EAGAN HS CHANGE TO HYBRID/DIGITAL

STUDENTS IN GRADES 9, 10 and 11 WILL BEGIN HYBRID/DIGITAL LEARNING ON

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2021.

STUDENTS IN GRADE 12 WILL BEGIN HYBRID/DIGITAL LEARNING ON MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2021. THEY WILL REMAIN IN DISTANCE LEARNING USING THE NEW HYBRID SCHEDULE FROM FEBRUARY 22 - MARCH 5.

• Tuesday and Wednesday, February 16-17 will be used for state mandated preparation time that will involve teaching teams working together to plan for the new Hybrid and Digital Academy schedule.

• Monday Feb. 15 is Presidents Day - a holiday for the entire school.

• February 16 and 17 students will not attend classes but will continue to work on already assigned work Assigned work will not be due on these two days and new assignments will not be given on these two days.

• Thursday and Friday, February 18-19 our students will have the final two days of Distance Learning in our current schedule.

Students should have received a blue, green or black lanyard with the student photo id and the meal card. Please find those and when entering the building be sure to wear them to be admitted. If a replacement is needed, please call our Attendance Office 651-683-6911. The Meal Card will be needed to receive breakfast and/or lunch at school - still free of charge until the end of the school year. It will speed up the checkout process!

Dear Eagan High School Students and Parents/Guardians,

At a Special School Board meeting on February 2nd the plan for returning the secondary students to Hybrid Learning was approved. As you know, school districts have been asked to develop plans to return students to in-person learning in our schools. Any return to in- person with our students is dependent on the COVID -19 numbers so that safety is provided.

The plan is as follows:

· The planning protocols from the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Health limit us to bringing back three grades of learners, split into Hybrid cohorts, at a time with a two-week rollout between groups. As a district, we asked to bring all four grades at the same time but that was denied.

· We will welcome our grades 9, 10 and 11 students back to in-person learning beginning Monday, February 22, 2021. Those students who are in Cohort C (196 Digital Academy) will continue in that format with the new schedule.

· Students in grade 12 will continue in Distance Learning but follow the new schedule beginning February 22nd. Grade 12 will return to in-person learning on Monday, March 8 as determined by the current MDE rolling start plan. Although we hoped to bring all four grades back we could not do so. We are confident that our seniors can advocate and communicate with teachers, ask for help and support and reach out to counselors with requests for other accommodations during these first two weeks.

We understand the concern of returning to school in-person for the final week of the trimester and facing final assessments. So, we are adjusting for the seniors.

Given their late return, seniors will not be taking final assessments during the week of March 8-12. We will try to make this a normal school week with learning opportunities before the third trimester begins and a chance to connect in person or in Zoom with trimester two teachers to complete the trimester well.

· Students in the 196 Digital Academy, also known as Cohort C, will be following the new schedule and Zooming into their winter (second) trimester classes using the new schedule. We believe this is an improvement on the Hybrid schedule in the early fall in that it provides equitable access to teachers and classes.

We look forward to welcoming students back into the school and the return to in-person learning for many of our students. Let's support each other and continue to reach out to friends and classmates as well as our school's faculty for extra support or accommodations that are needed. We are aware of the feelings, emotions and reactions students are having during this pandemic. We are here to help!

· Students will have two days of synchronous instruction and three days of asynchronous class work each week.

Cohort A and Cohort C ,last name beginning with letters A-K, will attend in person on Mondays and Thursdays.

Cohort B and Cohort C, last names beginning with letters L – Z, will attend in person on Tuesdays and Fridays.

-Students will not be required to attend classes all four days. They have two days of class with each teacher and three days to work on the assigned learning each week.

· Assigned class work will be given all five days of each week as we do now, Students will be expected to do assigned work for the entire week - not just the two days of class time.

· Wednesdays remain distance learning for all cohort groups, but will offer time for additional support for all students with our teachers providing both in-person and Zoom support sessions. All students are welcome to come in to school on Wednesdays. Bus transportation will be provided for learners. Breakfast and lunch will be offered free of charge. We hope to provide extra support for our seniors to come in on Wednesdays leading up to the seniors returning to in-person learning on March 8.

Safety protocols will continue as before with the addition of HEPA filters in all classrooms as students return. All students will continue to wear masks, maintain social distance of 6 ft. whenever possible and wash hands/sanitize hands frequently.

All students will default to their fall (first) trimester cohort as this time. However, students will have the opportunity to change cohorts from A/B into 196 Digital Academy (Cohort C) as we return on February 22. To view your student’s current cohort, you can have them log into their Infinite Campus account. The cohort (blended group) assignment is listed right next to their photo and at the top of their class schedule.

All families will be sent a communication regarding moving from hybrid learning (Cohort A/B) to the 196 Digital Academy (Cohort C) on Monday, February 8. If you want to make this change, please submit the form by Friday, February 12. This change will add your student in the 196 Digital Academy when the student’s grade level returns to hybrid learning February 22 for grades 9, 10 and 11. March 8 for grade 12.

We also understand that some students may want to stay in the 196 Digital Academy (Cohort C) until the end of the trimester and then move to in-person learning at the start of third trimester. All families will be sent another communication regarding moving from the 196 Digital Academy (Cohort C) to hybrid learning (Cohort A/B) on Monday, February 22. If you want to make this change, please submit the form by Friday, February 26. This change will become effective on March 15, the first day of trimester three.

Thank you so much for your understanding and patience with this change as we move into the adjusted schedule. We believe this new schedule improves equity of instruction and connection of students with one another, compared to the one used in the first weeks of the school year. Stay safe - stay well!

Dr. Polly Reikowski, Principal

Website: www.ehs.district196.org
Location: 4185 Braddock Trail, Eagan, MN, USA
Phone: 651-683-6900