COVID-19 Update, March 24, 2020
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Our meal delivery program continued today and our bus drivers, food service workers, and paraprofessionals again rose to the occasion and fed 5,016 nutritious meals to children across the district! This was all while maintaining social distancing and following workplace guidelines provided by the CDC and the Snohomish County Health District. That is an additional 1,400 meals over yesterday and nearly 6 times what we served the first day. We continue to grow the service every day and expect it to continue. Our staff continues to provide excellent service to our students and families across the district. We love our students, and it feels good to provide whatever assistance we can to families during these uncertain times.
Late yesterday evening we received new guidance from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) around another priority, learning, which has caused us to take yet another look at our instructional delivery plans during this extended closure. Here is an excerpt from the most recent OSPI guidance:
It is now time to provide more specific guidance on continuous learning for students. During this unprecedented time, our work together will look different. It will be possible to serve students meaningfully because of the expertise of school and district personnel and their relationships with the communities they serve.
What students need from schools during this time will vary and many will need additional supports and accommodations. What schools and communities will need during this time will also vary—flexibility and communication are key. School staff will collaborate and plan to meet student learning needs and support student well-being. Districts will consider what tools, resources, and technologies students can access, or if they have access at all.
We posted resources to the district website earlier this week that are primarily focused on enrichment and review (LINK). Teacher teams with support from administrators began late last week preparing more grade level specific resources that will be rolling out in the next day or two, especially at the elementary level. At the secondary level, principals, counselors, and teachers are working to determine how to address our graduating seniors and their corresponding credit requirements.
Shifting guidance from the state makes this challenging, but we understand the unprecedented nature of this school closure and pandemic, and so we’re all remaining flexible as we continue to adjust plans daily.
The guidance from OSPI has shifted our focus now to how we can deliver services and instruction in a variety of ways while maintaining social distancing in schools that are closed, and with staff working remotely too. Please be assured, in addition to the general education learning resources that will be available for your children, our special education and other intervention staff are and will be planning learning and resources for students who receive a variety of services as well.
What we know is we have to provide a consistency of experience across our district, so we are not creating additional inequities or wildly disparate services for students. We will tap the creative potential of our teacher teams to do that, and together we will adapt and overcome this unique problem.
We will have another drive through Chromebook deployment on Thursday, March 26, in the afternoon from 2:00 - 5:00 to help provide resources to our elementary families. Families will be able to stay in their cars, receive a Chromebook and other school supplies. This opportunity is for families who do not have access to a computer or in the internet, one per household for students in grades K - 5. If you have middle or high school student who already has access, we ask that they share with siblings in the home.
2nd Opportunity for Drive-Up Chromebook Checkout
What: Drive-Up Chromebook Check Out for grades K - 5
When: Thursday, March 26, 2:00 - 5:00 PM
Where: Marysville School District Service Center (Entrance will be right turn only off of State Avenue)
4220 80th Street NE
Marysville, WA 98270
What do we need to bring for the Chromebook?
You will need your student’s name, school, grade level, and student ID number if you know it, which is also their lunch number. This will help us verify your child is enrolled in one of our schools, so we can check the device out directly to the student.
What if my child’s Chromebook has a problem?
For those students or families who need Chromebook support for a problem, we have set up a Chromebook Support hotline you may call at (360) 965-0202 and a designated Chromebook support email address at chromebook-help@msvl.k12.wa.us.
Thank you for your continued support as we navigate this uncertain time together. Let’s continue to grant each other a little grace as we move forward. We’re all having to learn a degree of flexibility that I’m not sure any of us ever really believed possible, but we’re in this together, and together we’ll get through it.
Sincerely,
Jason Thompson
Superintendent