COVID Update - March 18, 2020
18 March 2020
Greenback Family,
With our COVID-19 health crisis, I know the landscape is changing fast and that contributes to an uneasy, anxious feeling. I’m sure we all fall into one of three camps: 1) feeling that the responses are over the top and unwarranted, 2) feeling that the responses are not going far enough, and 3) somewhere in the middle. There is at least some confusion about what the Governor’s Executive Order really means since the typical headline does not get across the full message.
Our building teams will develop plans for delivering education that keeps each group in mind. I know there is great fear out there, and we will respect that. We will follow official State and Federal health guidance. Our dedicated teachers will do their best to help kids keep growing. We cannot duplicate all of the excellent learning that happens in the classroom with the alternatives we develop. But, we will do our best to make it a positive experience for our students. It will also look different at each grade level. Those grade level teacher teams will work together.
We will not make this solely online learning, but it will be a tool. To that end, I want to relay that Cox Business has offered to provide Wi-Fi for those in need. At this time, it is for 30 days. Here’s the quote to us:
“Please find attached the flyers that you can use to get information to parents. We are making changes to this program on a fairly regular basis due to the rate at which things are changing for our schools. As new information becomes available I will make sure you get it.
We have also opened up all of our hotspots nationwide to anyone for free. Please go to www.cox.com/hotspots to see what hotspots are available in your area.”
We will post the flyers to our website and Facebook pages.
There will be anxiety about big events for our older students—prom and graduation, for example. We will delay making decisions so we can see how the landscape shifts in the coming weeks.
Tomorrow, we will have information out about “grab ‘n go” lunches for anyone aged 1-18.
Many Greenbacks are thinking ahead and doing important work to help our community. This time requires positive spirit to keep the oars rowing and the boat moving forward.
Tony Helfrich
Superintendent
Pratt Schools USD 382
