St. Anthony-New Brighton families,

At the School Board’s Aug. 18 regular meeting, a Modified Hybrid Learning Model was approved for the start of the 2020-21 school year on Tuesday, Sept. 8:  

• St. Anthony-New Brighton School District (SANB) resides in both Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. Current cases in Hennepin County recommend a Hybrid approach, yet we will always error on the side of safety for our staff and our students. 
• A Modified Hybrid Model allows for more control of student and staff cohorts (pods) which will hopefully lessen and/or help contain the spread of COVID-19. 
• SANB consulted with experts— epidemiologists, pediatricians, psychologists, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)— as we developed our recommendation of starting the school year with a Modified Hybrid Model.
• We will be continually applying safety along with parent preference with how we schedule student and staff interactions.

What is a Modified Hybrid Learning Model?
A Modified Hybrid Learning Model prioritizes in-person learning for children with school-required services and school-dependent services. 

• School-required services include:
  • Students whose educational services are protected by federal law.
    • Special education services.
    • English language learners.
    • Students experiencing homelessness.
• School-dependent services include: 
  • Children whose parents are Tier 1 critical workers.
  • Children whose parents are not Tier 1 critical workers and need childcare through Village Kids. 
  • Children who have been identified for school-based social emotional and mental health support.

Virtual Town Hall Zoom meetings for families tonight at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m.
We will be providing a total of three virtual Town Hall Zoom meetings tonight for families to discuss the board-approved Modified Hybrid Learning Model for the start of the 2020-21 school year. Parents/guardians have the opportunity to email their questions ahead of time to communications@isd282.org to be addressed during each meeting. Families will also have the opportunity to ask questions during each live session. We plan to record the meetings and create an FAQ document to share with staff and families later this week. 
Join the webinar here. 

Childcare for Children Enrolled in Grades K-5 of Tier 1 Critical Workers 
Child care for children of Tier 1 critical workers will be provided for children in grades K-5 who are enrolled at Wilshire Park. The child care will be provided at Wilshire Park only on school days from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Staff will support distance learning at this time. Registration information can be found here.

Childcare for Children Enrolled in Grades K-5 of non-Tier 1 Critical Workers
Child care for children of non-Tier 1 critical workers will also be provided for children in grades K-5 who are enrolled at Wilshire Park. Village Kids will offer half and full day fee-based options for childcare and staff will support distance learning during this time. Registration information can be found here.

We understand this is a lot for families to absorb. Our goal is to remain clear and consistent with information as it becomes available. Our schools are currently working on their own individual messages that will include details for how the Modified Learning Model will be implemented at each level. They plan to share this information later this week. Please stay tuned.

While we cannot predict the future, we can continue to plan based on what we’ve experienced, what we have learned, and what may come our way. The MDH works in unison with local experts to determine if a learning model change is required, based on COVID-19 data. We will continue to keep everyone up-to-date with any potential changes to our plan in case we need to switch to a more-restrictive or less-restrictive model.

I hope to see many of you tonight during one of our three virtual Town Hall meetings. My goal is to be able to provide as much clarity and answer your questions directly. Thank you for taking the time to participate.

Sincerely,

Superintendent Dr. Renee Corneille
612-298-1979
rcorneille@isd282.org