To help the committee and District consider the path forward we would like to hear your voice. This survey is designed to help us create a plan that will work for the parents, children, and instructional staff. We appreciate you taking the time to share!
Concrete School Families,
On June 11, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in Olympia released guidance for reopening of schools in the fall. This document provides direction for districts and outlines the planning work that is needed to be done by each school district.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal has made it clear that the goal is for schools to begin providing face to face instruction next fall. At the same time, he acknowledges the difficulties schools will face as they work to comply with guidelines issued by the Department of Health.
Our administrative team will coordinate and communicate our planning work over the coming weeks. This team’s work will focus on:
Beginning next week our team will begin planning for the following in preparation for our fall opener. We are all looking forward to reopening our schools but will be required to implement many safety practices which meet Health Department standards and Labor and Industry requirements.
Thank you for your patience as our team works through these issues carefully and thoughtfully in the weeks ahead.
Wayne Barrett
Superintendent
Concrete School District
Dear Concrete families,
As the final month of the 2019-20 school year approaches, we want to take a moment to thank all of you for the tremendous efforts you are making to help your children stay engaged in learning from home. Our staff, teachers, and administrators truly appreciate partnering with you. We know that this is a stressful time for students and families, and we are committed to helping all of our students finish the school year strong. With approximately four weeks of school remaining, together we want to continue to do all we can to help keep students engaged in learning until the last day of school.
In terms of planning for the fall, we want nothing more than to be able to resume normal school operations. However, we do not yet have any concrete information to share about what the fall might look like in our district. The state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has convened a “Reopening Schools Work Group” to discuss potential models for reopening. This workgroup includes 123 people from across the state, including teachers, administrators, education support professionals, elected officials, community-based organization representatives, and education partners. This group is looking at health data and different potential options for how to safely reopen schools. They are scheduled to complete their work between June 8-12. Once we receive the report, we will be able to move forward with developing a concrete plan for our district.
We know that the school closure and the current model of Continuous Distance Learning is not a sustainable, viable model for students and families. We know this situation is a hardship for families. We miss our students, and we are eager to be able to develop and communicate our plan for the fall. This pandemic has brought many unexpected challenges to districts across the United States and we have witnessed significant hardships on families and our community. Many decisions are made well above the school district level and we continue to seek guidance from our decision makers at the state level.
Please know that as soon as we are able to make decisions for the opening of school in the fall we will communicate them to you. We are currently planning for a wide variety of fall possibilities while hoping for a full opening of school. Please monitor the district Facebook page and website for updates through the summer months.
Sincerely,
Wayne Barrett
Superintendent
Concrete School District
Dear Concrete Parents and Students,
Yesterday (4/21/2020) Superintendent Reykdal and OSPI provided emergency guidance regarding student grading. This guidance is summarized as follows:
This guidance and subsequent rule adoption will focus on the following framework:
This statewide framework will create more consistency across the state, but districts will still decide which letter grade system to use. However, “F’s” will not be an option. This is a very complex problem, and I am incredibly grateful to the parents, students, and educators across the state who offered their ideas and input.
Sincerely,
Chris Reykdal
State Superintendent
of Public Instruction
The Concrete School District will adhere to the following grading format:
All grades were frozen on March 17, 2020 in a (do no harm format). Students may demonstrate increased performance but may not have their grades lowered as a result, of Covid-19 distance learning.
Grades K-6 will continue with current grading practices and all students will move to the next grade unless mutually agreed upon by parent or guardian and the school district.
Grades 7-12 will utilize the following grading procedure:
Teachers will continue to grade student work and provide feedback to students on improving their performance. Students receiving an incomplete may complete additional learning, to receive a letter grade and credit for the course. This additional learning may include completing additional summer coursework.
Sincerely,
Wayne Barrett
Superintendent
Concrete School District
A message from Wayne Barrett, Superintendent:
Following Governor lnslee’s proclamation which closes all schools for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year our district will continue to implement continuous learning for our students. This was not a decision lightly made, but we agree it’s the correct course of action to keep our community safe while reducing the spread of COVID-19 in our community.
Beginning next week, we will be reaching out to elementary parents regarding connectivity with internet. We are also contacting Frontier about their ability to provide service for families without internet. Please watch our website for distribution information for elementary Chromebooks. Our meal service will continue through June 19th. We really appreciate all the families and their efforts to meet our buses during delivery. Special thanks to our staff members who have been volunteering to assist in all facets of our continuous learning model. I have enjoyed being out delivering meals to the students and families a great deal. It doesn’t take the place of my bus conversations at the end of the day with our students, but I really enjoy seeing all of you.
We know that there will be many questions regarding what this extended closure means for Concrete students. We will be reaching out to our seniors with information about completion requirements. Please know that we plan to make every effort to provide some form of graduation celebration for them.
These are challenging times; however, I am confident we will overcome them and further our community spirit. Please remember that our goal is to stay healthy and support each other.
Sincerely,
Wayne Barrett
Superintendent
Concrete School District
