Dear Families:

 

We hope you have had a great first week of summer.

 

We want to provide you with an update on our efforts to plan for the fall. Like you, we are eager to get a plan in place for school next fall, however, there are many details we are still working through as we work to develop a plan that meets the OSPI requirements for a safe return to in-person school in the fall.

 

There are many logistical challenges we are working to address. What do “health checks” for students and staff look like on a daily basis? How will social distancing needs be addressed within every classroom? Some classes pose unique challenges such as band, choir, CTE classes and preschool classes. How do we safely transport students and serve breakfast and lunch? How do we ensure social distancing in our hallways? We have staff and students who are immunocompromised – what will this look like for them?

 

Our Fall Start 2020 Work Group has had three virtual meetings to review options for educating students in the fall. The group is meeting again this week. We are looking at a variety of blended models that include both in-person and distance/online learning due to the social distancing requirements that impact the number of students that can be at school at the same time. We hope to have a recommendation for a “base plan” for our Board to approve in mid-July.

 

Regardless of what the plan entails for in-person learning, we will also be offering alternatives, including some existing and new virtual/online options, for families who are not comfortable sending their kids back to classrooms in the fall. We will share information on these options very soon. Thank you for your patience!

 

We want to thank all of you who participated in our previous "Thought Exchange" survey. We invite you to take another brief survey to help guide our planning process. It will take you 3-4 minutes to complete. The survey will remain open until Monday, July 6 at 9 a.m. Your input is essential to our planning process. We greatly appreciate your time and feedback.

 

Update sent to all BSD families and staff 6/30/2020. 

Planning for Fall 2020: Parent/Staff Survey

 

As the Fall Start 2020 Work Group moves forward with developing the District's plan to reopen our schools, input from parents, staff, students and community partners is essential.

 

We invite you to take a moment to participate in our brief parent/staff/community survey to share some of your thoughts and concerns about returning to school in the fall.

 

We will be reaching out for additional feedback in the coming weeks as we work to evaluate the three options presented by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the Reopening Washington Schools Planning Guide, and finalize many important details of our plan. We appreciate your continued support and participation in these important surveys.

 

The survey closes Monday, June 22 at 3 p.m. 

 

Secondary Student Survey

All students going into 6th through 12th grade next year should have received a link to a student survey in their BSD student email today.

 

Please encourage your student to check his/her email and complete the survey because input from students is critical to our planning. If your student did not receive an email, please have them to to www.BremertonSchools.org/FallSurveys for access to the survey. Student input is very important in our planning process.

 

The survey closes Monday, June 22 at 3 p.m. 

 

Update sent to all BSD families and staff 6/16/2020. 

Dear BSD Families,

 

By now, many of you may have heard that OSPI released the state’s plan for opening schools in the fall.

 

We have a fall start workgroup with 50+ members including staff, parents, students, community partners, childcare providers and two school board directors that will review the requirements outlined by the state and make a recommendation to the Bremerton School Board. Our goal is to have our “base model” plan ready for the Board to review and approve in early July, with a more detailed plan ready to share with our families in late July. Final plans must be approved by the state two weeks before the first day of the school year (which is currently September 2nd).

 

 We understand how unsettling this is to families and staff to not have specifics about how our schools will operate in the fall. However, we have many important decisions to make. It is going to take time and a lot of thoughtful discussion to develop a detailed plan that meets the health and safety guidelines outlined by OSPI. We must consider a number of things including, but not limited to, transportation, staffing, social distancing protocols, personal protective equipment (PPE), athletics, child nutrition services, special education accommodations, technology, childcare, summer programming, and custodial services/capacity.

 

We are working to create a plan that:

• Minimizes the spread of Covid-19 virus

• Keeps students & staff safe

• Allows new learning to continue

• Supports students academically and socially-emotionally

• Assists parents & families through an alternative schedule or setting for the 2020-21 school year.

• Serves all students and their unique needs with a focus on equity

 

We will be sending out a survey next week to get your feedback. Thank you in advance for your participation. We are committed to transparency and proactive and reactive communication with our families and staff while we work to develop our District’s plan for the fall.

 

We will be in touch about this important process very soon.

 

Take good care,

 

Dr. Aaron Leavell

Superintendent

 

 Sent to all BSD Families and Staff 6/11/2020

Dear Bremerton School District Families:

 

We want to provide you an update on our planning for next fall. There are still many unknowns, but what we do know is that our schools--and how we deliver instruction--may look different than before COVID-19.

 

There is currently convening a group of 120 educational stakeholders from around the state working to develop options, models and guidelines for reopening schools. Potential models being developed include:

 

• Normal school opening in the fall (highly unlikely)

• In-person instruction with some online learning

• Reduced in-person instruction and increased online learning

• No in-person instruction and all-online learning

 

As we receive more state guidance and develop a plan for our District, we will be seeking input from staff and families. We are forming a stakeholder work group to review options presented by the state and make a recommendation to the Bremerton School Board.

 

We know these are challenging times. Our focus is on doing what’s best for our students, and we will continue to make all our decisions with the care and compassion they deserve. I want to thank all of you - families and staff - for your flexibility, resilience, and compassion. We’ll get through this together because #WeAreBremerton!

 

Sincerely,

 

Aaron Leavell, Ed.D

Superintendent

 

Sent to all BSD Families and Staff 5/28/2020