The Kent School District announced Friday, June 26, that it is engaging high school students, families, staff and the community to develop a student-centered and equitable reopening plan for fall 2020.
Three plans are under consideration during the COVID-19 pandemic, depending on restrictions by the state. The plans are:
* All students returning to school buildings
* A hybrid model where students spend some days in school buildings and engage in remote, online instruction on other days
* All students engage in remote, online learning
“As our plans are developed for next school year, we want to keep you informed of our planning progress and assure you that our Back-to-School Task Force members have a shared understanding and unwavering commitment to what drives our local decision-making: student and staff safety,” the district posted on its Facebook page.
District staff will present a back-to-school plan to the Kent School Board on Monday, Aug. 3 for review and return to the board during the Thursday, Aug. 13 board meeting for adoption.
The plan will:
* Mitigate and minimize the spread of coronavirus
* Keep students and staff healthy and safe
* Is in alignment with the district’s strategic goals and core values
* Is developed using the district’s racial equity lens
* Enable students and staff to focus on student learning
* Support social-emotional well-being and interaction for students and adults
* Provide families timely information through this transition and a plan for ongoing two-way, meaningful communication throughout the 2020-2021 school year
The district’s Back-to-School Task Force (BTSTF) has been created to collaborate on a plan. Task force volunteers represent labor partners and various community groups, including:
* Maintenance and custodial staff from American Federation of Teachers Union
* Coaches/extra-curricular employees
* Office professionals from Kent Association of Educational Office Professionals
* Paraeducators from Kent Association of Paraeducators
* Teachers/certificated staff from Kent Education Association
* Food service staff from Kent School Food Service Association
* Principals from Kent Principals Association
* Non-represented employees
* Bus drivers
* Parents from the Kent Area Council Parent Teacher Student Association
* Current high school students
* Kent School District Educators of Color Cohort members
* Equity Council members
Task force volunteers will participate in smaller work groups to create checklists, best practices, resources and consider specific elements of the plan including student learning, health and safety, social emotional wellness, school operations, communications, meals and transportation.
Timeline
* June 24 – July 1: The task force creates a plan for all students physically returning to school buildings
* July 1-8: The task force creates a plan for a hybrid model where all students spend some time in school buildings and engage in remote, online instruction
* July 8-15: The task force creates a plan for a continuous learning 2.0 model where all students engage in remote, online instruction
* July 15-17: The task force adjusts plans following new guidance from local, state, or federal authorities and compares to other groups
* July 20: Plans are presented to the entire work group and district leadership
* July 21-31: All three plans are combined and refined into one final district plan. Team Kent School District develops professional learning courses in alignment with the plan and finalizes communications
* Aug. 3: The final plan is shared with the Kent School Board
* Aug. 13: Kent School Board adopts the plan in a public board meeting
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