meal delivery service.
Meals 2 Go with Bus Delivery
The Starkville Oktibbeha School District is offering FREE Meals 2 Go to children 0-18.
As part of this program, the District is offering meal delivery service with our school buses.
Individuals who HAVE NOT received a free meal delivery but would like to should click on the link below to complete a form to be added to our delivery routes. You must complete and submit the form by 8 pm nightly. This is ONLY if you have not received meal delivery service, and you would like to request it.
**Families with SICK OR QUARANTINED CHILDREN should be sure to scroll down and complete Page 2 of the form.
https://www.starkvillesd.com/covid19/form
The District’s meal service will also be distributed from three school sites: Sudduth Elementary, Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary and Starkville High School from 10:30 am until 12:30 pm weekdays. Drive-up and walk-up service available at each school site in the bus lane located next to the cafeteria.
Each meal will include lunch and breakfast, including two milk servings. Lunches are intended to be eaten immediately or should be stored in the refrigerator within 2 hours. Please discard any leftovers within 3 days. Hot foods should be kept hot (entrees >135 degrees) and cold foods (milk & cheese < 41 degrees) kept cold. All meals are FREE to children ages 0-18. Children do NOT have to be students in the Starkville Oktibbeha School District to participate. However, children must be physically present to receive a meal. Adults who are chaperoning/transporting children to school sites may purchase a meal for $3.15 at school site. Cash only accepted.
Meal delivery service will begin at 10:30 amand conclude around 12:30 pm. Buses will follow their normal routes. The District’s FREE Meals 2 Go is available to children 0-18. All children who would like to receive a meal must be present at the bus stop. Adult service will NOT be available through our bus delivery program.