In English:
Dear Odyssey Academy Families,
We are sending this updated information to inform you of a few changes for the start of school. OA will continue operating from our current district calendar. Click here to see a copy.
Please know we are working diligently to ensure we are prioritizing our core value of safety to have all health and safety protocols solid before bringing students back on campus. Therefore, we will still start school on Wednesday, Aug. 12 with ALL students distance learning (school at home) for the first eight (8) days of school.
The following is our current schedule:
AUG. 4: Your child’s/children’s teacher(s) will begin reaching out to you and continue the process of connecting with you throughout the week. Please continue to also check your email for messages from OA.
AUG. 5-11: There will be Device Pick-Up if you do not have at least one device in your home. More details will be coming soon. Please let your teacher(s) know if you do not have at least one device in your home. More information about devices for distance learning is below.
AUG. 12-21: First 8 days of school with all students learning online and connecting through itsLearning. Teachers and staff will solidify safety protocols and will work with all families to ensure connectivity to itsLearning.
AUG. 24 - SEPT. 4: In-person students who selected to start school on campus will be brought into school in small groups for teachers and staff to teach them safety protocols. Each school will disseminate their schedules for these two weeks to parents and students as well as communicate about Back to School Event plans. We will also utilize the information gathered from the survey for the families who replied that they could consider a hybrid learning platform to help us know more about the flexibilities of our OA families.
BY SEPT. 8: Our goal is to have all in-person learning students back on campus together with specific safety protocols in place by this date. Depending upon our local health authorities and the current situation, changes may be necessary.
DISTANCE LEARNING PLATFORM: ITSLEARNING
Although we first utilized itsLearning during the last nine weeks of the 2019-2020 school year, please know that how we will learn for the 2020-2021 school year using itsLearning will be much more robust, engaging, and effective. We have learned so much since starting this journey of distance learning together last school year. Approximately half of our families have chosen distance learning at home as their OA learning platform. The other half of our students have chosen to come on campus, in-person for instruction. Both in-person and distance learning students will utilize itsLearning.
There are times throughout this school year when we may need to quickly transition all our students to learn at home through distance learning with itsLearning. Therefore, it is imperative that every student and family know how to connect and use this learning management tool. For example, if a student who usually comes on campus is not feeling well, they can stay home and connect to learning through itsLearning and still be counted in attendance. This is some of the wonderful flexibility we are allowed to give to families to ensure that those who come on campus are feeling 100% healthy each day. We will soon send detailed directions for connecting and using itsLearning.
DEVICES FOR DISTANCE LEARNING
As a reminder, OA has purchased devices for every 5th-12th grade student. Those devices have not arrived yet, so we know that we will all need to be flexible and do the best we can with connectivity. We also are working to identify hot spots around town for internet connections. Be sure to communicate with your teacher(s) to let them know if your family does not currently have access to at least one device and/or internet.
STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAYS
Another flexibility we are allowed is that we will continue student instruction on days originally labeled on our calendar as staff professional development. We will do this with all students continuing to learn through distance learning at home on these specific days. Our first day like this is Friday, September 4th. Students will have an instructional day at home on this day by either working on an assignment or connecting virtually with their teacher, attendance will be taken, and teachers will support students through distance learning on this day. Other previously determined staff professional development days that will be transitioned to instructional days will be communicated with our families as the school year progresses.
HEALTH & SAFETY PROTOCOLS
In addition to all the detailed information we previously sent in our July 7th letter to all OA families, we have continued to solidify and update our health and safety protocols. This focus continues to change both daily procedures like arrival, dismissal, lunch, class changes, and more, as well as change our instructional models. In addition to this, we have joined other school districts in coming up with an official COVID-19 Standard Response Protocol. Click here for a copy.
PROTECTIVE FACE COVERINGS NOW MANDATORY
Please understand that as this situation changes, we will all need to remain flexible and ready to adjust. Currently, one of our updates from previously communicated information is that all staff and students will be required to wear face coverings. Face coverings include both masks and/or face shields. We encourage our families to work now to find a mask or a face shield for your child(ren) that is most comfortable for them to wear every day all day long while on campus. OA will have face masks available for students, but students may wear their own masks and/or shields. Please note that images on the masks and shields are limited to OA messaging.
As always, we are extremely thankful that you are entrusting Odyssey Academy with the critical role of educating your child(ren). We view this important responsibility as an honor and work diligently to serve you and your family in an excellent manner. Please know that we are committed to providing a safe and high-quality education for every student.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jennifer Goodman
Superintendent
