Fall 2020 Update - Action Required

CPCS Draft Reopening Plan 2020-2021

July 16, 2020 

Dear CPCS Families, 

CPCS has been working diligently over the last 2 months, planning and preparing for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. As you can imagine, this work has been challenging and incredibly complex. We were given guidelines by Governor Hogan, the Maryland State Department of Education, and the Center for Disease Control. We have researched, surveyed families, reviewed options, evaluated other models, held family, staff and Governing Board focus groups, discussed with SMCPS central office administration, CPCS Staff, and the Education Association of St. Mary’s County. We have considered the perspectives that have been shared with us based on specific needs and circumstances of the many families we serve, staff and students alike. At all times, we held the collective safety of our community at the apex of our decisions. Based on all of that, we have developed a draft plan that we are pleased to share with you today. We will continue to amend, adjust and improve as we receive additional feedback from stakeholders and guidance from the powers that be. 

We have provided you with two ways to view this draft plan. A PDF of a visual power point presentation and an aligned narrative provide the same information for your review. 

This draft provides an overview at a high level of the protocols and possible scenarios for a safe return. Much of what you read will be addressed in finer detail as we move closer to having students in the building. Because we are unable to predict the path of the pandemic, these scenarios have been developed with consideration of fluid movement between them in order to lessen the impact and risk associated with COVID-19 and to reflect our dependence on state and local guidance. 

Despite the significant disruption and stress for us all, our teachers remain dedicated to creating new ways to remain connected to and educate our students which you will see reflected in the plan. Teams of teachers have worked tirelessly over the summer to build courses in Schoology, our new learning management system so that students have the possibility of live interaction with a teacher in an all virtual or hybrid scenario. Book studies, webinars and hours of planning inform our new, concurrent teaching pedagogy so that we can provide the best possible learning experience for each of our students. 

To be clear, CPCS will begin the 2020-2021 school year virtually. We will phase in students to a hybrid scenario according to timelines determined with SMCPS, at which point families will have the option to remain 100% virtual while maintaining their registration at CPCS. More details with respect to scheduling, and operational logistics will follow as guidance becomes more focused on the current path of the pandemic. We will also reach out to you again to confirm technology needs and your own plans moving forward. 

One last note of gratitude to all the members of our community who served on the committees which developed this plan, participated in focus groups, provided feedback via the family surveys and helped think through this very complicated situation. Even as we know some questions remain unanswered, your commitment of time, study and thoughtfulness has made it possible to plan our return to CPCS. 

Thank you for your continued support. 

Sincerely, 

Angela Funya

CPCS Education Director 

Return to CPCS Plan Draft  - Narrative 

2020-2021 Reopening Plan Draft  - Visual presentation

CPCS Updates

Dear CPCS Families,

We have been consumed with crafting a draft plan with such passion, nose down, based on the information we've gathered from you over the past two weeks since our last survey and updates went out!   We are getting closer.  

We have heard you through those surveys and focus groups, and developed a comprehensive draft that now lies with SMCPS in order to make final decisions.  At this time, we are actively working with the superintendent and his team to make informed decisions about the fall, and how that impacts our start.  We are moving as quickly as we can to give you information by July 16th (next Thursday), which is about four weeks before our planned start of August 12.  We will have additional feedback on our draft from SMCPS Directors, CPCS staff, and additional parent focus groups before public release on the 16th. We wish that things were normal and that we could resume where we left off, but there are too many safety variables that need to be considered, and cannot be completed in haste.

We watch and wait with trepidation for the changes that will come from the state depending on the course of this very novel situation.  We know that what we plan will not be perfect. We know that there will be things that will need to change, but we will work to make it better, to be resilient when we hit obstacles, and flexible and supportive based on the many needs of our community during a very uncertain time. 

As a charter, we are no strangers to a moving target, but this pandemic has tested our resolve.  Thank you for your patience, and flexibility.  Next week will bring us closer to the answers you seek.

Best,

Ms. Funya

A huge THANK YOU to Colby Nelson (Parent and Governing Board Member) and his team for resuscitating and completing The CPCS newsletter! Attached is this year's edition. It's our first forward-facing promotional material we've generated and we'd like its reach to go beyond the immediate CPCS community.  Please help the PR effort by sharing with friends, family, and other St. Mary's County community members so they can see the wonderful work the staff and students have been able to do even in the face of such a disruptive and disrupted year!  Thank you Colby!

CLICK HERE to view the CPCS Newsletter Summer 2020

CPCS Back To School Family Survey

Dear Families,

Thank you so much for your responses to our 2020 Planning Family Survey! More than 80% of our families responded and your input has already made a difference in our planning process for our return to learning in August.

Importantly,

• 83% of you responded that you are concerned about lost face to face learning time as we look toward the next school year;
• 68% said that you have health and safety concerns looking toward the next school year;
• more than half of you said you have concerns about your child(ren)’s social and emotional well-being and development heading into next year; and
• over 60% of respondents said that managing your own work schedules/multiple children/the regular household routine was challenging during our time away from the school building.

We hear you! Your responses and all of the additional comments you provided are being used by four committees to contribute to our planning process. They are focusing on 1) scheduling 2) content delivery 3) social-emotional learning and family support and 4) operations (transportation, food services, maintenance, etc.)  Each committee includes staff, Alliance Board members, and parents and we have conducted several small focus groups to gather additional detail and feedback from students as well.

Of course, that means we have some new questions!  We hope that today’s survey will again only take 5-10 minutes to complete even while it provides critical information for our planning.

Chances are good we may come back to you again as we really try to get as much input and consider as many perspectives as possible to return to our CPCS community with renewed commitment to our values. Although some decisions may be beyond our control, your feedback will help us prepare effectively for whatever scenario we face in these quickly changing circumstances.

Join the survey by clicking HERE