An email to all Elmore County Public School employees March 30 conveys that after further consideration, staff members will not be required to come back to work Wednesday, April 1. Below is the email sent out to employees from Superintendent Richard Dennis. Originally, some staff members were asked to come in for training this week for virtual/distance learning and training.
Below is the letter in its entirety:
UPDATE as of March 30, 2020
The Elmore County Public Schools are committed to providing our students instruction to meet their learning needs for the remainder of this school year. We expect our employees to be able to provide instruction from home once we have completed necessary tasks for set up.
Upon further consideration and in an effort to ensure the health ad safety of our employees, our school faculty and staff members are not required to come back to work on Wednesday, April 1, 2020. We will, however, open our schools to those employees who are willing to volunteer to help complete necessary tasks to begin online school on April 6, 2020, to include parent communications, preparation of technology for distribution, and webinars/online training for staff. We expect these tasks to take one to two days this week to be ready to begin instruction on April 6.
If you choose not to volunteer on Wednesday and/or Thursday of this week, please understand you will still be expected to begin instruction April 6, 2020, to those students assigned to you. Your school administrator will reach out to you with tasks to be completed at home as well as other instructions and expectations no later than Friday, April 3, 2020.
Thank you for your willingness to help ensure that every student is empowered and every student succeeds.
Richard E. Dennis
Superintendent of Education
Education programs across the country are facing similar issues, in their attempt to continue education by distance learning or other programs during the COVID-10 Pandemic. As Dr. Dennis said earlier this week, “This is a new world” for so many, whatever their career field as shutdowns continue and the virus continues to spread.
ORIGINAL STORY BY SARAH STEPHENS
OWNER, ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
We have received several questions from readers, asking if it is true that Elmore County Teachers will return to the classroom in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and schools being “officially” closed for the rest of the year.
We reached out to Elmore County Supt. Richard Dennis, and he clarified some misinformation that is circulating across social media. In essence, teachers will return for training on the virtual learning program this week, but the ultimate goal is to have them working from home. There will be a small base group of school employees that will be working officially on campuses, but they will be following CDC and Alabama Department of Public Health guidelines.
“We are getting ready to launch the virtual program, but to do that you have to have lesson plans, etc., ready to go,” Dennis said. “For those students out there that do not have the technology presently, they are going to have to have curriculum packets. We will have to have someone who can pick those up and deliver them, and teachers will have to grade them. My goal is to have teachers work from home in a virtual capacity. But this Wednesday, we have to get the process in place to be able to launch that program next Monday.”
Dennis continued, “A lot of students don’t have the technology in their homes that is available at the school. So, that technology will have to be broken down, we have to identify students who need it, and set up a system where we can distribute that by next week.
“Today I have been working on broadband through the Elmore County Commission and ECEDA and they will help us publish an interactive map that would show all hotspots that will potentially be available for those without internet capabilities. So, we are working on that, and preparing to roll it out. Those who do have computers and technology at home can potentially begin classes Monday. Beyond that, we are checking out equipment to be signed out for students to have the ability to work. It will take some time. Between now and Friday, teachers will be working independently in their rooms preparing assignments to accomplish that goal.
“There will be small group meetings at times, with less than 10 people with social distancing. We are setting up training online. Teachers will be in their own room. They will be able to communicate by phone or other technology. If there is an issue where someone tries to encroach on the social distancing plan, individual principals will be handling that.”
Tuesday, March 31, Dennis will host a webinar with all principals in the county.
As for operations at the School Board operations, they continue with social distancing in place, he said.
“We have staff in the board office six feet apart. We will practice that. This will absolutely change the way we conduct business, and this could carry over into next year as well.”
Dennis said that thousands of Chrome Books have been ordered to supplement the supply needed to cover school children.
“We will still depend on people to use their own computers at home if they have them. The goal is to have enough as we progress through this process. That is our goal. Ultimately, the majority of Elmore County teachers and staff will be working from home. But we will have a base group operating on campus to prepare meals and do certain tasks on campus. Again, this includes picking up packets and delivering to rendezvous sites. We are planning that now. Principals will be clarifying how that will be done at individual schools. But throughout this, we are following the CDC guidelines as well as those from the Alabama Department of Public Health.”
Dennis said he wanted to recognize some real heroes during this crisis.
“Our Child Nutrition Program staff and volunteers, and drivers have been up here working. On Friday they served 37,000 meals across the county,” Dennis said.
To follow the latest updates, visit the Elmore County School Board website or the Facebook page. The website is
elmoreco.com
