July 20

ISD 748 Families,

The school district is preparing for our back-to-school return and we need your help. The MN Department of Education (MDE) requires that all school districts plan for three potential scenarios:

• In-person learning for all students following MN Department of Health (MDH) guidelines
• Hybrid learning (combination of online and in-person) following strict MDH guidelines
• Distance Learning for all students

Survey for each child
As I am sure you are aware, this is challenging work. We need your assistance so we can better understand our families’ thoughts on returning to school this fall. To that end, we have generated a Skyward Family Access survey that we need you to complete for each child. You will need to login to Skyward Family Access between July 20 and July 28 to complete the survey. When the head of household logs in, there will be a banner at the top that links to each child. Alternatively, the survey can be accessed via ‘Online Forms’ on the left menu bar. These forms are best completed using a computer, rather than a phone. Thank you for your time and valuable feedback in this process.

MDE provides direction the week of July 27
It is important for you to know that the MN Department of Education (MDE) has told school districts that the state will give more specific details about school opening the week of July 27. We are looking forward to learning more as it will greatly help in our planning process. In the meantime, district leaders and staff are preparing for all three scenarios outlined above.

In addition to school preparation, MDE has created two documents for families to help prepare themselves for the fall:

• Make a Plan MN is intended to assist families in preparing for their personal family situations.
• The guide for families outlines the planning that school districts are carrying out right now.

Superintendent message
Finally, I wanted to provide a personal narrative to this communication giving more detail to the information above, to access my short video message, please click here.

We will keep you updated as our plans solidify. Our priority is to keep your child(ren) safe while providing a quality education. We would love nothing more than to return to “normal”. We miss our families! Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to navigate this time.

Sincerely,

Jeff Schwiebert
ISD 748 Superintendent

Fall 2020

A planning update for the 2020-2021 school year from the Minnesota Department of Education:

"In partnership with MDH [Minnesota Department of Health] and the Governor’s Office we plan to announce a decision for which model of educational delivery will be in the best interest of the health and safety of our students, school staff and school communities for the 2020-21 school year by the week of July 27, 2020.

As we are monitoring the public health situation and working on our decision for the fall, MDE will continue to gather feedback from students, families, educators, and school staff. See the Public Engagement page for a list of groups we are engaging with to help inform our work. In addition to these feedback groups, MDE has collaborated with the WMCC to do a systems review of distance learning plans focused on structure, content and equity. This information will also help to identify any themes for our continued work in developing guidance for the fall."

... "MDE has also created a guide to give families a quick overview of the education and health guidance that schools are using to plan for the 2020-21 school year. This document is intended to help families know what information they should expect from their child’s school. The guide is available in English, Hmong, Somali and Spanish on the Supporting Students and Families COVID-19 Resources page.

Decisions around the fall may change as we learn more about which scenario will be in the best interest of public health, and specifically the health and safety of our school communities."

May 26, 2020

ISD 748 families:

I wanted to make sure these important items are on your calendars:

• Wednesday, May 27 will be the last day of instruction.
• Thursday, May 28 and Friday, May 29 will be opportunities to return technology devices, textbooks, library books, and instructional materials. Building-specific details and schedules were emailed to families. Please visit the announcement pages for ORE, PME, SMS, and SHS for details.
• Tuesday, June 30 will be the last day Food Service will offer breakfast and lunch meals at Sartell Middle School between 11a-12:30p Monday-Friday for pick up. Meals will be available free of charge to all families June 1-30 for pick up only; no delivery will be available. Please note: beginning Monday, May 11, meals will be available in front of SMS as construction will occur in the back (where Food Service was previously). 

Thank you,

Jeff Schwiebert
Superintendent
Sartell-St. Stephen ISD 748

May 7, 2020

ISD 748 families:

As we celebrate Teacher Appreciation and School Nurse Week, I wanted to share with you a few important upcoming dates as we prepare for the end of this unique academic year.

• Wednesday, May 27 will be the last day of instruction. This is a change from what is on the printed calendar (May 29).
• Thursday, May 28 and Friday, May 29 will be opportunities to return technology devices, textbooks, library books, and instructional materials. Building-specific details and schedules will be sent to families in the near future. Please watch your inboxes carefully for this important information.
• Tuesday, June 30 will be the last day Food Service will offer breakfast and lunch meals at Sartell Middle School between 11a-12:30p Monday-Friday for pick up. Meals will be available free of charge to all families June 1-30 for pick up only; no delivery will be available. Please note: beginning Monday, May 11, meals will be available in front of SMS as construction will occur in the back (where Food Service was previously). 

We continue to weigh our options for graduation with guidance from our seniors. We have several contingency plans in place, depending on how things change.

Jeff Schwiebert
Superintendent
Sartell-St. Stephen ISD 748

ISD 748 families:

Please read this message carefully as it has important information for the remainder of the school year.

1. Governor: Distance Learning for the Remainder of the School Year
2. May 1 and May 4: No Instruction for Students
3. May 1 and May 4: Continued Food Service Meals and Childcare for Emergency Workers

1. Governor: Distance Learning for the Remainder of the School Year
Per Governor Walz’s Executive Order 20-41, Minnesota schools will not reconvene in school buildings this year. This means that Distance Learning will continue for the duration of the school year. Sartell-St. Stephen will continue to follow our adopted calendar which designates May 29 as our final day of instruction.

We are working with students and staff on contingency plans for graduation and other end of the year events that depend on direction from the state. We will communicate those event details to our staff, students, families, and community as they become available. 

2. May 1 and May 4: No Instruction for Students
To provide our staff time to prepare and focus on professional development for the continuation of distance learning, the governor has designated Friday, May 1 and Monday, May 4 as non-student instructional days – with the exception of Food Service and childcare for emergency workers. This means that students will not receive instruction on either of these days. Your child’s teacher(s) will communicate with you directly if you have already received lessons for these days.

3. May 1 and May 4: Continued Food Service Meals and Childcare for Emergency Workers
Although students will not receive instruction on May 1 and May 4, our food service staff will continue to distribute meals as we have been doing, so there is no change to that schedule.  Additionally, childcare for emergency workers will continue on these days. 

Thank you for your continued support and partnership with us during this time.  

Jeff Schwiebert
Superintendent
Sartell-St. Stephen ISD 748

April 6

Sartell-St. Stephen Families:

Please take a few minutes to read through this email. It includes important information regarding no Food Service on Friday, April 10; accessing library books during Distance Learning; and information for PreK-Grade 4 families regarding Instructional Materials pick up on Thursday, April 9. 

Food Service
On Friday, April 10, there is no school for students, so Food Service will not be providing breakfast/lunch meal pick up. Pick up will resume Monday, April 13 from 11a-12:30p behind Sartell Middle School (Door 20). Please visit FoodServiceNews for details.

Library Book Access during Distance Learning
For a list of library book resources and directions on how to access them, please click here (or our Distance Learning Resources webpage).

PreK-Grade 4 Instructional Materials Pick Up/Drop Off
Thursday, April 9 from 3:00-6:00pm
Families with students in PreK-Grade 4 should use the back parking lots (bus entrance) of Oak Ridge or Pine Meadow for pickup and drop off of any completed assignments. Please read the following carefully for details related to your child’s school:

Preschool
Optional resources will be available at both Pine Meadow and Oak Ridge Elementary Schools. Families can also continue to access materials via Schoology.

Oak Ridge 

• K-2: All families will have instructional materials ready for pick up. Families should be prepared to share student full name(s), grade(s), and homeroom teacher(s) to assist in making the process flow at a steady pace.

• 3-4: Families only need to pick up materials if needed due to internet-related issues. Special Education students will have materials ready for pick up. Families should be prepared to share student full name(s), grade(s), and homeroom teacher(s) to assist in making pick up flow at a steady pace.

Pine Meadow

• K-4: All families will have instructional materials ready for pick up. Families should be prepared to share student full name(s), grade(s), and homeroom teacher(s) to assist in making the process flow at a steady pace. 

For questions about your school building, please contact the administrative assistant or receptionist for assistance.

March 25
Governor Walz announced on March 25 that we will be moving to a ‘Stay at Home” status as of Friday, March 27 at 11:59pm. This means Distance Learning will begin Monday, March 30 and will continue until at least May 4.

March 20
On Sunday, March 15, Governor Walz issued Executive Order 20-02 in response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and announced that all Minnesota public schools will close no later than Wednesday, March 18 and remain closed through March 27. 

Based on Governor Walz’s directive, no instruction will occur during this time as staff plan for the implementation of distance learning.

In the event that our schools enter into a Distance Learning platform on or after March 30, our entire school staff is committed to doing our best for every child. We will provide instruction in many ways. Much of this communication relates to our technology use. Please take a few moments to carefully review it. Critical to the success of Distance Learning is that students are ready to engage every morning. As a result, it will be important for parents to ensure that their student’s learning device is charged and ready for use at the start of each day. Thank you for your partnership in your child’s education.

The District will work with families based on information from a March 18 Skyward survey. Questions include access to a technology device, internet access, and meal transportation and delivery.