Dear School Leaders,
Well one thing I know for sure, CSI school leaders know how to jump into action and adapt to this new reality. Our school leaders are flexible, innovative, action-oriented, and care deeply about their school communities. As for all of us at CSI, we are fixing up our home offices and trying to find quiet places to work (I know that is particularly challenging for parents with young children). As you can imagine, we are focused on providing the most timely, accurate, and valuable information as possible. Additionally, we know that you need a new kind of support as you work on adjusting your educational program to distance learning. Most importantly, we know that student learning is second only to keeping your community safe and healthy.
We continue to share information on a multitude of topics on our
School Health Updates website
. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that we will be requiring all schools to submit a remote learning plan to ensure that our schools are aligned with the Governor’s Executive Order. We also understand that we will need to provide some training and information on how to develop these plans, which is one reason why
we are convening groups of schools with similar educational models
next week. These model-specific charter collaboration opportunities have generated quite a bit of interest throughout Colorado and the country, so we are embracing that fact that this crisis is creating new opportunities. Also, please mark your calendars for our
virtual All School Leaders Meeting on Monday, March 23rd at 12:00
. I know many of you were planning on being on spring break, but I’m assuming that most of you will not be traveling and are in the midst of planning for your new way of doing school.
In addition to the
Governor’s Executive Order
that was sent out a couple of days ago, this afternoon I participated in another superintendents conference call with the Governor and the Commissioner, which provided clarification on a variety of issues:
- Expected time frame for extended school closures
- March forecast and related budget planning
- Addressing accessibility challenges through
- internet services
- use of school buildings
- Open Meetings Law for virtual meetings
- High school graduation
- Reducing trauma
- Phasing in of emergency child care guidance
I should mention that the CSI Board met earlier this week and expressed its support for our schools and has directed our staff to ensure that all schools have the resources they need to provide distance learning for all their students. Board members also stated that they are convinced that CSI will lead the way through this unbelievable crisis and will demonstrate the ingenuity of CSI school leaders. I share that enthusiasm and believe that COVID-19 will bring out the best in us. We will continue to learn a new lexicon as well as a new way of doing things. Also, history has shown us that shared sacrifice and societal challenges provide opportunities for us to demonstrate how Americans can be united.
Terry
