Next Week's In-Person Learning
Dear families,
It was a sincere joy seeing your faces at Markham House on Thursday during laptop pick-up and feeling the energy our students bring to everything they do. I’m proud of everyone for banding together and making this week of online learning possible.
At the same time, distance learning is no substitute for face-to-face instruction. Over the past several days, I have been working with district leaders and administrators from nearby PPS schools to identify spaces where our students can come together with their teacher and classmates for in-person learning.
We have crafted a plan that will allow all of our students to begin in-person learning on Tuesday, January 30. In drafting the plan, we have made every effort to minimize the inconvenience for families while centering our students’ needs and well-being.
Here is what you need to know:
Our students will be assigned to one of four schools: Capitol Hill, Hayhurst, Maplewood, or Reike elementary. See below for specific assignments.
Jackson Middle School (10625 SW 35th Avenue) will serve as a transportation hub. Families will have the option of dropping off and picking up their students at Jackson each day.
Morning drop-off time at Jackson: before 8:05 a.m.
Afternoon pick-up time at Jackson: 3:05 p.m.
If you prefer to drop off and pick up your student at their assigned school, first bell is at 8:30 a.m. and dismissal is at 2:45 p.m. (Note: this is a slight adjustment to our regular bell schedule.)
Bus riders can also be picked up at their regular stops. Morning pick-up will be 30 minutes earlier. Afternoon drop-off times will remain unchanged.
Students will eat breakfast and lunch at their assigned school.
I will be holding a 30-minute question and answer session for families at 4 p.m. today. You can log in to the meeting here to ask a question or livestream it here.
Our building is scheduled to reopen in late February. I will share a detailed transition plan for reentry at a later date.
As you probably know, our grade levels are each split into three classes. During this period of colocation, we will be combining three classes into two. That means that there will be two main teachers assigned to each grade and one floating teacher, whose class will be split into the two main sections. As principal, I made these decisions. Splitting teachers will communicate with families directly about which teacher their children will report to on Tuesday.
Here are the assignments by teacher:
Maplewood Elementary School (7452 SW 52nd Avenue)
ISC students
Ms. Savage
Ms. Kiriazis
Ms. Kwong (Ms. Kwong’s class will be split.)
Ms. Young
Hayhurst Elementary School (5037 SW Iowa Street)
Ms. Franklin (Ms. Franklin's class will be split.)
Ms. Mickanen
Mr. Miller
Ms. Lamana
Capitol Hill Elementary School (8401 SW 17th Avenue)
Mr. Trujillo
Ms. Shaw
Ms. Von-Ahn (Ms. Von-Ahn’s class will be split.)
Ms. Groom
Rieke Elementary School (1405 S. Vermont Street)
Mr. Stafford
Ms. Golden
Mr. Moorley (Mr. Moorley’s class will be split.)
Ms. Moore
Ms. Weidner
Ms. Rozman (Mz. Rozman’s class will be split.)
Implementing a plan like this will be challenging, and I’m sure there will be some confusion and a little chaos at the start. We will all miss our school, our home away from home, and it will take time for our students to adjust to a new environment. But time and again we have proven that we can move mountains when we work together for the good of our students.
As always, I am here for you. Reach out to me at tbrownwarrens@pps.net if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Traniece Brown-Warrens
Principal
