Dear Rising Tide Charter Public School Community,
Through the current health crisis, we have needed to rely on the strength of our school community as our school structures, family schedules, and social interactions have been disrupted. Through the end of the 2019-2020 school year, our students, families, teachers, and staff members demonstrated tremendous flexibility, understanding, and support.
As we approach the 2020-2021 school year, we will need to keep supporting one another and remain flexible, as there are no easy solutions to operating schools, or being parents with children in schools, during a pandemic. Schools are inherently social spaces, where students can grow and learn through relationships with their teachers and their peers. While we will not be able to begin the upcoming school year in a standard manner, fully in-person without masks and physical distance restrictions, we will be able to creatively fulfill Rising Tide’s mission and key design elements through our structure of supportive relationships and our approach to teaching and learning. Rising Tide’s inquiry and skills-based approach fosters personal and academic growth in students; the approach encourages students to reflect, take responsibility, ask questions, and think critically. Whether students are learning at home or at school this year, Rising Tide will continue to foster the development of skills, the exploration of content knowledge, and the deepening of understanding with each student.
Since the Initial Fall School Reopening Guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) was released on June 25, we have conducted a feasibility study of our building and campus and have been preparing to meet the health and safety requirements to enable students and staff members to occupy the school building at 59 Armstrong Road. We have planned for three models for reopening schools: in-person learning with new safety requirements, a hybrid of in-person and remote learning, and the continuation of remote learning.
Our collaborative planning teams have been guided by the following goals:
- Prioritize safety, support, wellness, and understanding for the entire school community
- Implement Rising Tide’s Key Design Elements:
- Provide a strong academic program that fosters the development of skills
- Provide opportunities for students to connect to the Plymouth region
- Provide students with a strong school community
- Hold strong to Rising Tide’s identity through the challenges
Although we are not able to predict exactly how the 2020-2021 school year will unfold, we have planned for a consistent structure, staffing model, technology platform, and approach to teaching and learning that will provide a continuity for learning for each student, regardless of any shifts between a remote learning model, a hybrid model, or an in-person model.
On August 5, our Board of Trustees voted for Rising Tide to move forward in preparing for reopening school with a hybrid learning model, with the understanding that if the public health data in our region changes, we will be able to quickly shift to a fully remote model. Families are able to opt out of the hybrid model to have their children continue remote learning as a Rising Tide student for any segment of the 2020-2021 school year. Students will follow the same schedule whether learning at school or learning at home through the hybrid model. For the 2020-2021 school year, we are able to return to a more standard amount of structured learning in our Middle School and Upper School schedules.
Last week, our Board of Trustees also approved an updated calendar for the 2020-2021 school year. The update reflects the directive from DESE Commissioner Riley, in which all public schools in Massachusetts must implement at least 10 days of professional development for teachers prior to the start of school. All Massachusetts public schools will have a calendar reduced to 170 days, compared to the standard 180 school days, to account for the additional professional development time. Our first day of school will be on Wednesday, September 16, 2020.
To support students in their transition to the school year, we plan to stagger in-person student orientation gatherings in small groups on Monday, September 14 and Tuesday, September 15. Wednesdays, September 16 will be a remote learning day for all students to gather with each of their classes through Google Meet. On Thursday, September 17, students in Cohort A will learn in school while students in Cohort B will learn at home. On Friday, September 18, students in Cohort B will learn in school while students in Cohort A will learn at home. Students will begin the regular hybrid model schedule on Monday, September 21.I invite you to view Rising Tide’s Reopening Plan that I have submitted to the Department of Elementary and Education today:
Rising Tide Charter Public School Reopening Plan, August 14, 2020.
Thank you to our parents/guardians for assisting with our cohort, transportation, and remote support planning by completing the Parent/Guardian Reopening Form this week. As we are taking into account siblings, carpool groups, bus plans, and remote learning plans for the designation of our cohort groups, we plan to share the cohort designations with families by the last week in August.
We will continue to be in touch as we lead up to the start of school in September.
Sincerely,
Michael O’Keefe
Head of School
