Superintendent's Newsletter - Mar. 4, 2021
Dear Salt Lake City School District community,
During this week’s meeting, the Board of Education approved moving middle and high school students from two days a week of in-person learning to four days a week. In-person learning will be available on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Wednesdays will be digital learning days, with students learning remotely.
The move to four days a week of in-person learning will begin Monday, March 22. You will receive more details from your child’s school and teachers.
This new in-person schedule does not change plans for our remote learners. Students and families who wish to continue in remote-only learning can remain remote.
Changes to Student Meals
Starting tomorrow (Friday, March 5), there will be changes to our distribution of meals for children. Five school sites will no longer offer Grab and Go meals to the public. They are Beacon Heights Elementary, Bonneville Elementary, Dilworth Elementary, Ensign Elementary, and Uintah Elementary.
A review of participation rates at these schools and their proximity to other school meal sites has shown us that we could better utilize our Child Nutrition staff by closing these sites for Grab and Go meals. The five schools will continue to serve meals to students who attend those schools, but other children ages 0-18 in the community will need to visit a nearby school where Grab and Go meals are served.
The updated list of community Grab and Go meal sites for Friday, March 5, and beyond can be found on our website.
Digital Learning Day
Friday, March 5, is a Digital Learning Day. This means students will not attend in-person learning. All learning will happen remotely. Teachers will provide asynchronous online lessons, which students can do on their own time and at their own pace, just as they do on Wednesdays. Grab and Go meals will be available at designated sites listed in the link above, 10:30 am-12:30 pm.
Emergency Make-up Day
You may remember the powerful windstorms that knocked out power in our city and delayed the start of school last September. To maintain eligibility for state educational funds and to comply with State Board rules, we are required to make up those missed instructional days. We have worked with the Utah State Board of Education and come to an agreement that students will need to attend school on Monday, June 7, to make up for the days missed in September.
June 7 was already scheduled as an Emergency Make-up Day in our 2020-21 school calendar and will now be a regular instructional day for students.
Food for Families
Our three Community Learning Centers will be distributing food for families during March. All families are welcome. The schedule for next week is listed below.
March 11, 2021
- Glendale Community Learning Center (1388 S. Navajo Street (1340 W.), Salt Lake City, Utah)
12:00-2:00 pm - Rose Park Community Learning Center (1105 W. 1000 N., Salt Lake City, Utah)
2:30-4:30 pm
HERO Project
Salt Lake City School District has agreed to participate in the University of Utah’s Health and Economic Recovery Outreach (HERO) project. The HERO project is sponsored by the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget as a way to accurately determine how much COVID-19 has spread in Utah without testing every person in the state. The data gathered from the project will inform decision-makers in the state as they work to help keep residents safe.
Information regarding this project will be sent via email to parents of high school students attending East, West, and Highland High Schools. Parents can choose whether to voluntarily participate in this study. The email will include information about the study and a voluntary, anonymous survey for high school students regarding their activity during the pandemic. The answers to this student survey will be received by the HERO project and will help researchers better understand the spread of COVID-19 among this age group. The email will include a place for parents to indicate consent for their students to access the survey and will provide access to view the survey. If you have questions about the HERO project, you may call (801) 664-8835 during normal business hours, or email utcovid19projectk12@utah.edu.
New Website Design
This weekend, we will be launching a new design for our district website - www.slcschools.org. Although the main navigation aspects on the website will remain essentially the same, the new design will have a different look and feel, and it is formatted to work on all types of devices, including smartphones and tablets.
Our goal is to ensure our website is easy to use and filled with information important to our students, families, employees, and community. We are excited for you to see the new design.
Sincerely,
Larry Madden
Interim Superintendent
Salt Lake City School District