Good Afternoon RCE Families, |
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First, and most importantly, click below to let RCS know your choice regarding your student(s) being on-campus or online for RCS Phase 2: |
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To have students return, RCS only needs to complete one more thing: the “COVID-19 Health and Safety Reopening Plan” (which has not yet been published by ACPHD). It was explained as virtually identical to the Elementary Waiver (which RCS has already applied for; side note: ACPHD has yet to approve any elementary waivers). I am confident that RCS will be ready to write (yet another) reopening plan accurately and quickly.
With this news, last night the RCS Board of Directors voted to allow elementary students to return to campus on Wednesday, October 14, 2020, as well as providing the faculty with two additional prep-days on Monday, October 12 and Tuesday, October 13 (middle school and high school students will still have school these days while elementary students will not). RCE students will be returning to school under the conditions set forth for the RCS Phase 2. Monday, 10/12, and Tuesday, 10/13, are necessary work days for elementary faculty to finalize preparations for students returning to their classrooms. Furthermore, RCS plans for middle school students to return to campus in small cohorts that are “Providing Targeted, Specialized Support and Services” on Monday, October 19, and we are working through a timeline that could have high school students back on campus potentially as early as November 10, 2020!
The next two weeks will be spent putting the finishing touches on months of work! The greatest task before us now is creating the elementary cohorts. Cohorts cannot be assigned until we have received responses from ALL RCE families to know which students are returning to campus and which students will be remaining online. As of the writing of this email, RCS knows the plans of 159 out of 246 elementary students, with 22% continuing online.
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Some Changes to Prepare For |
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Elementary students returning to campus in small cohorts are going to necessitate some classroom changes for grades K-3. I recognize these changes are not all ideal, yet, they are necessary in order to meet the on-campus or online choices for each family. Because this year’s enrollment has declined, RCE will have fewer physical cohorts than previously planned in the summer months. One benefit of this is that Science, Music, and Art teachers will be free to continue these enrichment classes for K-3. Furthermore, to achieve the organization of small cohorts, a few students will be changing teachers within their grade level. An RCS administrator will be calling families next week if their child(ren) will be changing teachers and explain the changes. To give students closure from Phase 1 and understand the change, on the last day of the first quarter (October 8, 2020), teachers will have some type of an end-of-the-quarter virtual party. Wednesday, October 14, will then be treated like the first day of the new school year as we launch Phase 2.
Just as transitioning to Online Distance Learning last spring was new and challenging, transitioning to Small Cohort instruction is new and challenging as well. Just as the RCE faculty has grown tremendously in their virtual classrooms, they will grow tremendously in their ability to lead small cohort classrooms. Therefore, I am asking for your patience as, once again, RCE faculty pivots to teach in a manner that has never been done before.
For families who continue with virtual classrooms, the experience will be changing as the teacher will not only have students on Zoom, but will also have students in their classroom. We will do our best to adhere to the daily schedule, however, I am certain that we will get behind at times. For example, if recess ends at 10:15 and class is supposed to start at 10:20, yet it takes until 10:23 for students to get their hands washed, students at home will need to wait for the teacher to get back into the classroom and get started. With time, a routine will be learned and the daily schedule properly adjusted. Also, with the addition of students being in the classroom, the teacher’s supervision in the classroom will be very different and their attention to the Zoom screen will be different than it has been up to this time. Again, please be patient as we work through the first several weeks of Phase 2. It will take teamwork to make this a success for all families!
Urgent questions? Please feel free to email me anytime by replying to this email.
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In Christ,
Al Hearne II, PhD
Superintendent
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 #GodsPurpose
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Redwood Christian Schools | 510-889-7526 | 4200 James Avenue, Castro Valley, CA 94546 | www.rcs.edu |
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