Good Afternoon Middle School Families, |
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First, and most importantly, click below to let RCS know your choice regarding your student(s) being on-campus or online for RCS Phase 2: |
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On that note, I have good news for middle school students! If you haven’t heard, Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) has announced that elementary school students can return to campus, in small cohorts for live instruction, beginning on October 13, 2020. Part of the announcement reads, “We know it is hardest for younger children to spend all day learning online. Returning elementary students to classrooms balances the potential risk of increased COVID-19 transmission with the impact of distance learning on both students’ mental health and their ability to learn. Alameda County will consider permitting middle and high school students to return to in-person education in four to twelve-week phases as local disease conditions allow.” Therefore, our elementary students will return to campus on Wednesday, October 14th, and shortly after, we have plans for middle school students to return on Monday, October 19th! This also allows us to begin to work on a timeline for high school students to return to campus potentially as early as November 10, 2020.
Although we cannot bring middle school students back to campus for live instruction, on an open campus, we can bring middle school students back to campus “Providing Targeted, Specialized Support and Services.” This guidance allows for a school to bring back 25% of its capacity, in small cohorts, under strict guidance (for us, this means 25% of the MSHS campus). Instruction will still mainly be accomplished via Zoom, yet the cohort leader will be an RCS teacher helping to facilitate the cohort’s virtual learning.
Last night the RCS Board of Directors decided to prioritize middle school students to fill the 25% campus capacity because “virtual learning is hardest for younger children.” They voted to allow middle school students to return to campus on Monday, October 19, 2020, as well as providing the faculty with two additional prep days on Thursday, October 15 and Friday, October 16 ( middle school students will not have school these two days while elementary students and high school students will still have school). Middle school students will be returning to school under the conditions set forth in “Guidance Related to Cohorts - UPDATED September 4, 2020.” Thursday, 10/15, and Friday, 10/16, are necessary work days for middle school faculty to finalize preparations for students returning to their classrooms in small cohorts.
The next several weeks will be spent putting the finishing touches on months of work! The greatest task before us now is creating the middle school cohorts. Cohorts cannot be assigned until we have received responses from ALL middle school families to know which students are returning to campus and which students will be remaining online. As of the writing of this email, RCS knows the plans of 75 out of 139 middle school students, with 30% continuing online.
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Some Changes to Prepare For |
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Just as transitioning to Online Distance Learning last spring was new and challenging, transitioning to Small Cohort instruction is new and challenging as well. Just as the middle school faculty has grown tremendously in their virtual classrooms, they will grow tremendously in their ability to lead small cohort classrooms. Therefore, I am asking for your patience as, once again, middle school faculty pivots to teach and facilitate learning in a manner that has never been done before. Although students will be on campus in a classroom, most instruction will still be provided via Zoom. The major difference between this and Phase 1 will be that students are on campus and receiving help and supervision from a middle school teacher.
Because we have never done this, we do not know exactly how to describe what changes will be taking place for families who continue with virtual learning at home. With time, a routine will be learned. Please be patient as we work through the first several weeks of Phase 2. It will take teamwork to make this a success for all families!
Urgent questions? Please feel free to email me anytime by replying to this email.
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In Christ,
Al Hearne II, PhD
Superintendent
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 #GodsPurpose
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Redwood Christian Schools | 510-889-7526 | 4200 James Avenue, Castro Valley, CA 94546 | www.rcs.edu |
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