Superintendent's Update

Thank you to all who provided feedback about remote learning. Your feedback has helped us make changes to refine our schedules and increase access and support for our students. As we make these changes, we are also planning to bring all of our students back to campus. This message is to explain our timeline for shifting to hybrid teaching at each traditional school and to explain how we will support students until we get to the end of the first semester.

As we move closer to bringing more students back to campus we would like to hear from families with students who would not be able to attend school in-person due to health and safety concerns. For instance, we have students who recently had surgery or families who have someone in their household who is immuno-compromised. Our staffing is designed to provide either remote or hybrid learning models, but not both over an extended period of time.

Our principals have, or will, reach out to families over the next week to hear from families with students who would not be able to attend school in-person due to health and safety concerns as we transition to the hybrid learning model – and until we start the second semester. It is important to have a conversation with your school’s principal to share your situation so we may seek a short-term solution to support your student until a more sustainable approach may be put in place at the beginning of the second semester.

We have been following the guidance from the Department of Health, OSPI, and the Governor’s office to return our students back to campus in a safe and cautious manner. At all levels, Meridian’s hybrid learning model means each student will be in one of two groups, attending school in-person two days a week and remotely three days per week.

• Group A Learning: Monday and Tuesday in school, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at home.
• Group B Learning: Wednesday and Thursday in school, Friday, Monday, and Tuesday at home.

This model allows us to maintain 6’ of social distancing and provide in-person instruction. Our physical classrooms and increased student enrollment limit the number of students we can safely serve at one time. It also has our teachers instructing face to face four days a week.

Since October 19th we have successfully welcomed our Kindergarten and 1st & 2nd graders back to campus at Irene Reither Elementary, along with some students who have higher learning needs. We look forward to welcoming our 3rd - 5th graders back to school on Monday, November 16th.

• Schedule: The student schedule will start at 9:05 am. We will adjust our student end time to 2:20 pm to better support and provide feedback for students not at school.
• Meals: Since students are in cohorts at the elementary level, we will continue to have students eat breakfast and lunch in their classrooms. Reminder: Breakfast and lunch are free to all students this year!

We are planning to bring our 6th - 8th graders to Meridian Middle School on Monday, November 30th. The adjustment to the middle school schedule that has already occurred will help facilitate this change.

• Schedule: The hybrid schedule will have our middle school students starting at 8:05 am and ending at 12:55 pm. This allows staff to better support and provide feedback for students not at school.
• Meals: Students will be provided with breakfast in the morning. We will provide lunches for students to take with them as they leave campus. This limits the movement of large numbers of students and increased exposure. Reminder: Breakfast and lunch are free to all students this year!
• 6th Grade Introduction/Orientation: The 6th-grade team is meeting to explore a 6th-grade introduction/orientation. Look for more information in next week’s weekly update.

We are planning to bring our 9th - 12th graders to Meridian High School on Monday, November 30th.

• Schedule: The hybrid schedule will have our high school students starting at 7:55 am and ending at 12:40 pm. This allows staff to better support and provide feedback for students not at school.
• Meals: Students will be provided with breakfast in the morning. We will provide lunches for students to take with them as they leave campus. This limits the movement of large numbers of students and increased exposure. Reminder: Breakfast and lunch are free to all students this year!
• 9th Grade Orientation: In preparation for our start on November 30th, MHS is hosting a 9th-grade orientation on November 20th. Look for more information in next week’s weekly newsletter.

We are not shifting the remote model at MP3 during this first semester. MP3 has generated a waiting list and has started to collect names of students from families who would like to have their students attend MP3 remote during the second semester. MP3 will continue to build this waiting list. Should the conditions permit, MP3 is planning a modified campus program based on capacity for second semester. Information will be shared as we approach second semester, which starts February 1.

We acknowledge there is much in the news about the increase in infection rates around the state and country. We are consistently monitoring transmission rates and connecting at least weekly with the Whatcom County Department of Health. If conditions change and we are provided guidance that increasing students returning to school is not safe, we will work with the Whatcom County Health Department to determine the appropriate level of in-school programming we will be able to offer or maintain. We will continue to update you on our plans as we move forward.

We will provide a survey during the second week of December for families to share their intent for the second semester. If a family has requested support to maintain a level of remote access until second semester because of a specific health or safety need, we would like a determination to move to a full remote learning model for the second semester in that survey – if that is still the desire. As we shared at the beginning of the school year, our full remote learning option for K-8 students is through our Meridian Parent Partnership Program. For 9-12 students, we will determine the model we are able to offer for remote learning model second semester once we understand the number of students seeking that option. These will be commitments we ask families to keep for second semester as we will be working in December and January to shift and hire additional staff to meet the need provided by responses from families.

We realize none of this is ideal. We have a strong desire to bring everyone back to our schools and run our educational programs as if there wasn’t a pandemic. We want to be in school. We want our students back. Unfortunately, our physical classroom spaces, student enrollment, and guidance to protect our students and staff limit our ability to do so. Until we can do so the safety and protection of our students and staff remain our highest priority. As conditions change we will continue to adjust and respond while keeping these goals in mind. This pandemic will not last forever. We will get on the other side of this. If there are aspects of this message that are unclear, please reach out to your student’s teacher, principal, or myself. Thank you for your continued support and partnership.

Thank you,

James