For more than a year, we have given our all to make virtual instruction work for your students. From ensuring they have the tools they need, to engaging them in virtual lessons, to supporting their emotional and physical wellbeing, our staff has been there day-in and day-out for you and your children. While current health and safety guidelines keep us from immediately returning to pre-March 2020 schooling, we are now in a place to offer more in-person experiences.
Beginning April 26, we will expand in-person opportunities at each campus. This email outlines our plans for each campus, as well as other critical information for this summer and the 2021-2022 School Year. There is a lot of information in this email, so please read it carefully. We will also have multiple opportunities to review this information at campus-based and cross-campus family forums. We will also keep all of this information on our website.
Our Quarter 4 Decision
BEGINNING APRIL 26, E.L. HAYNES WILL EXPAND IN-PERSON OPPORTUNITIES. THEY WILL VARY AT EACH CAMPUS AND FOR EACH STUDENT.
Each school plan is made up of two strategies that reflect what families, students, and staff wanted in our recent Q4 Planning Survey, as well as the planning done by school teams. At each campus, there is one strategy that targets specific students and one that targets all interested students. Remember that all in-person opportunities are optional for your students.
- Elementary School
- We will expand in-person grade-level play and social opportunities for ALL students. Every student will have access to 45 minutes of in-person play with classmates every week.
- We will offer in-person instruction four days per week for invited students. In grades PreK-4 through 4, we will facilitate at least one classroom on site for in-person instruction. We are exploring appropriate options for Pre-K3, given where we are in the current school year.
- Middle School
- We will launch 2 x LIONS classrooms per grade for invited students. These classrooms are virtual learning spaces, where students have a supervised environment to complete their virtual learning. Due to current limitations in cohort size and cohort mixing, they are the least disruptive to current student and teacher schedules.
- We will launch structured afternoon activities and athletics for all interested students up to three times per week.
- High School
- We will launch 2 x LIONS classrooms per grade for invited students. These classrooms are virtual learning spaces, where students have a supervised environment to complete their virtual learning. Due to current limitations in cohort size and cohort mixing, they are the least disruptive to current student and teacher schedules.
- We will launch structured afternoon activities and athletics for all interested students up to three times per week.
Our Process
Since January, we have engaged many members of our community to best plan for Quarter 4. We used information from our Q4 Planning Survey and from our campus-based working groups to develop these plans.
Our Rationale
- Our decisions and plans reflect our commitment to equity. We know that this pandemic has impacted all of us differently, and has impacted some members of our community more than others. Our decisions reflect this reality, including thinking both how we will prioritize students for in-person opportunities and how we will support staff with different needs and flexibilities.
- Our plans reflect key data from our Q4 Planning Survey. Many students, families, and staff participated in this survey. Your answers informed the planning of our working groups, and in some cases identified clear preferences for in-person programming.
- Our plans reflect the unique needs of each campus. Our plans consider the balance required to provide what our students need, while minimizing the impact on the quality of our virtual program, as well as the impact on our campus schedules and staffing.
- Our roadmap to returning to full in-person instruction will be grounded in health and safety. As we move forward through Quarter 4, into this summer, and the 2021-2022 School Year, health and safety will continue to guide our decisions for our community. Our plans reflect current DC Health guidelines. As guidance changes, access to the vaccine becomes more prevalent, and we learn more about the impact of COVID variants, our plans will change. Given where we are in the school year, these changes will be reflected in our plans for summer and next school year.
SUMMER 2021
We are committed to providing three weeks of summer programming, most of which will take place from Monday, June 28 through Friday, July 16. This programming will vary at each campus, and will be a mix of in-person and virtual learning experiences. By April 9, we will provide additional information for families, including how to sign up.
FALL 2021
We will offer in-person instruction at all three campuses for all students AND we will also offer a 100% virtual instructional model for families who wish to remain virtual for the Fall semester. We are excited to share more information with you in the coming weeks.
CALENDAR 2021-2022
This week, we finalized our calendar for the 2021-2022 School Year. You can see the full calendar HERE, and a snapshot of highlights HERE. Our first day of school is August 30, 2021. As we said earlier this year, there is no Fall Intersession next year. We have a break planned for February, but no Intersession program is currently planned during this time.
- Our calendar increases instructional time to support academic recovery and social emotional learning. We will align our school days across all three campuses, including full day instructional days on Fridays at the elementary and middle schools. We included three dedicated days for parent-teacher conferences and will continue to provide multiple options for families to schedule these conversations.
- This calendar reflects your feedback in our planning survey, and there are tradeoffs. We kept Thanksgiving Break as a full week, shortened Winter Break slightly, and brought back the February break to more closely align with the DC Public Schools calendar.
NEXT STEPS & OPPORTUNITIES TO DISCUSS / ASK QUESTIONS
Over the remainder of the school year, and into the summer and fall, we will continue to engage you in our planning. Here are some of the important next steps and ways to hear more.
- Join a Cross-Campus Family Forum. You will have the opportunity to discuss the plans and decisions during our cross-campus Family Forums on Thursday, March 25, from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m. or Friday, March 26, from 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. We will be sending out ZOOM log-in information early next week.
- Join a campus-based Family Forum. You will have the opportunity to discuss the plans and decisions in a campus-based setting. We will be sending out ZOOM log-in information prior to the events.
- Elementary School: Tuesday, March 30, from 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
- Middle School: Thursday, April 1, from 6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
- High School: Wednesday, March 31, from 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
- Look out for more information from your campus teams in the coming weeks.
Thank you. I know this is a lot of information. We will provide many more details to you soon, and will answer all of your questions. If you have any questions or immediate concerns, you can contact me or your child’s principal directly.