LAVERNE

    The last few weeks have been evidence of how blessed we are to be Laverne Tigers and to live in a loving, supportive community.  This community has helped provide basic needs and worked to lift spirits of our students and families while taking necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.  There’s nothing we can’t accomplish when we work together. Thanks to everyone for working to make these times more bearable. 

    We know you and your child have many questions about what the remainder of the school year will be like. The purpose of this letter is to share what we know and to ask you for your help as we prepare for this significant transition. While this is not how we expected to end the school year, we believe our continuous learning plan will allow us to keep students learning, while also protecting what is most important – their health and well-being.

    The goal of Laverne Public Schools distance learning plan is to provide learning opportunities for your children without creating any further uncertainty or anxiety on families.  We have prepared a distance learning plan that is an extension of what students are already familiar with and know how to use. All families will be able to access learning resources with only a cell phone.  Internet, WIFI, Ipads, computers, hot spots, etc. will provide access to the digital learning resources, but are NOT required to fulfill instructional requirements. Laverne teachers will begin distance learning on April 6th and will convey expectations for learning by reaching out to their students and/or parents.  If teachers are unable to connect with any student, the teacher will convey this to administration.  Administration will help facilitate and make this connection. We want to engage students in experiences that enable them to connect to their teacher.

    Pre-K through 5th grade teachers will reach out to parents through means in which they have had previous contact to communicate expectations for learning and may have already reached out to you.  

    6th-12th grade students will need to check their school email by 1:00 pm on April 6th  and respond to their teachers that they have received an email.  You can get to the email link easily on our school website by selecting, “Webmail,” and typing in your email address and your password.  Your email address is your first initial, last name, graduation year followed by @laverne.k12.ok.us. Example: Freshman, Jon Smith would be jsmith2023@laverne.k12.ok.us  Email is accessible through a computer, Tablet, Ipad, or cell phone.  Your password is the same as your chromebook login password. If you do not remember that,  please contact your child’s teacher by phone, text, email, or contact the school to be sent this information.  If a student or parent has not responded by the end of the day on April 6th, then we will be contacting you by phone.

    We have prepared a learning tool which is accessible just below this letter, “At-Home Learning.”  The tool not only has access to the programs teachers will ask students to utilize, but also has access to many other great resources for which students can choose to engage in for additional learning.  The tool also includes non-digital resources for learning. These choice boards give students and families flexibility to tap into their interests. We are not trying to mimic an actual school day, so don’t expect students to engage in these the same amount of time for which they are in school.  This is not realistic. The expectations for time on a device or time on task have also been considered so that households with multiple students at different grade levels will not struggle. At all times, the emphasis will be learning in a safe and healthy environment; therefore, we will not be asking students to come to school to get assignments to take home or ask that assignments or work be brought back to school.  

    This is new for all of us.  We know there will be challenges to overcome, but we are looking forward to working alongside you in overcoming these challenges and provide your children a loving and caring continuous learning experience.  It is very important to us that every child receives learning opportunities, so whether the instruction is received through the internet or by phone, your child’s teacher will be working hard to meet not only your child’s educational needs, but all of the children under his/her care.  It is our desire to keep students safe while providing learning opportunities that are both equal and worthwhile. 

    No student’s grade will be negatively affected during this time.  Students in grades Pre-K through 5th grade will not receive letter/numerical grades.  They will simply receive S for satisfactory or U for unsatisfactory based on completion of learning tasks conveyed by teachers.  6th-12th grade students will be able to improve their 4th nine weeks grade, but no grades will drop.  Students currently with A’s will not be required but encouraged to engage in tasks. Teachers will convey to you what is required to improve your grade.  The 4th nine weeks grade will be averaged with the 3rd nine weeks grade to calculate the semester grade, which will be the grade placed on high school transcripts.   

    We will continue to provide meals to children ages 0-18 on Mondays from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon in a grab and go fashion.  Parents may pick up lunches for their children. This program provided and funded by USDA and NSLP requires strict guidelines, one of those being an accurate count of meals served.  Please be patient with our staff as you pick up meals and be prepared to give the names of children who you are getting a lunch for. Every bag will have food that requires refrigeration.  Please follow food safety guidelines.  

    We are trying very hard to keep our essential staff safe; therefore, we are allowing junior and high school students in the building to get necessities on a very limited basis.   Cleaning out lockers is not a priority right now; however, if there are personal things you need, please contact Mrs. Allen at the school. Elementary school supplies are being distributed to families a little at a time.  We would ask that as you come to get your meals the next few weeks, that you bring school-owned items like textbooks, library books, uniforms, calculators, etc. We will collect these items as you go through the meal line.  If your student had a school lunch balance owed, you will be receiving a statement by mail. If any student had lunch money left over, the balance will be carried forward to next year.  

    The distance learning will end on May 8, 2020.  All activities have been canceled at this time. We will make every effort to reschedule a graduation ceremony for our high school seniors.  Please take care of your family. There is nothing more important than the safety and health of our students, staff and community. Please contact me if you need anything or have questions. 

Kyndra Allen
allen_k@laverne.k12.ok.us
580-921-3362