Return to School 2020-2021

Dear Mountain Song Families,

I am writing to provide an update on Mountain Song Community School’s Return to School plan.  On Tuesday, August 4, the MSCS Board of Directors unanimously approved the framework of the Return to School Proposal presented to them.

What this means for families is that at minimum, grades 2-8 will start with Remote Learning on September 2, 2020, and will remain in Remote Learning until at least October 2.  Early next week, the school’s Safety Committee will provide an updated recommendation for Grades K-1 to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).  You can expect an update from the ELT regarding K-1 by Wednesday, August 12.  

To be clear, some of the details within the proposal are necessarily in flux due to changing public health conditions. The Board approved the framework and delegated decision-making authority within the framework to the ELT.

The Return to School Framework includes three phases of learning environment:

• Phase 1 Remote Learning
• Phase 2 Hybrid Model
• Phase 3 All Class In-Person

The Framework also groups similar grade levels into clusters (K-1, 2-4, 5-8).  At times, all the clusters will be in the same learning phase.  At other times, we expect different grade clusters will be in different learning environment phases.  Decisions about which phase grade clusters are in will be made in light of public health conditions.  Our goal is to have students return to school when it is safe to do so.

Grades 2-8 will start in Phase 1 Remote Learning.  We are revisiting the recommendation for K-1 in light of new information, and will update you by Wednesday, August 12.  We are also working on details regarding differentiated situations for students and families with exceptional needs and services. 

We are doing our best to make a plan that provides the consistency you need to make decisions, but that also provides the responsiveness necessary to changing public health conditions.  We recognize the anxiety and stress that uncertainty causes, and we deeply appreciate your patience and understanding as we fill in the details.

Our deepest concern is for the children of Mountain Song.  We know that they are learning from us how to navigate challenges with resilience.  Since we know that most grades will start in Remote Learning, one thing families can start doing is to set up a learning environment at home or other remote setting.  This fall, Remote Learning will be more structured with greater accountability than we experienced this past spring.  We appreciate your support in helping to formalize that structure.

We will provide ongoing updates.  Thank you for everything you do to help keep our Mountain Song Community strong and resilient.

Warm appreciation,

Dr. Teresa Woods, Principal