June 19, 2020
Dear OMSD Students, Families, Staff and Community:
I hope this communication finds all of you safe and well. The disruption to all of our lives caused by the COVID-19 health crisis has been profound, and I know you are seeking clarity on the Ontario-Montclair School District’s (OMSD) plan for reopening school this Fall. With that in mind, I write to share with you our plan for learning and teaching beginning this upcoming August.
OMSD now plans to open all schools this upcoming August for all students under a “Hybrid Model of Learning” that will provide three (3) learning options for parents, families, and guardians to consider for their children. OMSD will welcome all teachers back on August 3, 2020.
A specific date for students to return to OMSD schools shortly after teachers arrive will be announced by the end of July.
The three (3) learning options for the 2020-2021 school year will allow a continuance of site-based online learning or opportunities for small groups of students to have traditional instruction at our school sites. Parents, families and guardians will have one of the following options for enrollment in the 2020-2021 school year:
1.
Blended Learning Model
- With safety measures in place at our schools, students will be taught in-person by their teacher in small groups for part of the day, or week, and in an online classroom environment for the other part of the day, or week, when they are not at school. Details regarding how small groups of students will be assigned daily, and/or weekly, to school sites will be forthcoming in the weeks ahead as we decide with our labor association colleagues the most reasonable and safest way to implement this model. Parents and families who register for this option will hear directly from their school sites prior to the start of school, regarding their student’s specific schedule.
2.
Online Learning
- Our new Site-Based Online Academy features student access to classroom teachers at your neighborhood school, allows learning to align with OMSD’s adopted curriculum materials and pacing guides similarly offered in traditional in-class instruction. Parent commitment to partnering with the teacher to monitor engagement and completion of work is essential in this option. Students in this model will learn from home and be connected via a computer or district issued laptop, for daily instruction and feedback.
3.
K-8 Independent Study -
The Independent Study model provides broader flexibility of instruction that is guided by an OMSD teacher and supported with weekly or monthly check-ins, virtually or in-person. Again, parent commitment to partnering with the assigned OMSD teacher to monitor student engagement and completion of work is important for this option.
If you have not registered for school yet, you have two (2) options:
A. This year, we initiated our online school registration process to provide our families with 24/7 access. To register, you can visit our District website at
https://enroll.omsd.net/pe/
or at our OMSD homepage at
www.omsd.net
.
B. Contact the OMSD Child Welfare & Attendance (CWA) Office by phone at (909) 418-6478 or email,
estela.lira@omsd.net
or
steve.garcia@omsd.net
. You may also stop by the CWA Office at 950 West D. Street, Ontario, 91762, between the hours of 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM.
Upon completing the registration process, you may contact your school site directly beginning the week of July 20, 2020 to indicate the preferred learning model you wish to have for your student. During the month of July, I anticipate site principals will communicate with parents and families to remind them of their enrollment options for the start of the school year. Parents and families who
do not
select an enrollment preference, after registering their children for school, will have their students automatically enrolled in our Blended Learning Model. A specific schedule for students in the Blended Learning Model will be announced by each school site in advance of school opening this upcoming August.
The decision to open schools this August under these three (3) learning options was based on meaningful input from our two (2) district surveys, recommendations from our Return to School Work Group, comprised of six (6) subcommittees (Governance, Facilities, Instruction, School-Satellite Operations, Technology and Wellness), and the Superintendent’s Advisory Group. I want to emphasize that another primary factor in this decision is the consistent monitoring of trends related to COVID-19 in our county and region. Opening our schools with these options is fluid and contingent on COVID-19 cases not increasing in our region to the extent it adversely impacts our plans to open OMSD school sites or impairs our ability to operate schools after we open in August.
San Bernardino County, and the State of California are attempting to relax guidelines and restrictions related to COVID-19, which can hopefully, move us from Stage 2 (our current level) to Stage 3 guidelines and eventually Stage 4, which lifts the stay at home order issued by Governor Newsom. Monitoring hot spots, surges, and potential outbreaks of COVID-19 in our region, will impact how we plan to open and operate schools in OMSD. In the event the OMSD community has to address increased cases of COVID-19, that can impair our ability to keep students and staff safe from a potential outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, will require a readiness to shift to an online model for all students.
Additional information on OMSD’s Return to School Plan and its alignment to Governor Newsom’s California Pandemic Roadmap can be found by
clicking here
.
In summary, our plan to date is to open schools this upcoming August under the Hybrid Model noted above. While we hope and aspire to return to a traditional model of instruction in the future, it is essential to maintain a readiness to adapt and respond to the trends of COVID-19. This may require us to shift to 100% online learning as we plan to open schools, or after we open schools this August.
I thank all OMSD staff, parents and community members who participated in our surveys and advisory groups who offered their thoughts, opinions, concerns, and guidance towards this complex decision.
Sincerely,
James Q. Hammond, Ed.D.
Superintendent
