December 19, 2020
Dear Stoddert Families,
This is the last weekly update for 2020. The next update will be issued after school resumes on January 4, 2021.
Stoddert participated in the annual district-wide EdFest school information event on Saturday, December 12. During that event, information about each DCPS school was housed in virtual “booths.” Families who registered to attend EdFest can find a link to those booths in their registration confirmation emails. That link will remain active until January 11, 2021. All parents are encouraged to visit https://www/myschoodc.org to view additional DCPS enrollment and lottery information.
Virtual Open House events have been scheduled at Stoddert on these dates:
- January 13
- February 17
- March 17
- April 21
- May 19
As Mayor Bowser announced yesterday, DCPS is proceeding with plans to bring some students back on campus for in-person learning (IPL) when Term 3 begins in February. Each DCPS school has been working hard to craft school-specific IPL reopening plans, in collaboration with a Reopen Community Corps (RCC).
Stoddert’s IPL reopening plan is based upon several factors, including: advice from our RCC, teacher input, input from parent/teacher roundtable discussions, survey results, and teacher availability and capacity. The goal of the reopening plan is to bring as many students back to campus for in-person learning as can safely be done. It is impossible to craft a reopening plan that meets every family’s need and preference, but I am confident that our reopening plan meets that goal.
The baseline for Stoddert’s Term 3 IPL reopening is DCPS Model A, which will be used in kindergarten, 1st grade, 3rd grade, and 5th grade. This is the same plan that was being considered district-wide earlier this year. In that plan, a group of 10-11 students in each grade level will come to school 4 or 4.5 days per week to receive in-person instruction from one teacher. All other students in each grade level will continue to be instructed virtually by other teachers.
Beyond that baseline, Stoddert has received approval from DCPS to pilot a Stoddert-created innovative Term 3 IPL reopening plan for 2nd grade and 4th grade. This plan will allow groups of students in those grade levels to come to school for in-person learning for half-days. Group A will be on campus for in-person learning in the morning, and Group B will be on campus for in-person learning in the afternoon. During the portion of the day that the students are not on campus, they will be engaged in synchronous virtual special subject lessons and online work. Simulcast will be used to bring both groups of students together for a morning meeting, and an end-of-day closing circle activity. This Stoddert-created pilot model will be evaluated during Term 3 for possible expansion to other grade levels.
In-person learning seats will be offered first to those students who had previously accepted an in-person seat in the original return-to-school plan. After those seat offers are extended, seats will be offered in wait-list order. In addition to the in-person learning classrooms, we will continue to operate our CARE classroom.
It is important to note that all in-person learning models will cause changes to classroom rosters. This does not mean that every child will be moved to a different classroom, but it does mean that every classroom will have changes to its roster.
More details about Term 3 reopening – including plans to facilitate a smooth transition for students and families – will be available in January.
To conclude this final update of 2020, I want to focus on our core value of GRATITUDE. We define gratitude as being thankful and appreciative, and ready to return kindness. On behalf of our entire Stoddert staff, we extend gratitude to you.
Principal Bryant