May 20, 2021
Hello Conway Family,
I sincerely hope that you and your family are well. We are wrapping up what has been a successful hybrid model. When we were planning for the return of students to the building, there was a substantial amount of angst and trepidation. There were many hours devoted to planning and preparation. But we were determined to provide a positive experience for our students. I feel like we have accomplished that and more. There is no denying this has been a very tough year on many students and families. We don’t take that lightly. But it has been very rewarding to hear laughter in the building and see many smiling eyes. We have been averaging about 200 students in the building each day. The vast majority of our eligible students continue to show up each day. Concurrently, we have many students who have remained highly engaged in virtual instruction. I am very impressed with the skills that many of our teachers and students have developed while participating in virtual instruction.
I do worry a great deal about students who have not had success throughout this year. We know there were many hardships faced and unprecedented challenges that had to be overcome. In a typical year, we have a very small number of students who fail to meet the requirements for promotion to the next grade. This year is entirely different. There are a significant number of students who fall in that category. We also know that retaining students is often not the best solution. We want to reach out to any parent who has concerns about their child’s performance and talk about what is best for their child for this summer and next year. We have a few options that should be considered to best support these students.
The district is providing many summer learning opportunities. Although your initial reaction may be to want a normal summer experience for your child, we really hope that you will consider these options. These are not traditional summer school programs. These programs offer many engaging learning activities with real world connections. Here is the link to the JCPS Summer Program page.
https://sites.google.com/jefferson.kyschools.us/summer-learning/home
We also remind everyone about their obligations regarding JCPS provided technology. We are collecting all iPads, blocks and cords that were issued through the Verizon Innovative Learning program. Eighth graders who received Chromebooks are also required to turn in those as well. Sixth and seventh grade students who received a Chromebook will be allowed to keep them to support their learning through the summer. For our returning students, iPads will be reissued at the beginning of next school year.
We look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to call anytime. The main school number is 485-8233. You will be directed to the right person from there.