Dear PCSD1 Students and Families,
All of us at the PCSD1 want to thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we work through the challenges of school closures, stay-at-home orders, the transition to an entirely new instructional model, and event postponements/cancellations during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Remote Learning Begins Tomorrow at All PCSD1 Locations
As a reminder, we will begin our remote learning program, tomorrow, Tuesday March 31st at all of our District locations. For specific information regarding the program for your student(s), please contact these respective building leaders:
Deer Creek Preschool - Marilyn Sturek, 303-838-7666, x1251 msturek@pcsdk12.org
Deer Creek Elementary School - Jeff Lubansky, x1203 jlubansky@pcsdk12.org
Fitzsimmons Middle School - Jesse Walters, x1402 jwalters@pcsdk12.org
Platte Canyon High School - Mike Schmidt, x1603 or x1002 mschmidt@pcsdk12.org
Free WiFi Access
Two internet providers are currently offering free wireless service. Details are as follows:
PCSD1 -The Near Future
As a District, we are committed to providing as much information as possible to our community members. We are uncertain as to how long social contact restrictions from CDC and the State of Colorado on group gatherings will continue and it would not be shocking if the Governor extended his school closure for the remainder of the school year, especially now that President Trump has extended federal social distancing guidelines through April 30. As a result, we have postponed our Junior/Senior Prom scheduled for April 17th. As we monitor the social distancing orders, we will also investigate the
possibility
of rescheduling Prom, or creating a modified Prom celebration for later this spring or summer.
This is a challenging decision because we know many of you have been looking forward to Prom for such a long time. We have made this decision now to help students and families avoid the financial losses that come with canceled contracts, reservations, returned dresses, and suits, etc.
We are also reviewing the impact the continued social distancing restrictions may have on our PCHS graduation ceremony scheduled for May 23. The PCSD1 highly values this rite of passage as one of the most important events in our students’ lives. We are absolutely committed to finding a way to hold graduation ceremonies. It may mean postponing graduation to a later date to ensure public health or developing another creative way for families to celebrate their child graduating from high school. We will begin exploring solutions now and will involve all facets of our community in these discussions.
Some State-Level Assessment Programs Have Been Put On Hold
As you may have heard, the Colorado Department of Education has canceled CMAS and Co-Alt testing, scheduled to begin in the next week. Because of this action, accountability measures for individual schools and districts have also been put on hold.
The fates of the PSAT exams and especially the SAT exam, have still not been determined. We expect a decision shortly on those exams. We know that there is anxiety surrounding the SAT exam and college admission for some of our students. Again, we know that state-level decision-makers are aware of this and that is most likely why we have not yet received a decision on these exams.
It appears that the Advanced Placement (AP) exams will be moving forward, in an abbreviated form, through an online delivery system. We will share more details as we get them.
Student Support (Reprinted from 3.20.20)
If a student works with a counselor or social worker in one of our schools, or simply needs some extra emotional support over the next few weeks, emails can be accessed from our website (listed below) or from the direct links found below. You may choose to schedule a virtual or phone session for your student during the period of school closure (other than during Spring Break):
Final Thoughts
We are continuing to explore ways in which we can better serve our students and families in these strange and uncertain times. We ask for your continued patience and support as we navigate the early days of a brand-new instructional model. There will be bumps in the road, I'm sure, but as we identify areas of need, we will adjust quickly.
Please continue to reach out to me with any questions. We will continue to use all social media outlets as well as our internal communication system to keep you updated.
Sincerely,
Mike Schmidt
PCSD1 Superintendent
