Sent to all secondary IHD families & staff on March 3, 2021

RE: Secondary IHD Program to Transition to In-Person Learning

In their meeting yesterday (March 2), the Pandemic Response Advisory Team recommended that the Secondary IHD program transition from the hybrid learning model to the in-person learning model on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. 

The Pandemic Response Advisory Team recommendation to shift the Secondary IHD program to the in-person learning model on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 will now go to the School Board for approval at their March 22 regular meeting. The secondary schools in the IHD program include East Middle School, West Middle School and Shakopee High School. 

Additionally, there will be NO school for secondary IHD students on Monday, April 12, 2021. This day will be used as a preparation day for teachers to return to in-person learning. 

Please note, Shakopee Online will continue to provide distance learning for K-12 students in their program.

NOTE: Tokata Learning Center has additional flexibility in providing learning services due to the unique nature of their programs. 

Additional Secondary IHD Updates & Information

• Important Dates | Click here for the full district calendar

  • April 2-11 | Spring Break | No School for K-12 Students 

  • April 12 | No School for Secondary IHD Students | Teacher Transition Day 

  • April 13 | All IHD secondary students return to school every day 

• Meals

  • In-school meals: Per a recent USDA extension, school meals will continue to be offered to ALL students free of charge, which includes onsite meals for secondary IHD students. Students and their families will not need to fund meal accounts. 

    • A free and reduced meal form ( application for educational benefits) should still be on file for those families who qualify as funds are applied to additional areas outside of meals.

• Questions? Please email Carol in Food Services at ctscheak@shakopee.k12.mn.us or call (952) 496-5141.

• School Start/End Time & Schedule

  • Secondary IHD students will keep the same school start and end times as well as the daily class schedule they have been using during the hybrid learning model.

    • East and West Middle Schools: 4 period block schedule; 7:45am - 1:55pm

    • Shakopee High School: 4 period block schedule; 8:20am - 2:30pm

• Transportation 

  • Secondary IHD students will ride the same bus route (stop times and bus unchanged)

    • Reminder details are available in parent portal.

• Health and Safety

  • The return to in-person learning means we need to maintain our diligence in keeping our school community safe.  This gives us the greatest opportunity to have all our students in our buildings each and every day. 

    • Please remember to stay home if you experience any COVID-19 symptoms and call your school to report the absence.

    • Mask wearing is required. Physical distancing is expected when possible. Frequent hand washing is strongly recommended.

    • Custodians and staff will continue to disinfect and clean high touch surfaces throughout the day.

Sent to all secondary families & staff on February 19, 2021

RE: Important Change - Early Release on Monday, February 22

Dear Shakopee Public Schools Secondary Families,

The district continues to work through staff COVID-19 vaccine availability and priority guidance with Scott County and the Minnesota Department of Health.  This morning we received new information that impacts secondary student schedules on Monday, February 22.  100 COVID-19 vaccines will be available for secondary staff  in the afternoon on Monday, February 22. In order to accommodate secondary staff vaccine appointments, the following adjustments will occur on Monday, February 22 (‘A’ day):

• East & West Middle School IHD students will be released at 1:15 p.m. (normally 1:55 p.m.)
• Shakopee High School IHD students will be released at 1:45 p.m. (normally 2:30 p.m.)
  • Additional adjustments may also be made to the daily schedule in order to accommodate this early release (i.e. adjusted block times, lunch time). Students and families will receive direct communication from the building, if applicable. 
  • End of day transportation routes will be adjusted to accommodate the early release.
• Tokata Learning Center will NOT be released early and therefore operate as normal on Monday, February 22.
• Shakopee Online secondary students may experience slight adjustments during their 4th block as some teachers also provide instruction in the secondary IHD program. A student’s teacher will relay any changes directly to the impacted class. 
• The above adjustments ONLY apply on Monday, February 22. Secondary IHD classes will resume per the normal schedule on Tuesday, February 23 as a ‘B’ day.  

Thank you for your flexibility and supporting our staff and community.

Sent to all IHD families & staff and Pearson Early Learning Center families on February 17, 2021

RE: COVID-19 Health Protocols

As a district, we understand schools do not operate in isolation from the greater community. In an effort to provide as much onsite learning opportunities for our students as possible, we want to continue to encourage persons in our community to make choices that follow the most current health safety protocols from the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  Our collective actions will help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and infections of students and staff within our schools, as well as the greater community. 

In regards to students and staff attending or participating in onsite school and activities, please continue to:

• Take your (or your child’s) temperature daily prior to attending school/work.
• Protect yourself and others by wearing a face covering when at the school site; wash your hands often with soap and water; cover your cough and sneeze; and avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.
• Stay home from school, work, child care and other activities when you feel ill. 
• For reminders on COVID-19 symptoms and district health services resources, click on the appropriate student and staff IHD guide noted below.
• Elementary 
• Secondary 
• Follow health safety guidance from the MDH and CDC
• While our district will not require special travel notification, restrictions or attendance/absence travel management beyond the standard process, we ask that all staff and students please familiarize themselves with the most current guidance from the MDH and CDC as it relates to travel.
• For a summary of CDC travel guidelines, which includes recommendations on domestic and international travel COVID-19 testing and reduction of nonessential activities, please click here.
• The Minnesota Department of Education and MDH strongly recommend students and families in the hybrid or in-person learning model receive a COVID-19 test every two weeks. Shakopee Public Schools does not offer COVID-19 tests for students and their families. Families can find locations for free COVID-19 testing on the MDH’s website as well as Scott County’s website.

Thank you for working together to keep our schools and community safe. 

COVID-19 Student Attendance Line Reminders

An IHD student who is attending school in-person or in the hybrid portion of the learning model should stay home and their parent/guardian contact the attendance line in the following situations:

• When a student has COVID-19 related symptoms (one more common symptom or at least two less common symptoms).
• When a family member in their immediate household has COVID-19 symptoms (one more common symptom or at least two less common symptoms) and/or is in the process of being tested OR has a positive COVID-19 PCR test.

Sent to Secondary IHD families & staff on February 4, 2021

RE: Secondary IHD Program Transition to Hybrid Learning 

Per the action item approved at the January 25 School Board meeting, and the  February 4 Pandemic Response Advisory Team meeting, Shakopee secondary IHD students in grades 6-12 at East Middle School, West Middle School and Shakopee High School will transition into the hybrid portion of the learning model per the below schedule. 

• On February 16, all secondary IHD students in grades 6-12 will transition to hybrid learning.

• February 16 will be an ‘A’ day, onsite
• February 17 will be a ‘B’ day, onsite
• The A/B rotation will continue until a future change in learning model. An updated district calendar with secondary A/B day rotation can be found here.

• February 10 and 11 will be no school days for secondary IHD students only.

• These days will be used as planning/preparation days for secondary IHD staff.
• Previously scheduled no school days will not be changed.
• February 12 and 15 are district wide no school days for all PreK-12 students and remain unchanged.

Please note, Tokata Learning Center follows components of the IHD program, but has additional flexibility in providing services due to the unique nature of their programs. Therefore, their programming does not follow the above schedule.

Additional Secondary IHD Updates & New Information

The following video summarizes the information presented below: https://youtu.be/tCxzsqzGqno

• Secondary IHD Transition to Hybrid Learning: What to Expect and What’s Changed
• Click on the above link to view an important summary of secondary IHD staff/student updates including COVID-19 related procedures.
• A/B Rotation & Hybrid at Home Days

• Secondary students will keep the same 'A' or 'B' day designation that they were assigned in the beginning of the school year.
• Students and parents/guardians can access the A/B designation in Infinite Campus. Need help accessing Infinite Campus? Click here.
• Students will be given work during their in-school hybrid day to complete during their hybrid at home day. Work will also be posted in Canvas modules and the Canvas announcements section. The Canvas calendar will also reflect hybrid at home assignments.
• Parents/guardians have full accessibility in Canvas to check hybrid at home day assignments. Need help accessing Canvas? Click here.
• Students will mark themselves present in Infinite Campus during hybrid at home days. Teachers can provide support as needed.

• Meals 
• In-school meals: Per a recent USDA extension, school meals will continue to be offered to ALL students free of charge, which includes onsite meals for secondary IHD students during hybrid learning. Students and their families will not need to fund meal accounts. 
• A free and reduced meal form (application for educational benefits) should still be on file for those families who qualify as funds are applied to additional areas outside of meals.

• Weekly district meal pick up: The below important updates only apply to those secondary IHD families who have registered for weekly Tuesday meal pickup.
• The last day to pick up weekly district meals at your pre-selected location is Tuesday, February 9th. Starting the week of February 15th, secondary IHD students will take home meals during their in-school day for the hybrid at home day. Locations within the school for student meal collection vary by building. 
• Note: Shakopee Online families that registered for weekly meals can continue to pick up each Tuesday. Additional details will be sent direct to those families. 
• Questions? Please email Carol in Food Services at ctscheak@shakopee.k12.mn.us or call (952) 496-5141.

• School Start/End Time & Schedule
• Secondary IHD students will keep the same school start and end times as well as block schedule as the beginning of the school year.
• East and West Middle Schools: 4 period block schedule; 7:45am - 1:55pm
• Shakopee High School: 4 period block schedule: 8:20am - 2:30pm
• Transportation 
• Secondary IHD students will ride the same bus route (stop, time and bus unchanged).
• Reminder details are available in parent portal.
• Winter Weather Notifications
• In cases of weather-related changes such as snow or cold weather concerns, the district will communicate any adjustments with staff and families in various ways. 
• In the morning, if weather causes school to be canceled or delayed, the decision will be made by 5:30 a.m. Communication starts as soon as the decision is made. If there’s the need to make adjustments prior to that morning, communication will be sent no sooner than 24 hours prior to the start of school.
• Announcements will be shared with WCCO-TV and Shakopee Valley News, sent direct to parents via Infinite Campus (call, text and email), posted on district social media (Twitter and Facebook) and district/school websites.
• Please make sure your contact information is up-to-date in Infinite Campus or by contacting your home school.
• Additional information can be found here.
• Future Communication & Learning Plan Adjustments
• The district will continue to communicate any major updates to the secondary IHD transition to hybrid learning in a timely fashion. Your student’s home secondary school will provide further details on programming, building resources/procedures and other day-to-day related items. Please continue to check your Canvas account and district email on file for updates.
• As we have been, the district will continue to monitor COVID-19 building and Scott County data daily and during the weekly Pandemic Response Advisory Team meetings. Any transition from hybrid learning to distance or -in-person learning for secondary IHD students (grades 6-12) will be communicated at least ten (10) days prior to the intended transition date and include proper preparation days for teachers/staff. 
• District and County COVID-19 case rates are posted on the district website daily.

Shakopee Online Reminder:

• Shakopee Online is a year-long virtual program separate from the IHD program. Students enrolled and participating in Shakopee Online are not included in transition/planning day schedule adjustments nor are the above details applicable. Please refer to the district calendar for Shakopee Online no school days.

Sent to Secondary IHD families & staff on January 28, 2021

RE: Secondary IHD Program to Remain in Distance Learning 

During the January 28th Shakopee Public Schools Pandemic Response Advisory Team meeting, the latest Scott County COVID-19 case rate data was reviewed. As previously relayed, secondary schools in the IHD program (East Middle School, West Middle School, Shakopee High School and *Tokata Learning Center) will transition from distance to hybrid learning when the 14-day COVID-19 cases per 10,000 residents in Scott County falls below 25 and into the range of 15 to 25 cases. Unfortunately, the case rates have not yet fallen below 25 cases per 10,000.  Thus, for the time being, the secondary IHD program will remain in distance learning. For a summary of Scott County COVID-19 case data, click here.

Next step

• The district’s Pandemic Response Advisory Team (PRAT) will meet again on Thursday, February 4, 2021 to examine the COVID-19 data and determine if secondary IHD will transition to hybrid learning on February 16.

*Please note, Tokata Learning Center follows components of the IHD program, but has additional flexibility in providing services due to the unique nature of their programs.

Why is the range from 15 up to 25 important?

Since the beginning of the school year, the Pandemic Response Advisory Team, School Board and district leaders have been using the rationale that ‘the cases per 10,000 data needs to stabilize in the middle of the new, lower range’ prior to making a transition from distance to hybrid learning (or hybrid to in-person). To give more clarity, in the current situation, the middle range for hybrid learning has been defined as being from 15 up to 25 cases per 10,000. Waiting for case numbers to drop into the middle of the lower range prior to making a learning model transition in the secondary IHD program is being done so the program doesn’t bounce back and forth between hybrid and distance learning models, if it can be prevented. The goal is to make this type of transition with a solid expectation our secondary IHD program will be able to safely stay in the new learning model for an extended period of time.

Important Future Secondary IHD Communication 

• Friday, February 5: The district will communicate an update of the Pandemic Response Advisory Team meeting on February 4.
• Previous communications can be found here.
• Upcoming district no school days remain unchanged.

Please continue to work together as a community to reduce the spread of COVID-19.