December 16, 2020 Superintendent 20/21 Update

December 16, 2020

Good Afternoon Warren Students, Families, and Staff, 

I hope this message finds each of you safe and healthy. I want to provide some very important information as we head into our 2 week winter break. 

Our food distribution will take place this Friday as normally scheduled from 4:00 - 6:00 PM at Moorhead Community Resource Center, Warren Central High School, Creston, Raymond Park, and Stonybrook Intermediate Middle Schools. There will be additional distributions on Tuesday, December 22nd and Tuesday, December 29th from 4:00 - 6:00 PM at our same locations. Multiple meals will be provided at each distribution and our winter break meals will have a special treat included. 

This is a reminder that all K-5 students will remain VIRTUAL through at least Friday,  January 15th with a tentative IN-PERSON return on Tuesday, January 19th. K-5 families will have the option to request that their student remain VIRTUAL for the remainder of the school year. The request window will open on Wednesday, December 30th and will close on Friday, January 8th at 3 PM. This will be the last request window of this school year. 

Students in grades 6th - 12th will remain 100% VIRTUAL until at least Friday, February 12th with a tentative IN-PERSON HYBRID return on Wednesday, February 17th. Tuesday, February 16th is a scheduled district eLearning day.  Families with students in grades 6th - 8th will have the option to request that their student remain VIRTUAL for the remainder of the school year. The request window for 6-8 students will open on Friday, January 15th and close on Friday, January 29th at 4 PM. This will be the last request window of this school year. 

Our priority from the beginning of the school year has been to have safe access to our students and provide a safe learning environment for our students and staff. Due to our Marion County Data and our local district data, we believe that bringing in our K-5 students with an IN-PERSON or VIRTUAL option and keeping our 6-12 students VIRTUAL until February 17th continues to meet that priority. We know that consistency for our students and staff increases the overall experience and their success. 

We will continue to provide food distribution during the VIRTUAL windows and do our best to meet the needs of our students, families, and staff. We will also continue to monitor our data and make adjustments as needed to ensure the safety of everyone. 

As I have said from day one, I am appreciative of everyone’s patience, flexibility, and understanding of this situation. #WarrenWill has gotten us this far and will continue to move us forward next year.  Weekly communications will continue over the winter break to share reminders or new information. In the meantime, I hope you have a joyful holiday season and I look forward to seeing you next year!

Dr. Tim Hanson, Superintendent of Schools for MSD Warren Township