October 11, 2020
Dear Stoddert Families,
Thanks to those who were able to attend Thursday night’s PTO meeting – it’s always great to see you. For those who were unable to attend, in this update I’ll recap the information that was shared at the meeting.
Immunization Requirements
To protect the health and wellness of all students, District of Columbia law requires all students in the District to provide their schools with up-to-date immunization documentation or proof of medical or religious exemption to attend school in person.
If a student has not received their immunizations, they will not be allowed to return to in-person instruction or activities until they have received all required immunizations and submitted paperwork, or an approved medical or religious exemption to the school. Students may continue to attend school through distance learning while securing their immunizations, but parents should make plans now to ensure your student is up-to-date before in-person instruction resumes.
Coffee with the Principal
Our next virtual Coffee with the Principal will take place on Wednesday, October 14, 2020 at 9:15 a.m., following our weekly Town Hall event. Virtual invitations for Coffee with the Principal will be sent to you by your child’s teacher on Tuesday, October 13.
At each virtual Coffee with the Principal we’ll share announcements and updates with you, and we’ll do our best to address your concerns and questions. To help us be better prepared to address those concerns and questions, please email them advance to one of these email addresses:
Enrollment
As of this week, our total enrollment is 424 students, which is far below our projected enrollment of 512. We continue to have parents withdrawing their children in order to move out of country or out of state, or for home-schooling.
We are not extending any waitlist offers, and thanks to PTO’s advocacy we feel confident that we’ll receive no DCPS sanctions as a result of our low enrollment, at least for the remainder of this school year. However, if our enrollment remains low as we move into budget season, it’s likely that our budget for SY21/22 will be affected.
“Live” Synchronous Specials
Based upon parent input at our most recent Coffee with the Principal, we’ve developed a pilot plan to begin rolling out “live” synchronous specials. Beginning in the week of October 19, students in 1st-5th grades will receive one synchronous special per week, with the other specials remaining asynchronous. Based upon the success of this roll-out, synchronous specials may be increased in the future.
DCPS Return to School Plan
The recently announced DCPS Return to School Plan includes three instructional scenarios that will take effect on Monday, November 9. Those scenarios are:
- Continue virtual learning. The vast majority of our students will be in this scenario.
- CARES classrooms. Students in CARES classrooms will continue to work virtually, but will be supervised by a caring adult in a Stoddert classroom. They will remain as members of their current classroom, and will continue to participate in virtual instruction led by their current teacher. These students will receive breakfast and lunch served in their CARE classrooms, and will attend five days per week with a half-day on Wednesdays.
- In-person learning. One classroom per grade level will receive live instruction from a Stoddert teacher, with class size capped at 8-11 students, varying by grade level. Students will attend five days a week, with a half-day on Wednesdays. They will follow a normal school-day schedule, including breakfast and lunch served in their classrooms.
Seats for CARES classrooms and in-person learning classrooms will be offered to families through a randomized selection process designed and managed by DCPS. Stoddert administration has no role in the selection process. The priority groups for seat offers will be:
- Students experiencing homelessness
- Students receiving SPED or ELL services
- Students designated as At-Risk
- All other enrolled students
Please understand that every Stoddert classroom will be affected by the DCPS Return to School plan. One Stoddert teacher from each grade level will be assigned to teach the in-person learning group, which includes only 8-11 students. Some of those 8-11 students will come from other classrooms within the grade level, and some of the in-person classroom teacher’s original students will be transferred into other grade-level classrooms.
Chancellor Ferebee has already led one informational meeting regarding the DCPS Return to School plan, and another informational session is scheduled for Wednesday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m. You can expect to receive log-in information for that session directly from DCPS.
As always, thanks for your continued support.
Principal Bryant and Assistant Principal Villegas