March 18, 2020
SCS Staff, Students, and Parent/Guardian(s),
We hope this communication finds you well. It is extremely important to make sure you are taking care of yourself and your family. We are committed to continuing our communication with you during our closure.
It seems that what is shared about COVID-19 evolves by the hour. We are working to keep pace with all updates and how the latest information impacts our support of our children, staff, and school community. Our response will continue to be aligned with the latest guidelines from all federal, state, and local decision-makers. All SCS-related updates will continue to be shared via email and posted to the District’s website and to our social media accounts. In what feels like an inundation of new and evolving information, we will work to ensure essential facts are shared with you as it pertains to our Schoolcraft Schools family.
There are some very complicated pieces to all of this and we are learning as we get guidance from the state. This will be a marathon, so it’s important that we don’t try and run a sprint. We will take time to process, and do the best we can with the most recent guidance in an educationally-sound and supportive manner. Remember perfectionism is the enemy of functionality.
Where we are:
Continued Education for students: This is counter-intuitive for us as educators but we can NOT introduce new direct instruction to students during this closure! We know this has been messaged but, it cannot be stated strongly enough: New content CANNOT be addressed at this point. No new content can be presented or distributed. Nothing facilitated during this time will be graded. Instead, teachers can provide RESOURCES to help children and families manage their time off with optional engagement activities. These resources should all be practice or review.
As an administrative team we suggest finding ways to enhance our EAGLES Skills. As a recent article in Education Week entitled, “Remember, Online Learning Isn’t the Only Way to Learn Remotely”, written by Kate Gardoqui. She recommends challenges such as:
Practice a skill that is important to you. These can be guiding principles, transferable skills and work habits.
Follow your curiosity. Is there something you want to learn? Is there something that you are curious about? Research the topic and apply your new knowledge by creating or doing something.
Create something you are proud of. For all you TikTok fans out there maybe you can produce a video, song, or piece of artwork. Write a reflection about what you created.
Find a way to help our community. Contact village or township leaders or maybe even your pastor and help find a way to help others during this trying time.
Find a spot where you can observe the natural world. Getting fresh air and enjoying mother nature is healthy. Keep a journal and write your observations - what you see, hear, feel, and smell.
The administrative team and our Instructional Coach will be creating a website and modeling a number of things to do each day based on the recommendations above and available online resources. More to follow on this topic.
Functionality of the District: A friendly reminder, all buildings are closed. The only staff reporting on a daily basis are members of the administrative team. If you NEED to get into the building, you need to contact your direct supervisor or principal.
Calendar/extended school year: Yesterday, the legislature adjourned for recess without taking up this important legislation surrounding forgiveness of days. We are very disappointed in this and you should be too. We are encouraging you to contact our legislators to share your opinion on this issue.
What should I be doing? Take care of yourself and your family. Teachers - If you want to reach out to your students just to say hello and how are you doing, great.
As this pandemic permeates our daily life, the impact on learning and our school community is certainly not far removed. While the latest timeline from Governor Whitmer under Executive Order 2020-5 states schools may resume on April 6th, we will continue to honor our Spring Break schedule and will return to school on April 13th. Given how rapidly developments occur with COVID-19, our return date could change and impact school in other ways. Regardless of what happens, we will, as we have since the outbreak of this pandemic, continue keeping the health and safety of our kids, staff, and school community at the forefront of our decision-making.
If you have any concerns or questions, do not hesitate to contact our offices directly.
Take good care and be well,
The SCS Admin. Team