Panther Pride Padlet Wall

 Last spring our shared EPS Padlet wall was a phenomenal way to keep us connected, updated, and learning alongside one another.  As such, we want to build on this fabulous foundation for the year ahead.  Here is a link to our new wall, Panther Pride, for the 2020-21 school year.  Help us get started by posting a picture showing your school space.  Whether everyone is hard at work at a desk, under a table, or in a pillow fort we would love to connect over the newfound classrooms in everybody’s homes.

Meeting & Greeting

And we're off!  The 2020-21 school year is officially underway!

It has been absolutely amazing to see and connect again with our families during our meet-and-greets.  We appreciate the tremendous teamwork it takes for everyone to come together and make this a positive and child-centered experience!

Video overview of Remote Learning 2.0 plans

 

Here is a video created by our administrative team that answers many questions we have received from families, as well as, provides a more comprehensive overview of our Remote Learning 2.0 plans.

Remote Learning 2.0 Guidebook

Here is a link to our Remote Learning 2.0 Guidebook for Families.  Our guidebook from last school year has been updated and enhanced, just like our remote learning program.  A PDF version is attached below as well.  This comprehensive guidebook provides families with in-depth information and updates on our remote learning plans, as well as, shares a multitude of resources for supporting learning at home.

This guidebook will help support families with the following topics:

- establishing routines and schedules

- financial assistance

- food & nutrition information

- social-emotional learning

- mindfulness (for kids and adults)

- active movement and breaks

- strategies for supporting reading at home

- math games for the whole family

- self-care and mental health

-and much much more...

Our intention is to learn, grow, reflect, revise, and improve the Remote Learning 2.0 model day-by-day and week-by-week until we are fully back to in-person instruction.  Please use this form to share your feedback, suggestions, and ideas for how we can improve this model to ensure we are meeting the needs of children, families, and community to the fullest extent possible.  The form also has room to ask questions;  we will put together a full response for all of the questions shared.

PreK at the Park

 Our preschoolers took advantage of the beautiful day to get together for a before school meet and greet at Hamlin Park today.  They read books, sang songs, and danced!  Much to the amusement and entertainment of one another, as well as, those passing by!  Thank you to Ms. Hernandez, Ms. LaPata, and our PreK families for coming together (while also staying safely apart)!

Remote learning letter to students

Back to school information for our most important stakeholders, our students!  Thank you for your patience, flexibility, and grace as we continue to think creatively and navigate these challenges together as a community!

 

Community Letter

Dear East Prairie Community,

Our school district has always found success by making decisions in the best interest of our students, families, staff, and community.  While that goal remains firm and unwavering today, doing so has rarely been so difficult. 

Like always, we plan to work together to identify the best possible outcomes for our students given the enormous challenges of a global pandemic and uncertain future.  This evening, at our Board of Education meeting, the difficult decision was made to pause our reopening option and begin the year remotely for all of our students.  This decision was made with incredible care and concern for all of our families and grounded in our primary goal of ensuring the health, safety, and wellbeing of our entire community to the fullest extent possible.  While we believe our collaboratively developed plans put us in the very best position for reopening in-person learning, the continuously evolving conditions around us lead us to believe this is not in the best interest of our community at this time.  In the document below you will find further information outlining the plan to begin the year.

We continue to share the belief that our students learn best in our school, in-person, and with one another and our wonderful staff.  We also know with improvements based on the feedback we received, there are enhanced ways we can deliver learning remotely to help our students continue to grow academically, socially, and emotionally until it is safe to do so together again in person. We will work tirelessly to provide the very best possible remote learning model for our students and families, and will continuously monitor the conditions that will allow us to bring our East Prairie family back through our schoolhouse doors.

We know this decision is hard and we share everyone’s frustrations with the challenges it presents. Students belong in school as soon as it is safe to do so.  We look forward to partnering with you throughout this year like we always do. Together. Thank you for your support, patience, grace, and understanding.

Sincerely,

Atanu Das Erick Tuman Mark Johnson Duke Gavrilovic
Board President Board Vice-President Board Secretary Board Member

Frank Santoro Michael Hornick Amanda Martinsen
Board Member Board Member Board Member

Paul Goldberg Hal Schmeisser
Superintendent Principal

Sandy DeBettencourt Coleen Sharkey
Teachers Union President Teachers Union Vice President