April 9, 2020
Dear parents, employees and community members:
Today, Governor Parson ordered public and charter schools in Missouri
to
remain closed through the end of the scheduled school year
due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today is a sad day for Missouri educators, students and their families.
The teachers and support staff of Springfield Public Schools miss seeing our students face-to-face. But we want what is best for them, always, and we know that today’s decision is necessary. Governor Parson has acted in the
best interests of our community,
region and state. We remain committed to connecting with families through
SPS At Home
and to learning together – wherever we are.
While this means that our SPS buildings will remain closed, it
does not mean that learning ends.
In fact, SPS At Home launched on March 30 with a variety of printed and online resources and our
students will continue to learn from home
, with support from our talented
and dedicated teachers, through the last day of school on May 21.
There are unanswered questions that remain, including how to address commencement ceremonies for the Class of 2020. SPS has already reached out to our seniors and their families to gather feedback on the alternative options they prefer. We will
make an announcement
about graduation, the last day for seniors, Explore summer learning, and implications for other year-end milestones by the end of
next week
.
In the meantime, we want to assure our students and their families that we will
continue to be here for them.
- SPS will continue to serve breakfast and lunch via carline each weekday – at all of our schools. Since March 30, SPS has served more than 180,000 meals.
- We will continue to provide childcare for healthcare workers and emergency responders.
- We will continue to bridge the gap for our students and community by addressing challenges during this unprecedented situation. This includes the delivery of 2,000 hotspots by early next week, at an investment of more than $370,000, to help ensure all students are able to continue learning remotely.
As always, our students and their families are encouraged to reach out to their teachers or principal with questions or concerns as we journey through these challenging times together.
Sincerely,
John Jungmann, Ed,D,
Superintendent
