Lindbergh Green Light Update

Dear Lindbergh Families,

Thank you for your patience, understanding and engagement over the past several weeks as we have worked to remain flexible, listen to our students, parents and staff, and make decisions that support the health and safety of our entire Lindbergh community. I am writing today to share some important changes to our Lindbergh Green Light Plan and back-to-school information. Please read this email in its entirety.

This July, we reopened Lindbergh Early Childhood Education and welcomed our very youngest learners back to the classroom. We now know through scientific research that COVID-19 behaves differently in young children, and that children younger than 10 years old have significantly lower susceptibility to COVID-19 infection.

Based on local data, consultation with medical professionals and collaboration with the St. Louis County Department of Health, Lindbergh will start the school year in Phase 2 for students in grades K-3, and Phase 3 for students in grades 4-12.

In addition, ALL students and staff will be required to wear face coverings to school.

ARC full-time virtual instruction is also available as an option for families as well.

We are not committing to a fixed amount of time for these phases to be in place. Our plan is flexible, and our trusted medical professionals and the St. Louis County Department of Health stand ready to advise us and serve as valuable resources as we return to school. We will continue to review county and school data, and adjust our phases as often as needed.

Though these decisions have not been easy, they have always been about finding the right fit for kids. Throughout this process, our community has made clear that the most important factors for returning to school are the district’s ability to reduce class sizes and promote social distancing as best as we can. We remain committed to upholding those priorities.

Welcome back to school. We look forward to seeing you soon, in person and online.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tony Lake

Superintendent of Schools

This means that students will attend school in-person two days a week, based on last name:

• A-K: In-person Tuesday/Thursday

• L-Z: In-person Wednesday/Friday

On the other days, students will participate in virtual instruction or independent work.

Students in grades 4-12 will begin the school year with full-time virtual instruction.

• Phase 3 Details

Students also may choose ARC (Accelerated and Remote Courses) full-time virtual instruction.

• If you are interested in switching from in-person learning to ARC, or from ARC to in-person learning, please contact your school administrator.
  
• Families may switch their child’s learning option until Sept. 18.

• Face coverings will be required for all staff and students when they are in-person at school.
  

• Face coverings must be worn on the bus at all times.
  

• Please visit the CDC website for information on how to make, wash and care for face coverings.
  

• All families must fill out this required form in the SIS Portal on or before Friday, Aug. 14, including families of ARC students and students in Phase 3. (Note: Form must be completed by student's resident parent.)
  

• We encourage all families to pick up and drop off students from school if possible. This will allow us to social distance on buses to the best of our ability.

• Bus transportation will be limited.

• Elementary school students must live more than .5 miles from school

• Middle and high school students must live more than 1 mile from school

• Considerations will be made to create safe walk-to-school zones and avoid hazards (ex: four-lane highways)

In-Person Phase 2

• Grab-and-go meals will be available for purchase on days when students attend school in person. Families may view menus and pay online by clicking the link below.
• Lindbergh Schools Menus

Virtual Learners

• Lindbergh Schools, in cooperation with Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE), will provide curbside to-go meals (breakfast and lunch) to students who participate in virtual learning. Families must sign up for this service, and meal cost will be based on student eligibility in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program.

• Families must sign up each week for this service. Please fill out a separate form for each student.

• Lindbergh Schools Meal Service Sign Up Form

Next week, the Board of Education will discuss changing the first day of school to Thursday, Aug. 27.

This change would allow families time to be introduced to digital platforms and receive students’ devices (grades K-8). It would also provide additional professional learning days for teachers as they prepare virtual instruction.

We will update families following the board’s decision next week.

We will provide all students K-12 with a district-issued device for use during virtual instruction days. For families who have not yet received this information, please look for additional details soon.

Lindbergh Schools and Special School District administrators are meeting to collaborate on how we can continue providing services for students with IEPs in Phases 2 and 3. Please look for more information on this soon.

Placement in Flyers Club before- and after-school care for students in grades K-3 is based on availability.

Please submit an Enrollment Inquiry Form to begin the process, and we will contact you when fall 2020 enrollment opens.

• Flyers Club Enrollment for Phase 2

The decision to start K-3 students in Phase 2 and 4-12 students in Phase 3 was made following much review of data and what medical professionals now know about COVID-19, and consideration for what is best for student and staff health and wellbeing.

• We know that all students do better in-person, but this is especially important for our youngest learners, who rely on the routines and structures of a classroom environment to build the essential foundations of learning.

• Lindbergh Early Childhood Education opened in July at 50 percent capacity, and has successfully implemented procedures for social distancing, face coverings, reduced class sizes and contact tracing.

• We now know through scientific research that COVID-19 behaves differently in young children, and that children younger than 10 years old have significantly lower susceptibility to COVID-19 infection.

• We are continuing to work with local officials to develop metrics that inform our decisions to bring more students back to school. This includes closely monitoring local COVID-19 transmission and positivity rates in our area.

• Keeping young children in the same cohort (small group of children) throughout the day works much better in the elementary setting. This lessens exposure for students and staff, and supports contact tracing efforts. Bringing back students in kindergarten through third grade is a natural progression from the reopening of ECE.

Lindbergh’s Green Light Plan for reopening school is a living document that is updated as changes are made. Some recent changes to the Green Light Plan include:

• Expansion of face covering requirement to include all students and staff

• Addition of procedures and protocols for school nurses from Washington University Pediatric & Adolescent Ambulatory Research Consortium’s COVID-19 Algorithms for Clinicians and Schools

• Additional scheduling details for Phase 2 and Phase 3 virtual instruction

• Blended Learning resources, including tutorials and tools, for families
  

• Addition of student Zoom expectations

• Transition to replace ECE part-day program with virtual instruction only for 2020-21

We know summer is a time for travel. Please take precautions if you are planning a trip between now and the start of school, and review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s list of travel tips and travel restrictions.

• Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic (CDC.gov)

As the school year begins, we promise to communicate regularly and provide our families with updates. Our current Phase(s) of operation will always be listed on our district homepage, and “A” and “B” days will be indicated on the district’s Google calendar. In addition, we will use email, text messages and phone calls to communicate with our families and staff.

Website: go.lindberghschools.ws
Location: 9350 Sappington Road, St. Louis, MO, USA
Phone: 314-729-2400
Facebook: facebook.com/LindberghSchools
Twitter: @LindberghFlyers