COVID-19 KMS Update: Message from Sec. French regarding Gov. Scott's Continuity of Learning dire
Dear KMS:
Please see the email below, re. Governor Scott’s order concerning a transition to Continuity Of Learning and remote programming for the remainder of the 2019/2020 school year.
KMS will evaluate and assess the impact of this on KMS and our students, and will issue an appropriate response from our school as soon as possible.
Thank you,
Tao Smith
Head of School
Begin forwarded message:
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Dear Superintendents and Independent School Heads: Today Governor Scott directed school districts to make preparations for a transition to Continuity of Learning for the remainder of the school year. He further ordered the Agency of Education to continue its consultation with the Department of Health to advise as this response develops regarding school openings for some or all end of year activities. Continuity of Learning (COL) means districts will be required to provide education services and related supports to all of their students remotely so that student learning and academic progress is achieved as if schools had remained open. Districts are required to make the transition to COL on or before Monday, April 13, 2020. To support districts in making the transition to COL, the Agency of Education will be issuing forthcoming guidance to:
Address student attendance and school calendar requirements;
Clarify procedural requirements for compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA);
Focus district efforts on ensuring equitable access to high quality instruction and learning opportunities;
Describe how end of the school year gatherings and graduations will be handled in the event school is not re-opened prior to May 8, 2020; and
Develop the format and submission parameters of a School District Continuity of Learning Plan which will be required to be submitted to the Agency by close of business on Wednesday April 8, 2020.
Moving to remote learning for the remainder of the school year is a difficult decision for our students, staff, and our families, but is clearly the right thing to do for our State's health and for our students. We can, however, turn this crisis into an opportunity to expand learning opportunities for all of our students, and to put their personal learning aspirations at the center of our educational design. To do so will require us to work together across school and district boundaries in ways we have never have done before. I have no doubt that if we are successful in this work we will emerge from this crisis as a world class education system. The Agency will be working intensively to support collaboration among educators, students, parents, and community members across the entire state to enable this work. Our actions will include:
Establishing a COL task force comprised of representatives from K-12, higher education, parents, students, and the business community to assist in the design and sharing of learning resources and COL best practices;
Providing a statewide COL collaboration platform and learning management system available to any district that needs such support; and
Establishing a statewide hashtag, #vtedlearns, to facilitate the sharing of resources and best practices.
Sincerely, Daniel M. French, Ed.D. Secretary of Education
Vermont Department of Health's COVID-19 Web Page
AOE COVID-19 Guidance for Vermont Schools Web Page
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