Dear Parents/Guardians and Community members,

I hope this correspondence finds you, your family members, and friends feeling well.  

Please be reminded that there will be no distance learning during spring recess, Monday, April 6 through Monday, April 13, 2020.  I sincerely hope this break provides an opportunity for everyone to enjoy additional time with family, without the pressures that come with school assignments.  Also, don’t forget to take time to visit the Cranford School Counseling Corner for resources focused on health and wellness for you and your family.  Spring recess could be a great time to implement some strategies that may help alleviate the stress people are feeling during this health-related pandemic. The website also includes hotline numbers should you or a family member need additional support.

As I mentioned in a previous correspondence, the current Emergency Education Plan (Home Instructional /Distance Learning) was based on a two week window and focused on providing students with enrichment, supplemental activities and new instructional topics that could be completed autonomously.  However, now that the Governor has closed schools to students statewide and recently stated that he does not intend to assess the reopening of schools until at least April 17, 2020, at the earliest, the District needed to transition its focus on providing an even greater continuity of education through the infusion of live interaction, while continuing to balance what is reasonable for staff, parents/guardians, and students.  We believe that, collaboratively, we have developed a plan that strikes this appropriate balance. The full details of the updated Emergency Education Plan (Home Instructional / Distance Learning) plan can be found here. 

Please note the major changes to the plan, which will commence District-wide on Tuesday, April 14, are provided below:

• Faculty will identify key concepts and focus on items that students will need moving forward and will use live audio / visual platforms, such as Google Meet and / or Zoom to support these efforts. This modality will also promote greater connections among the teacher, children, and one another.  Towards this end, please complete the Parent / Guardian Consent Form and Release for Video / Audio Conferencing in PowerSchool ASAP, but no later than April 6, so your child can more fully participate and interact with their teacher and his/her class.  

Directions: Log into Powerschool, Click consent form at the top of the screen, and Fill out the form.

• “Office Hours” are replaced by live sessions which students are expected to attend. Here are the school schedules for the live sessions, which will start on Tuesday, April 14:
  High School Schedule - with student graphic organizer
  Middle School Schedule - with student graphic organizer

Elementary School Schedule - with student graphic organizer

• New Grading Procedures for Grades 6-12

• High School final exams have been cancelled (This is Not Applicable for grades 6-8)

• Full year courses: marking periods 3 and 4 grades will be combined and equal 50% of a student’s final grade 

• Spring semester courses: marking periods 3 and 4 will be combined and equal 100% of a student’s final grade

• Pass/Fail will continue to be employed in special circumstances and on a case by case basis in collaboration with the school’s administration. 

Please note that attendance procedures remain unchanged from the original plan.  Students will be assumed present, unless notified of absence. Parents/Guardians should follow usual absence notification procedures communicated by each school.

Upon review of the updated Emergency Education Plan, please pay special attention to the last slide, titled, “Additional Thoughts.”  These important sentiments are also noted below:

• Empathy is key! We do not know what is happening in each student’s life and how this situation may be affecting them or their family and we do not know what is happening in a faculty member’s life and how they are being affected!  As a community, we need to be understanding. 

• Do the best that you can ...this is unchartered territory for all!

• Start with heart for students, for faculty, for parents/guardians!

• Faculty will not cram everything into each lesson...Faculty will identify key concepts and focus on items that students will need moving forward.

• It is a total of 2 hours of work a week for each class / subject, which may include the Live Sessions, depending on how those sessions are structured (Students should plan for approximately 10 hours of total school related work per week).

• Take deep breaths!!  We are all in this together and we will get through this together!      

• Don’t forget to visit the Cranford School Counseling Corner

Again, I cannot thank you enough for your flexibility, patience, and collaboration as we work through this evolving situation together.  

I am so appreciative to be a part of the Cranford Community.  Let’s continue to take care of ourselves and each other!  

Sincerely,

Scott Rubin