July 29, 2020
Dear Concrete School District Community:
The Concrete reopening committee met on July 29, 2020 to finalize our recommendation to the Concrete School Board for their approval on August 10, 2020 at a special school board meeting. We will be contracting with the Florida Virtual School to provide online curriculum for all students and families while we start school in a distance learning model. We have established the Concrete Virtual Academy which will provide online classes for all grade levels. This was a very difficult decision, but with the increased Covid-19 cases identified in Skagit County the safety of our staff and students needs to be our focus.
We will have a soft-start beginning on September 1, 2020 with individual meetings being held with every family to inform them of the expectations and online curriculum instructions. Concrete teachers will be facilitating the program, and it will be open to any student residing in the district. Any student who needs a Chromebook will be issued one by the district.
OSPI has also updated their requirements as follows: All school districts this year, including those who will provide their learning online, will need to have weekly schedules for each student, daily engagement or assigned work for each student, and requirements for daily attendance. In addition, all districts must meet the number of instructional days and hours required in state law, consistent with the State Board of Education’s rules on the definition of an instructional hour.
We believe that the new online curriculum allows us to strengthen and greatly improve on the spring model of remote learning. To more effectively engage with students and families we will do the following:
• Increase consistency (class schedule, meetings, and feedback)
• Provide a more robust remote (online) learning model
• Increase school-to-home connections (counselors and staff will provide social-emotional support
to students and their families)
• Provide some in-person instruction to students with unique, critical-learning requirements
• Provide some in-person meetings for students needing assistance from staff members
Please view the district website and Facebook page for more details following the school board’s approval for detailed information regarding the fall reopening plan.
Sincerely,
Wayne Barrett, Superintendent
Concrete School District