News

Before the start of the New Year, all Minnesota schools received the state’s updated Safe Learning Plan with guidance for re-opening schools for younger students. Spring Lake Park Schools will transition students in grades preK-6 to full-time (5 days/week) learning at school beginning Thursday, January 21.

Students who had attended school in the Modified Campus Schedule (hybrid) model will return to school five days a week beginning January 21. Students who had attended school in the Extended Flexible Learning (distance) model by choice will continue with distance learning.

“We recognize families may want to change their child’s current learning model choice and we will do everything we can to honor requests at the time of transition,” says Jeff Ronneberg, superintendent.

Families are asked to contact their child’s school by Monday, January 11, 2021 to request a change, recognizing that a change in model will change a child’s teacher and classmates. The next opportunity to request a change will be the week of February 22 for the third trimester.

PreK-6 transition schedule

Days dedicated to planning and preparation before a learning model transition are required by the state and necessary to support teachers in changing learning models. To ensure a seamless transition:

• January 19-20 (Tuesday, Wednesday): There is no school for all students in grades preK-6. This includes students in Extended Flexible Learning (distance learning) by choice. (January 18 is the MLK holiday and no school for all students.)
• January 21 (Thursday): Students in grades preK-6 will return to learning at school. Families who have chosen Extended Flexible Learning (distance learning) will continue learning in that model as school resumes January 21.

Updated health and safety measures

The state’s updated guidance for preK-6 reflects what has been learned about how COVID-19 spreads between adults and younger children. Spring Lake Park Schools follow all of the recommendations and will keep many of our other mitigation strategies in place.

Mitigation strategies include:

• Requiring face masks for students and staff at all times indoors (except while eating). Masks will not be required outside.
• Requiring that students maintain a 3-foot distance from each other at all times (previously it was 6 feet). This allows for increased capacity in physical spaces (was previously 50 percent capacity).
• Requiring teachers maintain a 6-foot distance from students and other adults and having face shields and plexiglass barriers for teachers and staff in addition to masks.
• Making onsite COVID-19 testing available every two weeks for teachers and staff who work directly with students.

Transportation and childcare

State guidance has also changed for the transportation of younger students. Bus capacity restrictions on buses for grades preK-6 have been lifted. Mask wearing is required as is maintaining 6 feet of distance from the driver. Seating charts will also be in place.

With this learning model transition, most bus routes will continue without changes. Families can confirm bus stop times in Campus Parent Portal starting January 14. Postcards also will be mailed.

Learning Ventures, before and after school childcare, will also be available. More information is on the website.

Status of learning for grades 7-12

The state continues to direct schools to use county-level infection rates as the foundation for decision-making for older students. The district’s regional support team, which includes representatives from the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Education, has directed that Anoka County numbers must dip below the threshold of 30 cases per 10,000 residents to return grades 7-12 to school.

“We have pushed for an early February transition to Modified Campus (hybrid) for grades 7 through 12,” says Jeff. “We will be monitoring case rates and meeting again with the regional support team later this month in anticipation of transitioning as early in February as possible.”

In the Minnesota Department of Health report from January 7, Anoka Country rates are at 47.23 cases per 10,000.

“We very much anticipate welcoming our youngest learners safely back to our classrooms and hallways,” says Jeff. “We begin this new year with hope that the day is not long off when we welcome ALL students back to learning safely at school.” 

The latest Information on learning models for 2020-2021, health and safety measures, meals and more is available at SpringLakeParkSchools.org/Plan2020