School Starts Monday, August 31
Hello, District Parents and Guardians - We are in the home stretch. As promised, we want to continue to provide you updates, as we count down the days to the first day of school. If you feel as if you are on a roller coaster ride, you are not alone. Given the increase of COVID-19 cases in our region, we have been required to adjust our restart school plan several times, but we are on track and building momentum for a 100% virtual start of school on Aug. 31, 2020.
Our chief interest has always been to take care of the needs of our students and families, particularly during these challenging times, while protecting the safety of our staff. There is no roadmap for educating in a pandemic. Together, we are creating our own pathways. At Saint Louis Public Schools, that includes entering the virtual education world with all of the passion and commitment we put into traditional education.
In completing the recently issued Parent Commitment Form, 67% of our parents and guardians opted for remote learning. Therefore, we are prepared to start the year with a virtual platform for students and with all teachers teaching remotely from their home or with an option to teach from their classroom. Our new, blended learning model will include this teacher-led virtual programming.
Two other learning models will be occurring simultaneously:
1) A separate, online, student-guided option called Edmentum will be offered through the Department of Student Support Services. For FAQ and video demos of Edmentum, please visit www.slps.org/edmentum. For those familiar with past online offerings, Edmentum has replaced Acellus. Students enrolled in this option will need to be self-motivated and pace themselves through the instruction, as SLPS teacher support is not part of this model.
2) Instructional support centers (ISCs) will be open at some of our schools for families that indicated a need for in-person instruction. Students at the ISCs will be provided academic support from District partners and/or support staff while receiving virtual instruction from their teacher. We anticipate 10 students per class, up to 150 per building.
For other questions related to the start of school, please reference the newly updated back-to-school section on our website: www.slps.org/backtoschool. The section will continue to grow, as we finalize more details, so we encourage you to check back regularly. If you need to reach your child's school directly, school leadership contact information has been uploaded HERE. Our back-to-school call center can be reached at 314-345-5656.
Thank you for your attention to this message. We look forward to welcoming you and your children back from summer break!
