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LOCS Remote Learning Extension

December 1, 2020

Dear LOCS Families-

Hopefully you and your students had a nice Thanksgiving break, enjoying family and relaxation.

The LOCS administration continues to observe the viability of in-person learning and, with the planned remote learning scheduled to conclude December 8, I wanted to provide an update on the LOCS status moving forward.

Given the continuing rise in COVID-19 case counts in Oakland County and especially within Orion and our school district boundaries, this is not the appropriate time to bring students and staff members back into the school buildings.

As a result of the current circumstances, LOCS students (Early Childhood, DK-12 and Post-Secondary) will remain in remote learning for the next seven weeks, planning to resume in-person learning for students on Tuesday, January 19, 2021.

Several factors played a role in this decision:

· DATA: With the positive numbers as high as they are and the positivity rate holding around 13-14%, the multitude of quarantines that we previously faced are likely to continue in the next few weeks. Our school district boundaries COVID-19 data (of all residents and ages who live within our area) increased to 98 positives per 10,000 residents last week. That number has continuously grown over the previous seven weeks. The zip code data (6 areas) that I follow all show a 50-100% increase since we decided to go remote in mid-November. We remain at letter E for our state. The test results' extended timing remains a concern as we are experiencing well beyond a 48-hour turnaround, creating a concerning situation for contact tracing.

· ACADEMICS: As we seek the consistency in students’ education, keeping students in the remote learning environment through the upcoming weeks will aid that process. Already students have begun the year in remote, re-entered the schools temporarily and then transitioned back to remote. The decision to bring them back on January 19 provides the middle school and high school students a few days of in-person classroom learning prior to their final exams on January 21-22. (Monday, January 18, 2021 will remain a day off for students, honoring the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. LOCS staff will engage in professional development on that day.)

· STAFFING: When LOCS shifted to the remote setting two weeks ago, we shared it was no longer possible to provide the elite LOCS education without enough in-person staff members. The significant number of staff members in quarantine at the time (and currently), plus the lack of available substitutes created the unfortunate situation. As LOCS continues to monitor cases within the staff, even in the remote setting, our administration will prepare for the return to in-person learning when it is appropriate and we can be confident we have enough healthy staff members for the classrooms.

· HOLIDAY BREAKS: With many families interacting beyond their households during the Thanksgiving holiday, the potential COVID-19-positive cases may not emerge well into next week, given the known incubation period of the virus. To potentially introduce the virus into our school community at the point where it could be the most vibrant makes little sense. That is a similar rationale for deciding on a mid-January return, as January 19 would provide more than two weeks from the New Year’s Day holiday.

As the LOCS administration assesses the many circumstances involved in this decision, the goal is to maximize the continuity of our programming. By staying in the remote setting between the breaks, we avoid bringing potentially asymptomatic students and staff together, only to potentially learn during the winter break about positive cases.

We will continue to look at what we’ve experienced to this point, extend the conversations with local health officials and medical professionals, to brainstorm progressive solutions for the January 19 return.

We understand the challenges these decisions have on our families’ lives. But with safety as our top priority and the students’ educational success the center of our mission, this is the most appropriate path forward.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through the pandemic,

Ben Kirby

LOCS Superintendent

LOCS Remote Learning plans

Wednesday, November 18-Tuesday, December 8

REMOTE LEARNING PLANS FOR ALL GRADES

DRAGON VIRTUAL: Continues as previously scheduled for middle level and high school. Elementary Dragon Virtual will follow the elementary schedule below.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Elementary students will remain in Zoom classes, using Seesaw for their lessons and work. Classroom teachers will provide more specifics. Students will follow the in-person schedules of their buildings on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, in the remote setting.
- Times -- Stadium Drive, Paint Creek, Webber from 8:35 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Times -- Carpenter, Orion Oaks, Blanche Sims from 9:10 a.m.-3:35 p.m.
- Wednesday – Every Wednesday will be a half-day for students.
  - Wednesday morning (8:35-11:35 a.m. for early start schools and 9:10 a.m.-12:10 p.m. for late start schools) will feature synchronous (live teaching) in the core subjects.
  - Wednesday afternoon will not have any live learning for students, but electives/specials will be available as recordings.

MIDDLE SCHOOL: Middle school students will return to using Microsoft Teams to meet with classes for daily live lessons and assignments/feedback. Students will continue their class times from in-person learning, beginning with 1st or 4th hour. There will be no STAR class.
- The daily schedule will follow the in-person times: 8:27 a.m.-2:10 p.m. Office hours will be provided from 2:15-3:05 p.m. each day.

HIGH SCHOOL (LOHS and Learning Options): High school students will return to using Microsoft Teams to meet with classes for daily live lessons and assignments/feedback. The daily schedule will follow the in-person times: 9:40 a.m.-2:35 p.m. All students will attend remote sessions daily, Monday through Friday (no Green/White teams). Student support/Office hours will be provided 8-8:45 a.m. daily.

SPECIAL EDUCATION/PINE TREE CENTER: Special Education programming from early childhood to post-secondary will be remote, as outlined in the student’s IEP and/or contingency learning plans.

EARLY CHILDHOOD: The Early Childhood programs will remain on the in-person schedule with the current safety and health precautions. Pre-K classes may move to remote learning if necessary. The Early Childhood Department will communicate to parents if that situation arises.

Another note:

FOOD DISTRIBUTION: The LOCS Food Service Department will continue to provide meals for students on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., during the remote learning period.

Beginning Monday, November 23, the distributions will be held at the CERC Building and Waldon Middle School. There will only be a Monday distribution during the Thanksgiving week, and each student will be given five days of meals. The Monday and Wednesday schedule will resume the following week.

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LOCS Remote Learning Extension

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