Update 9-18-20 - Transitioning to Hybrid Staggered Schedule

Good afternoon.  We hope all members of our University School Family are doing well and looking forward to our upcoming fall break. As we stated at the beginning of the year, we take our responsibility and commitment to, not only the success of your children, but to the health and safety of our families during the time of COVID-19 very seriously. As promised, we have been working with our administrative team, including feedback and advisement from our many stakeholders, local health providers, and ETSU and Washington County leaders as we take our next steps.

As a result of the information and advice provided by the various stakeholders, we will transition to a hybrid staggered schedule (with students rotating between in-person and remote learning). As indicated in our original plans, families will still have the option to remain full remote. Please continue reading for next steps and further details and safety protocols for both options which can also be found in the attached documents and on our school website.

We are going to make our transition in two phases:

1. All students will remain in full remote model during the week after fall break (September 28-October 2) but will follow a newly revised synchronous schedule for their classes, which will be shared by their teachers.  Students are expected to be attend all synchronous sessions. 
2. The staggered/hybrid schedule with rotating in-person/remote learning will begin Monday, October 5^th.

Once the hybrid model begins on October 5, all students (K-12) will be assigned to three remote learning days and two in-person days assigned on either Monday and Tuesday or on Thursday and Friday (student assignments will be shared in a separate correspondence).  Wednesdays will be a remote learning day for all students and may consist of a combination of asynchronous and synchronous sessions.  During their assigned remote learning days, students are expected to attend the live synchronous sessions for each of their classes and to complete all assigned work.  All attendance will be recorded directly by the teachers and based on those students present during the in-person and live synchronous sessions. The student’s school day (either in-person or remote) is scheduled for 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Monday – Friday. 

We realize that some of our families would prefer to remain fully remote, which is still an option as mentioned above.  Details on the fully remote option have been attached and will be posted on our school website.  Prior to selecting this option, we ask that families read through the expectations document and submit the Remote Choice Contract no later than Monday, September 28, 2020.  Any student choosing to participate in the full remote option is expected to attend all synchronous sessions, complete all assigned work and maintain all expectations defined in the remote choice plan.   Within this plan, you will find a contract that will only need to be completed for each child choosing to enroll in the remote choice plan for the upcoming quarter.  This document can be submitted by clicking on the Dropbox link in the document and attaching the signed contract found on p. 20 and on the school website.  

As we move in this new direction, we continue to focus on the educational achievements of our students. Finally, it is important to note that the operational decisions could change at any point throughout the next few weeks or remaining year and may be adjusted as circumstances change.   The safety and well-being of our students, families, and staff continue to be a priority as we navigate these unprecedented times.  Again, we do appreciate all that you have done, and continue to do, on behalf of your child(ren) and the school community.

With regards,

Drs. Partin and Day