July 31st, 2020

Dear Parents and Families,

It is with great excitement that we prepare to welcome your students back to learning! We recognize that our typical school experience and life experience has been far from normal. Please know that we will do everything in our power to mitigate any fears you may have and support you and your family to the best of our ability.

Thank you for your continued patience as we review updated public health guidance and plan for the upcoming school year. We want to continue to keep you updated with important information as quickly as possible. On Friday, the APS Board of Education provided direction during their meeting about the start of the school year. With the Board’s direction, APS will be starting in a fully remote learning model for the beginning of the school year. This decision was made considering the recent rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in both Adams and Arapahoe counties.

Students will be learning remotely from home through the first quarter, which ends on October 8. A decision about whether to begin in-person learning at that time will be made in the coming months taking into consideration health data on COVID-19 cases in our community.

We will kick off this year with our Back to School Drive By on August 13^th and 14^th from 3:00-7:00. ALL families are required to participate in this event.

During this time, your student will be able to pick up school supplies, school gifts for students and learning material that is specific to their grade level. ALL returning families should bring the laptop that was assigned to them to this event. We will scan the technology, replace any technology that is not working. If you are new to our community, welcome. We are excited you are trusting us with your child’s education. At this time, you will receive an assigned chromebook for your child to use at home.

This will happen on August 13th and 14th from 3 pm to 7pm.

• If walking, please plan to receive materials at the front entrance to our school.

• If driving, do NOT get out of the car. Remain in car and follow staff members and signs for direction in main parking lot.

We will be following all health mandates to keep you, your family, and staff safe. To help us, please have your technology easily accessible to scan barcode.

Please note some specifics for the school year below:

• First Day of School for 1st grade-5th grade- August 18th, 2020

• First Day of School for Preschool-Kindergarten - August 24th, 2020

On the first day of school, you will want to have your student’s log-in to the google classroom that has been assigned to them. You will have received a 6-digit code to enter. Don’t hesitate to ask for help signing in before the first day of school. Our front office staff and technology rep can support this. Call our front office or stop on by.

• Instructional Day

Monday- Thursday- Required Live Instructional Day with General Education Teacher; Specials optional during Morning or Afternoon Breaks

Friday- All Specials Classes will be provided, and students are required to complete tasks for final attendance day. Fridays classes are not “live”, and are videos that families can access from the earlier lessons of the week.

As we built out the school schedule, it was important for us to create staggered schedules for special education teachers, gifted and talented teachers, reading interventionists and Specials Teachers. Therefore, you will see each grade level has a different schedule. This is important. It allows your child to have breaks throughout the day, engage in Specials, and also to allow parents at home to stagger support for their children at home.

You can anticipate your child starting school around 8:00 am and ending around 2:30 PE. They will have a morning or afternoon break for (45 minutes) and a shorter break as needed. You will also have time to provide lunch during the day.

Your child’s schedule will be provided to you during Back to School Drive. They are also accessible on the Park Lane website.

• Attendance

We will be taking daily attendance based on not only participation, but completion of tasks. It will be important that you child logs in when required to earn grades towards standards mastery. The classroom teachers are live teaching, so they will see them, many from their actual classrooms. Please help us by ensuring your child is accessing learning.

• Home Learning Environment

We recognize that many families do not have the adequate space in their homes to facilitate many home offices or student desk areas. It is our preference that students have a quiet, private place to work where home distractions are limited for both them and their classmates. A quiet space at the dining room table is appropriate, or a designated area away from their peers.

Your child is attending school. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately, sitting up while in class, not laying on their bed, or just waking up. Families will be called to address these concerns, as it is a distractor to other students and lowers expectations for your child.

• Weekly Communication

Please anticipate your child’s teacher to reach out to you weekly. It is important that they have this time to connect with you. Please prioritize this time and do not disregard the call. We recognize that this is an additional ask on families, but it is imperative that families understand the content being taught to better ensure learning for your child.

• Makeups

Your child will be engaging in synchronous (live) instruction Monday-Thursday through Google Classroom. If your child is unable to attend synchronous learning during the week, videos of every lesson will be posted In Google Classroom and your child will be able to complete the work on Fridays. Fridays will be an opportunity for whole child learning. Your student will have the opportunity to engage in art, music, gym, and social emotional education during this time.

Final Thoughts

The learning schedule is staggered, meaning classes are not back-to-back. This is done to provide breaks throughout the day for your student and to acclimate them to the schedule they will follow when we return to in-person learning. We want to make the transition back as seamless as possible.

Your child’s continued learning is at the forefront of our minds. This is an amazing opportunity for students to develop and foster 21^st century technology skills that will enhance their repertoire of knowledge. It is our duty to ensure that every student continues the vital work of becoming dynamic and empowered learners. We take this duty very seriously and will work tirelessly to provide you and your student with the tools and support necessary to keep moving forward.

School staff will be working with families of children with special needs who are on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Plan to determine how services will be provided. Students who are English Language Learners will continue to receive additional language development support.

All students will have access to mental health resources including APS psychologists, social workers, counselors and other school staff. The health and wellbeing of our students is our top priority.

Yours in Service,

Annalee McBee,

Principal Park Lane Elementary