WSD Smart Restart

Plans and action steps for restarting school in the fall

July 17, 2020

The Wenatchee School District is working on plans to reopen our schools this fall for in-person instruction. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) guidelines, published on June 11, tasked schools with focusing on the following priorities in our work:

Supporting students furthest from educational justice
Preparing for the health and safety of students and staff
Investing in connectivity and hardware
Leveraging local expertise and providing training

The information in this letter outlines some of the work that's been happening during the past couple months and will continue to happen over the summer. Work groups have been assembled with representation from teaching and operational staff as well as building and district administrators. Prior input from students, families, and staff is being used to guide our work. With serving the whole community as our continued foundation, our committed focus on equity and access will direct our work and will help us develop a comprehensive Smart Restart Plan that will be made available in early August.

Learning Options
Our purpose of growing the whole child remains firmly anchored as a design parameter during these unprecedented times. Our goal is to open our doors for in-person instruction on August 26th for all of our students. We remain committed to learning experiences that ensure safe, healthy, engaged, challenged, and supported opportunities for each child, no matter the instructional method. In our Smart Restart plan, we have attempted to provide quality in-person, online, and hybrid (online and in-person) learning options and to allow our families to decide what is best for them in a way that mitigates the risks while maximizing the potential rewards.

Through our Smart Restart Plan instruction will be provided in the following ways:

PreK-5

All students can attend school 100% onsite, every day.
Any student can choose to learn 100% online through Wenatchee School District’s Internet Academy.

Grade 6-12

All students can attend in a hybrid model of 50% onsite and 50% online in a rotating A/B schedule.
Any student can choose to learn 100% online through Wenatchee School District’s Internet Academy.

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Wenatchee Internet Academy (WIA)

Wenatchee Internet Academy (WIA) is a full-time virtual classroom program that provides daily facilitated courses for elementary through high school age students in the Wenatchee School District (WSD). WIA presents students with a robust, interactive learning experience with a certificated WSD teacher. This program is not simply a textbook online.

All K-12 curriculum is synonymous with current WSD classroom curriculum and aligned with Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. WIA registration is now open for current students at wenatcheeschools.org/WIA

Learning Management System
To better support students and families, the District has adopted an online Learning Management System (LMS) called Canvas. The need for a single learning platform across K-12 was something we heard loud and clear from our parents and staff through feedback provided by focus groups and surveys. An LMS is a "one-stop-shop" that will provide students, families, and educators support for years to come. The LMS will support seamless transitions from traditional face-to-face learning to online learning or a combination of both, strengthen communication, and enhance equitable access to students as they learn the priority standards. The LMS also has tools for parents so they can track their students’ progress and support learning at home.

Technology
Since the beginning of the shutdown, our Technology Department has been working to create an infrastructure that enables the District to deliver a safe and manageable online environment for all students and staff whether they are in a classroom or working remotely. In addition, we have ordered enough Chromebooks and iPads to ensure that each child has their own device for learning, barring unforeseen supply chain issues. Should we need to shut down for any reason in the future, students will be able to quickly transition to online instruction. Families that did not pick up a device for their child in the spring will have the ability to pick one up in the fall. Information on low-cost and free Wi-Fi service from local internet providers and a map of local public hot-spots is available here

Safety
We want students back in school but must honor the safety needs of students, staff, and the community to make a smart restart this fall. Masks will be required for both students and staff, social distancing guidelines adhered to, and new ways of doing things in our school buildings will be introduced to ensure the safety and well being of all. Our Smart Restart comprehensive plan will outline how school routines like mealtime, riding the bus, and pick up and drop will work.

Partnerships
This work cannot be done in isolation. More than ever before, there will be a need to rely on collaborative partnerships that deliver the resources, thought, and support of both internal and external stakeholders. We are working closely with experts from the University of Washington to develop high-quality instructional frameworks for teaching and learning and reaching out to local partners for help supporting the various departments that collectively serve each child. We will lean into creative solutions to maximize partnerships throughout our greater Wenatchee community.

What's Next?

Continuing to develop our comprehensive Smart Restart plan for reopening
Adhering to OPSI’s guidelines for reopening schools
Enhancing our online learning experience with the help of experts
Examining the physical spaces at each of our schools to determine limits of social distancing
Ordering necessary personal protective equipment and sanitizing resources
Gathering additional feedback from families, students and staff through another survey in August

More information

For more information and updates on the Smart Restart visit our website wenatcheeschools.org/smartrestart

Sincerely,

Wenatchee School District