Make sure you can view all important info and images:
Using standard Outlook? Click the "Download pictures" button in the yellow bar.
Using Outlook on the Web (Exchange)? Click the "Click here" link at the top of the email.
Monday, July 27, 2020
Good morning, awesome SCS colleagues.
Like so many school districts across the country who find themselves in the impossible situation of responding to an uncertain and rapidly evolving health crisis, we continue to rely on science to make decisions about the safe opening of our schools. Safety signage, spacing desks, more hand sanitizer and masks simply cannot make a school safe in a community that is experiencing a daily triple-digit increase of virus cases. 
By next month, our students will have been away from school for nearly five months. The research about the impact of this loss of learning and instruction by a teacher is in many ways as devastating as the virus is across this country, especially when the majority of our students live at or below the poverty index. However, as hard as it was to close schools in March, sending students and staff back to them this fall is even more complicated.

We are faced with conflicting priorities as leaders entrusted with the safety of 100,000 children and 15,000 employees because lives and futures are at stake. As of today, there are more than 18,000 cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County - a 9.3% positivity rate and growing, with more than 250 deaths. I am told our hospital beds are at 90% capacity. Science tells us that by September, our community will reach the same trajectory as New York City, and this figure does not account for the students returning to school.

Therefore, we will begin our school year FULLY VIRTUAL on August 31. Teachers will have options to teach remotely or in classrooms, but all students will learn virtually at home until further notice.
We take our responsibility to provide a meaningful and high-quality learning experience for every student very seriously, and we will deliver on this promise whether our students are in school or at home. The virtual start of school will not be anything like the final quarter of last year. Every student will be provided with a digital device, and students will have live interaction with their teachers and peers every day as they follow the routine of a regular school day. We will continue to provide meals for students, and accommodations will be provided to support our students who receive special education services.

We are also working to identify childcare providers, such as the YMCA, that offer reduced or no-cost childcare options for essential working staff and families.  Please find more information about identified childcare resources here. (Please note, the availability of some providers may be subject to change.)
This Digital Learning Guide   provides a comprehensive overview of expectations and guidance for teachers. Principals will also be communicating more with their staffs in preparation for the start of school. As a reminder, it is extremely important that teachers complete PD sessions on Microsoft Teams this summer, as this will be the primary platform for delivering live instruction to our students.
These videos provide a closer look at what virtual learning and nutrition services will look like for students. We also shared these FAQs about virtual learning with families today.
I look forward to speaking with you in more detail next week about what online learning will look like for our students and how we will keep the bar high for our performance in the District and for the education of our students. 

I am grateful for your continued support and dedication. We are stronger together! Coronavirus will not defeat us.
Sincerely,
 
Dr. Joris M. Ray,
Superintendent
#SCSis901