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Over the last couple of weeks, Dewey Public Schools sent out a staff and parent survey to help gather some information as the district begins developing plans for reopening next school year.

Dewey Superintendent Vince Vincent has since shared the survey results to share the basic plans the district has in place for reopening in the Fall. You can find those results towards the bottom of this story.

The primary goal of Dewey Public Schools this summer revolves around planning. Superintendent Vincent said their goal also revolves around procuring the materials that they have identified as a need for the 2020-2021 school year.

In a recent Dewey Public Schools Board of Education meeting, Superintendent Vincent said they are going to put hand sanitizer in every classroom. He added that they are going to place hand sanitizer in various places of each school site as well. This is a need that is affordable in Superintendent Vincent's eyes.

The hope is to get the hand sanitizer situation sorted out in July. Superintendent Vincent said they also are looking at getting hand sanitizing machines that would allow them to be more mobile with sanitization. He said they are going to need to mobilize this effort because they will need sanitizer more than any other ordinary school year.

Superintendent Vincent said they have to be prepared for anything. He said they may experience a coronavirus case or two next school year, and they need to have everything in place to handle that situation should it arise.

This means re-creating the classrooms and how they are set-up. Superintendent Vincent said this is so they can create the best learning environment for their students and staff while promoting an appropriate social distance.

A little over 50-percent of the district’s student population was represented in the parent/guardian survey. In response to this information, Superintendent Vincent said it's important that they plan on reopening school next Fall with in-person, on-campus classes. With that in mind, he said they plan to start school on time on Thursday, August 13 barring any emergency orders from state and/or local leaders.

Based on current COVID-19 information and anticipated spikes in virus exposure, DPS believes that it's necessary to build-in some flexibility in the district’s school calendar to be able to accommodate school closure and/or prepare for the transition to remote learning. Consequently, DPS will be planning to add 10 minutes to their daily school schedule creating an 8:20 a.m. start and a 3:35 p.m. close to each school day.

This increased time, along with the district’s annual built in snow days, should provide them with an ample amount of flexibility to adjust to possible intermittent school closures and allow the district to finish the school year on Thursday, May 13th.

Additionally, while DPS knows they must plan for strategies that allow them to seamlessly continue with a robust education in a remote setting, Superintendent Vincent said he thinks survey results prove that many parents and staff members prefer in-person, on-campus learning experiences. So as an added advantage, DPS believes increased calendar flexibility may also allow them the ability to limit the amount of remote learning days they may have to initiate during the school year.

As the planning process continues through June and some of July, they will be focusing discussions on items such as:

1.         How can we replicate in-class learning experiences so that learning can be delivered somewhat seamlessly and efficiently in a remote setting to meet many of the needs that will arise.

2.         How do they provide a full-time remote/virtual learning option for students who are not able to physically attend school in the Fall.

3.         How can they logistically provide all typical school opportunities and experiences while providing as many protective layers as possible for students and staff.

4.         What training and resources will need to be procured in order to execute the reopening plans.

The next few weeks are critical in Dewey Public School’s planning process. As they have learned over the last few months, their most important resource will be maintaining flexibility in all things.

While we all desire to return to some sense of normalcy, Superintendent Vincent said they are fully aware that many aspects of their school operations must be looked at with a fresh perspective. Above all else, he said they will do their very best to develop plans with the safety and health of the students and staff at the forefront.

As the planning process takes further shape, DPS will keep you updated as more information becomes available. On Thursday, Superintendent Vincent said they will release more on their reopening plan by mid-July.

SURVEY RESULTS:

• Almost 60-percent of DPS parents/guardians and a little over 70-percent of the staff reported that they should resume school next year without any changes to the educational process or district calendar.
• Over 80-percent of DPS parents/guardians and 90-percent of their staff reported that they should resume school in-person in August and NOT begin the school year providing educational services in a remote/virtual format.
• Under 10-percent of DPS parents/guardians reported that they DO NOT plan on sending their child to school for in-person classes in the Fall and will be looking for a remote/virtual educational opportunity due to COVID-19 concerns.
• 35-percent of DPS parents/guardians and 40-percent of their staff were in favor of resuming school in August with select groups being on a rotating schedule of in-person classes on select days and being remote/virtual on the other days.
• When asked about what calendar adjustment is most desired to provide flexibility for any potential intermittent closures of school:

- 26-percent of DPS parents/guardians and 30-percent of the staff supported an early school year start date and a later end date.

- 33- percent of DPS parents/guardians and 28-percent of DPS staff supported a normal start date but extending the school year end date.

- 41-percent of DPS parents/guardians and 42-percent of their staff supported the established school year start and end dates of Aug. 13th and May 13th and the adding of minutes to their daily schedule to allow for flexibility in making up missed time due to shut down of school operations.