Secondary Schools Transition to Distance Learning on October 19
At the October 7 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Jett shared that local county officials are forecasting a COVID case count over 30 this week. In accordance with the Governor's Safe Learning Plan, this case rate requires St. Cloud Area Schools to transition to a distance learning model for grades 6-12 at Kennedy, North, South, Apollo, McKinley and Tech. We will begin Distance Learning for these schools on Monday, October 19, and they will remain in the distance learning model until county health data drops and remains below 30 for at least three consecutive weeks.
As permitted by the Safe Learning Plan, we will use Wednesday, October 14 as a transition day for our secondary staff to prepare for this new learning model. On Wednesday, no new instruction will take place for grades 6-12 students. Students can use this day to complete assignments or activities, but they will not need to log-in to Schoology.
St. Cloud Area Schools has improved our distance learning model from last spring based on feedback from families, students, and staff. We refer to this learning model as Distance Learning 2.0. Here’s what you can expect from Distance Learning 2.0.
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Grades 6-12 students attending the following schools will transition to Distance Learning 2.0 beginning Monday, October 19:
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Kennedy (grades 6-8 only)
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North Junior High School
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South Junior High School
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Apollo High School
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McKinley Alternative Learning Center
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Tech High School.
These students will attend school online each day. Students will not follow their A/B designations during Distance Learning 2.0. All students will be expected to log-in to Schoology at the beginning of their scheduled classes each day, on time. Bell schedules and Flex Friday expectations will remain the same.
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All students enrolled in special education programs at Riverwoods, Roosevelt Education Center, Clara’s House, Journey, 180 Group Home, InStep, CO2 and Recovery Plus will remain in-person, following their current schedules.
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Students enrolled in grades Pre-K-5 and the Distance Learning Academy are not impacted by this transition.
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Meals will be distributed to families via neighborhood drop locations. Times and locations of meal drops will be similar to the delivery last spring. Exact times and locations of meal delivery will be provided to families within the next few days and posted to the website.
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Childcare is being provided for K-6th grade students by the Central Minnesota Boys & Girls Clubs. Registration information can be found at: https://www.bgcmn.org/kidstop/.
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Medication and any necessary learning items can be picked up from your school on Wednesday, October 14 between 8:00 am -4:00 pm and on Monday, October 19 between 11:00 am - 6:00 pm. Families must maintain social distancing and wear masks when in our schools.
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A Parent Support Hotline is available in English, Spanish and Somali can be found on our website at: https://www.isd742.org/Page/9204.
Thank you for helping to keep our school community safe.