Ray-Pec Parent Community,
All of us in the Ray-Pec School District -- the Board of Education, district and building leadership, teacher and staff teams -- are eager to welcome our students back for the first day of school on August 24. We miss their smiling faces, their energy, and their passion. For the past several months, the Board of Education, a district team and several other groups have been working on plans for our school re-entry. Please know that while we are looking forward to being reunited, we are firmly committed to providing a productive and risk-reduced learning environment, especially in light of circumstances due to COVID-19.
The purpose of this email is to let you know that tomorrow, July 10, you will receive information about how we intend to approach the re-entry of schools.
The information will outline our intended plan, our contingency plans, the risk-reduction protocols we are putting into place, and the options that you, as parents, have as you make the best choice between an in-person or virtual learning experience for your daughter or son.
There has been tremendous effort to get to this point in the re-entry planning process. The Board of Education and I want to thank several groups who have helped us think through important issues. A team of teachers and staff members from all levels in Ray-Pec helped identify and brainstorm key issues regarding re-entry. Parent representatives from the PTA executive council have provided important feedback at various points in the process. A tremendous amount of work has been done, and still continues, on the creation of a virtual instruction program for Ray-Pec students, and I thank members of district leadership for helping shepherd that task. This indeed has been a collective effort.
We acknowledge that no plan during this pandemic will be perfect. Our intent throughout the planning process was two-fold:
One, we want t
o provide an in-person learning experience for as many students/parents who want it for as long as we can, while providing a reasonable risk reduction strategy for all. Two, we want to provide a rigorous and relevant virtual instruction experience for those students/parents who are desirous of that experience. Again, while not perfect, the approach will meet those objectives.
There is one caveat that we need to make. These plans represent the approach for a date that is still several weeks away. Many things can change between now and then. We will keep you informed of any changes to these plans that are caused by Covid circumstances.
Thank you for your patience and grace as we plan for your children's return to school,
Mike Slagle
