Dear Parents, Guardians and Students,
I'm writing to share some important updates to the beginning of the school year at Wayzata High School. Let me begin by stating this is not the letter I had hoped to write back in June when we started planning for the upcoming school year. I want to personally thank all of you who shared your thoughts since Governor Walz announced his plan for schools to reopen. As you might imagine, we have had many thoughtful ideas, concerns, strategies and questions provided to us by parents, staff and others. Your input has helped shape our thinking about how to best move forward.
After much deliberation, we have determined that Wayzata High School will start the school year under a modified hybrid learning plan. Within this plan, some courses will be predominantly hybrid, others will have occasional in-person experiences, while the remaining courses will be in a full distance learning model. Hybrid courses are currently being identified and will be indicated on students' schedules in Skyward next week.
A modified hybrid model essentially merges our hybrid and distance choice plans for all high school students, so no one has to choose between the two. Students will get to keep the classes they registered for in the spring. Whether or not you "opt-in" no longer matters. Accommodations and/or course adjustments will be made for students who are registered for identified hybrid courses, but choose to remain in a full distance learning model.
Why the Change? As you might imagine, this was a difficult decision to make knowing the impact it will have on families, students and staff. Scheduling a hybrid learning model in a large comprehensive high school like WHS presented many challenges. Over the course of our planning, it became evident that a 50% alternating day model was not our best starting point. Instead, a more methodical approach to increasing our in-person attendance made the most sense. In making this decision, we considered the following critical factors for a school consisting of 3,700 students, 430 staff and over 400 course offerings:
Moving in this direction will allow us to create the safest, most equitable and meaningful academic experience for our students. Additionally, as changes in the number of COVID-19 cases continue to evolve, we will be able to seamlessly transition between in-person, hybrid and distance learning models minimizing the overall impact on learning. This would not have been possible under the previous proposal.
What Does this Mean for WHS?
Moving Forward With so many uncertainties, it is hard to know for sure how long this will be our base model of learning. Our initial thinking is that this modified hybrid model may remain in effect through the first semester. However, if/when conditions allow us to gradually bring additional students back to campus, we will be able to do so quickly and seamlessly by not having to manage two large and very different learning models as previously proposed.
In closing, as an educator and parent of high school-age children, I understand schools provide students with important social interactions and experiences throughout a normal school day. A compelling rationale for having some form of in-person learning is the need for students to regain a sense of normalcy and have positive social experiences during this uncertain time. Unfortunately, these times are anything but normal. Beginning in a modified hybrid model will give us the best chance to provide students with a consistently high-quality learning experience under these difficult circumstances.
More specific details for the start of the school year will be provided in subsequent communication. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at Scott.Gengler@wayzataschools.org or 763-745-6610.
Sincerely,
Scott Gengler |