January 18th was Martin Luther King Jr. Day. While the students were not in session, the staff was engaged in professional learning. We spent time learning together about different ways to support our students and families by allowing staff to attend various sessions on changes in special education law related to seclusion and restraint, instructional strategies to differentiate instruction, understanding the impacts of trauma, and diversity awareness.
I was pleased we were able to spend time engaging in conversation about our district's future direction. Our staff has great talent and is creative and innovative, so this was time well spent discussing how we can stretch our thinking, be bold and improve upon our work. Continuing to expand Career Technical Education and Remote Learning surfaced as areas of interest that we want to continue to develop and prioritize. We have invested a substantial amount of professional time and expense into each of these areas and are committed to bringing resources to further develop these educational programs.
Recent legislation (SF 160) has been a little confusing to some of our staff and the public. The legislation requires all schools to offer 100% in-person learning effective February 15, 2021. Our District is currently in full compliance with this legislation because we currently allow parents to send their child to school full time or participate remotely. SF160 does not eliminate voluntary remote learning options and does not prohibit a district from becoming an online provider. The legislation affords more options for parents to consider. I anticipate our district will continue improving, expanding, and growing our remote learning and online learning options rather than eliminating them.
