Welcome to Wayzata Transition! Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year! I'm hoping that you are all healthy and have had a great summer. It's hard to believe that the school year is right around the corner and that it will not be a "typical" start. This is not how I was expecting to open the new school year. The District has been working to make the best plans for our students during the pandemic. At this point, the District has chosen to start in a hybrid model. This was not an easy decision. Each level—ECSE, elementary, middle, high school and Transition—has unique needs and therefore, we cannot make one game plan and have every level fit into it. As with the rest of the district, we have taken into consideration our building size and spaces, our staffing, transportation, and our unique transition programming. Please be sure to visit the District's Wayzata Learns and COVID-19 webpages for the most up-to-date information.
New This Year Transition Expansion - Wayzata Transition-HTC Last year was the first year of Wayzata Transition and it was such a success. So, this year we have added another transition classroom at Hennepin Technical College (HTC) in Eden Prairie. They will also get the real life feel of being on a college campus. Transition students at the HTC location will be working towards their goals of attending a 2- or 4-year college by being able to apply for and take HTC college classes. For the students attending the HTC location, more information will be coming to you soon with information on classes, HTC building procedures, materials to have for the school year, technology, etc.
New Staff Jill Voltin will be joining the teaching team at Wayzata Transition as a teacher at Wayzata Transition-HTC. She worked as a para in the transition program and was a substitute teacher last school year. Jill also taught ESY this past summer in Wayzata. Jill has her BA in Psychology and well as her MA in Special Education with teaching licenses in Social Studies, Specific Learning Disabilities, Work Experience and she is currently finishing her Autism Spectrum Disorder license. In her spare time, Jill likes to shop, travel, and spend time exploring new places with her family.
Important Information for Fall 2020 Transition Opening — Plymouth Building With all the different variables that needed to be considered, it was determined that at the Transition building in Plymouth, we are not able to safely accommodate all of our transition students in the building at the same time. The students who attend the Plymouth Transition building will attend school in-person for half a day every day. During this in-person time, instruction will focus on home living (e.g., meal prep, budgeting, daily living skills, pre-employment skills, career readiness skills, social skills, social communication skills, etc.). At this time, we will not be able to be out in our community (e.g., Cub Foods, Target, YMCA, etc.). The teachers will be providing community activities and ideas for students to complete outside of the school day that meets each of their individual needs. There will be more detailed information coming in the near future.
Lunch Options At this time, we are working with Culinary to determine how our lunch will look at both locations. Culinary will need to make changes as to how they deliver meals to all of our students. Once this has been determined, information will be sent to the students and their families.
Open House and Visitors I am afraid to say that we will not be able to have an open house this fall. So that you can see the building, I am sharing the storybook of Wayzata Transition. At this time, no visitors are permitted inside District buildings; only staff and students.
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 Joanne.Karch@wayzataschools.com or 763-745-4403. |