August 4, 2020
Parent/Guardian,
We have a new procedure in place. We will be dismissing one hour early on Fridays in the 2020-2021 school year to allow for intentional teacher collaboration time within our buildings. Each building, except for Scott Regional Technology Center, will dismiss one hour early each Friday. Early Friday dismissal has been added to our academic calendar on the district website. Here's an insight with details:
- Car riders and bus riders will dismiss one hour early on Fridays with routine procedures.
- Cub House will operate earlier on Fridays to help with childcare and working parents. You may choose to pick up your child(ren) or use school transportation with Cub House bus routes.
- This plan was in place before COVID-19. The early dismissal will help give teachers dedicated time to assess student learning accurately. This will also help teachers make international plans to help students who may need additional support from being away from school.
- We will be implementing a new benchmark assessment in grades 2-8 in the 2020-2021 school year. Early dismissal on Fridays is extremely valuable in analyzing student data and making appropriate grade level instructional plans to move our students forward.
- Research is highly supportive of the educational benefits of teacher collaboration time in high achieving school districts. This collaboration is supported as a critical practice in driving school improvement, creating an environment for teachers to improve their kraft, and developing action plans that meet the diverse needs of our students. Research indicates that teacher collaboration is a crucial factor in student learning.
- Many of our teachers are spending hours of their time meeting, planning, and analyzing after school. One of our goals as a district is to recruit and maintain the best teachers. By providing this support for our teachers, aids us in creating a trusting and collaborative relationship.
- We understand this is not the ideal time to make this change; however, we are committed to our students and trust that this calendar change will positively impact student growth and learning.
We want to be mindful of not creating hardships for you and your family.
Link to enroll your child in Cub House, if you need this service: https://bit.ly/mcubhouse
Link to see dismissal times for all buildings: https://bit.ly/2DmwSAC
Respectfully,
Russ Moreland
Superintendent of Schools