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A Message from Dr. Lawrence

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Rock Island-Milan School District Superintendent Dr. Reginald Lawrence with a video message regarding the next steps in reopeing school in the State of Illinois Phase IV plan.

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Good Morning Rock Island-Milan School Community! This is Dr. Lawrence your superintendent with this week's message coming from the campus of Thomas Jefferson Elementary School (Milan!) Home of the Bulldogs! Well, this week's message will be a little bit longer than normal because a number of interesting things took place this week as you know on Friday, the State of Illinois move into Phase 4 of The Restore Illinois plan, which now means that we see a number of businesses re-opening, childcare providers re-opening and it also means the re-opening of schools [with] up to 50 individuals in one space. Granted, you can still follow social distancing with those guidelines of being a part 6 feet, using facial protection and cleaning our hands as much as possible. Now we've been waiting for this leadership and this information so that we can move forward and earlier this week on Tuesday, the governor, the state superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala and others in the education world shared information and a transition guide that gives a lot of suggestions and recommendations on how to move forward with potential for in person instruction. That is a goal that in Phase 4 we move to that, but they also left the decision down to the local school districts. So that means that even though the Illinois Department Public Health, who we consult with a lot, is giving us the okay to move forward with this plan. Decisions on what happens with school district still remain at the local level - meaning that superintendents will be working with the community to ensure that they put in the best plan possible. So what does that mean for us to Rock Island-Milan School District? Well, just so you know we have been working on a return to school plan weeks prior to waiting for this information. We know that a lot of school districts, including ours are now going to be in overdrive, trying to put together a plan to keep safety as our number one goal in bringing our students back to school. With those guidelines of 50 or less individuals in the space that also means that we're going to have reduced numbers that can come back to our schools. So at this point I know that everyone is a little anxious about when will school start, and we already know that date for us August 3rd which is much more early than any other District around us which means that is definitely more important for us to get our plan in place and get it right. But it also means that there's a lot of anxiety wondering how we're going to return to school, if it'll be in person, if they'll be remote learning, if they'll be a blended model. We have been consulting with a number of members and the community, including some of our district leadership team, which includes parents, staff, students. We also put out several weeks ago I Remote Learning Needs Improvement assessment and we've got us some great information from how our parents staff and students deal with the implementation of remote learning and its impact. So now that we've gotten that opportunity to move forward from the Governor, from the State Superintendent, please know, that in the coming weeks, we will be getting a full plan out there, which will give you all the guidelines on the direction that will be moving forward I ask that you remain understanding; I ask that you remain flexible; because this is one of the most important decisions we ever had to make for Rock Island-Milan School District. We want you to know that safety of our children, safety of our staff members is job number one! Next week that will be a special Board [of Education] meeting. That information has went out, and one of the topics at the Board meeting is going to be talking to the board with respect to moving forward with our suggestions in gathering that information talking to community members, looking at a remote learning return to school, and also how we transition into in-person instruction. So there will be more information shared at the meeting next week on the 30th. I think that you can join online to get more information but also know that we are going to try and over communicate as much as possible again make sure that you the parents and community know how we're going to return to school and what will have in place to make sure that we do it safely. So keep the emails and questions coming, we know that they their they're continuing to come to us, but just know that we're all in this together with making the best decision for Rock Island-Milan School District 41. Not any other District in the state. but our very own/ So with that I'm going to end today's message because that was a lot. But again I cannot stress enough how important is that you work with us, and we remember that safety is our job number one and getting back to school with any in-person model. So stay safe, stay healthy and above all stay positive during these challenging times. Take care!

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A Message from Dr. Lawrence

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