July 17, 2020
Bullock Creek Parents and Staff:
I hope this letter finds you well and you’ve enjoyed your 4th of July holiday. I am writing to provide an update on our plans for our return to school in the fall. On June 30th Governor Whitmer released her 2020-21 Return to School Roadmap and Executive Order 2020-142. Both of these documents provide public school districts with specific requirements and recommendations for the return to school. It is expected of public school districts to develop 3 plans for instruction during this pandemic. District administrators and teachers are in the process of developing a plan for level 1-3, a plan for level 4 and a plan for level 5. It is our hope to have all plans completed by the end of next week, sent to our Midland County ESA for approval, and to our school board for approval at our August 17, 2020 meeting.
After my June 24th letter, many parents contacted me about learning options for the fall. Bullock Creek is committed to providing a safe return to face-to-face learning. All details of this will be provided in our return to learning plans. That said, we will be efficiently screening staff and students upon entry into buildings, sanitizing busses and classrooms per recommendations, utilizing personal protective equipment that is appropriate for the level of the outbreak and organizing our school days to provide as much safety as possible for our staff and students. If there is a time when Bullock Creek is required to close due to COVID, our staff and students will be staged to transition to online learning. Once it is safe to return to school, we will transition back to face-to-face learning. We believe face-to-face learning is the most ideal learning environment. It is our hope that we can remain in face-to-face learning the entire 2020-21 school year, however, we must be prepared for all circumstances. The online learning during face-to-face closure will look much different than it did in the spring. All instruction will take place through Google Classroom. Individual teachers will establish their own Google Classroom at the very beginning of the school year. We believe this will be much more efficient for teachers, students, and parents. This will provide one location for teachers to connect with students utilizing a platform that our staff and students are already very familiar with. Assignments and grades will continue whether we are providing face-to–face learning or online instruction. It is our plan to make these transitions as fluid and as seamless as possible.
For those not ready to send their child back to school in the fall and seeking an alternative online option, Bullock Creek will be providing full-time online instruction as well. This will be for students not yet ready to return to school buildings. Parents will be asked to commit to a minimum of a semester for the full-time online option and will not be able to transition in and out of online except at designated times. Students will continue to remain Bullock Creek students during their online education and when they feel it is safe to return to school, they may transition back to face-to-face learning at the next available designated time. Details of our online program will be sent to you prior to July 24th and you will be asked to sign your child up by a designated time if you wish to enroll in our full-time online program.
These changes and challenges are difficult. As I say often, together we have remained strong in 2020. We’ve held our heads high and have done all we can to take care of each other. Let’s continue to encourage one another and focus on the great things we can do for our students. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me, or your child’s principal. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.