Hello Belmont-Redwood Shores Community,
 
This update includes:
 
  • Current Thinking on Reopening in August
  • Town Hall and Upcoming Meetings
  • Parent Survey Deadline Extended


Current Thinking on Reopening in August
As we have been working through the different possible models for schooling in the fall and hearing from parents and staff, our thinking has evolved over the course of the past week.  I am sharing this information in the interest of transparency and to keep you informed.    

At the elementary level, we have concerns about our ability to reliably disinfect all classrooms in a reasonable amount of time mid-day, in order to enable an am/pm program that would allow half of the students to attend each morning and half of the students to attend each afternoon.  Moreover, initial survey results showed roughly as much support for this approach as opposition to it.  So, it currently appears that morning/afternoon shifts each day are unlikely.  

On the other side of the spectrum, preliminary survey results suggest that a completely distance-learning program in the fall would be unpopular with most families.  While we expect to improve upon our distance learning program, we believe that an in-person program is what we’re best at executing and is what is best for students when considering academic learning, student engagement and social-emotional development.  To be clear, we intend to offer a completely distance learning program for those families that need or prefer it.  However, we expect to offer an in-person program for those that want it as well.  

That leaves models in which students attend school 5 of every 10 days, either alternating weeks or alternating days within the week (for example, a Mon/Thurs group and a Tues/Fri group, with each group attending every other Wednesday).  We expect our advisory committee to continue to explore unconventional options, but unless we achieve a breakthrough this week, we will likely narrow our focus to the “5 of every 10 day” options in our discussions with the Board on June 18.  

As for Ralston Middle School, students would attend school on the same rotation of days as the elementary students, and we would expect for students in the same family to be assigned to the same group (“A” or “B”) so that siblings are attending school on the same days. We are currently envisioning Ralston students taking three in-person classes per quarter (2 core classes and one elective class, roughly 90 minutes each) with PE pursued all semester via distance learning.  Grades 6-8 students at Nesbit and Sandpiper could share their core teachers over the course of the term, but we have yet to work out whether their specialists and single-subject teachers could work with students in person or not.   

We expect to partner with our on-site child care providers so that they can offer before and after-school care for students on the days that students are attending school.  However, given the County Health Officer’s social distancing requirements, we do not expect to have the facility space to provide on-site child care for students on their “off” days, when they are not attending school.  


Town Hall and Upcoming Meetings
Thursday night we held a town hall meeting to share possible models for the fall and initial survey results.  We had 500 attendees, which was the maximum for the Zoom webinar.  If you were unable to attend, you can view the recording, slides, and the newly public County framework for school reopening on the BRSSD website here .  We received nearly 300 questions at the town hall meeting, and we'll use the most popular topics to generate an Frequently Asked Questions page.  

This week, we will have our final advisory committee meetings on Monday and Wednesday, June 15 and 17.  We will be live streaming the first 30 minutes of the Monday meeting before the committee members break into sub-groups and then the last 30 minutes where we will debrief and discuss next steps.  If you are interested in viewing those sessions you can find the link to the live stream posted on the Advisory Committee webpage .

Thursday, June 18th, the Board of Trustees will have its last regularly scheduled meeting of the school year.  Staff will share proposals for school reopening, and the Board will give us their guidance.  While the meeting will start at 6:15pm, we don’t expect to discuss school reopening until 7pm or later.   You can find information on the agenda, how to make a public comment, and how to view the meeting on our website here . 


Parent Survey Deadline Extended
If you have not had an opportunity to complete the Parent Survey, we have extended the deadline to Monday, June 15th at noon.  You can find the survey via this link . 


Thank you for your patience and support. You can submit questions and comments by replying to this message directly, sending the staff a message at "feedback@brssd.org", or sending the Board a message at "board@brssd.org". It may take us a couple of days to reply.

Sincerely,

Michael Milliken
Superintendent

 Suvarna Bhopale | Amy Koo | Samuel Leinbach
Jim Howard | Rahila Passi