Community Update- November 12, 2020
Dear Beatrice Public Schools Parents, Patrons, Families and Students,
I am writing today to inform you of important information regarding our school schedules.
Monday, November 16th
- NO SCHOOL for students 6th -12th grade- Teacher Preparation Day
- PK - 5th Grade Students Report as Normal
- Certain 6-12 Student Groups will be notified to attend dependent upon special needs.
*MS and HS Teachers will be communicating specific class details on Friday and Monday.
Tuesday, November 17th
- 6th - 12th Start Tier IV Remote Learning through November 29th.
*Preschool through Fifth Grade students will remain in-person learning at full capacity during this time unless the circumstances would require us to move to remote. This protocol will remain in effect until November 29th.
We will be re-evaluating this decision and announcing further details November 24th - 25th.
*Information about extracurricular activities will be forthcoming tomorrow.
Some key factors in this decision include:
a. At the current time, we are extremely short of teachers and para educator substitutes
which is leaving us with numerous staff shortages across the district.
b. 176 quarantined students district wide (63% at MS and HS) which is creating a high remote
learning percentage of students already.
c. Positive case counts among students are increasing rapidly across the district at the middle
and high school levels.
d. The Gage County Risk dial moving to the high risk (red) zone.
e. Beatrice Community Hospital and Health Center is currently seeing an influx of patients.
We know these decisions impact the entire community. It is our hope that by keeping our dependent {PK-5th) learners in school, our parents can continue to work. We also know that our independent (6th-12th) learners are capable of learning from home, which will be the expectation. Our goal will be to keep our most dependent learners in school as long as possible, knowing at some point we will have to evaluate and decide if it’s necessary to also enter remote learning with them as well.
Students in PK - 5th grade will see some increased screening measures including:
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All students will be screened with temperature checks upon entering the building, but we still ask for vigilance at home. If your child shows symptoms, please do not bring them to school.
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Possible staggering of entry and exit times and locations.
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Masks will continue to be mandatory in K-5 and strongly recommended at PK.
We ask for and appreciate your cooperation in helping to keep your student on track and learning during this time. Our teachers will be working hard to ensure as much normalcy as possible during these unusual times, and it’s important to understand that students learning from home are EXPECTED to log on, engage, and learn even on the days that they are not physically in the classroom.
Beatrice Public Schools will send further communication on November 24th or 25th outlining the plans for 2-4 weeks at a time. We will be carefully watching all risk factors to determine when it may be safe to return to a lower tier, relying on the information provided by our trusted health care professionals in the community and our region. The sooner the community-wide situation improves, the sooner we will be able to return to something closer to normal.
With these extraordinary measures, we hope to help our community weather this situation and return to a safer place for everyone. We cannot thank you enough for your continued understanding, patience, and support. If you have any questions, please contact your teacher, building level administrator, or central office for details regarding individual situations.
Sincerely and Respectfully,
Jason Alexander
Superintendent
Beatrice Public Schools