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The following letter was sent to SCM families on November 18, 2020.
November 18, 2020
Dear SCM Families,This afternoon, the St. Joseph County Department of Health (SJCDH) issued guidance in response to the growing number of active cases of COVID-19 in our community. Their recommendation can be found here.
School City of Mishawaka (SCM) will follow this recommendation. As such, John Young Middle School (JYMS) and Mishawaka High School (MHS) will pivot to a VIRTUAL ONLY learning environment with live instruction beginning on Monday, November 30, 2020, through Friday, January 15, 2021. This live virtual instruction will look much like the start of the school year for these schools. JYMS and MHS families can expect to receive more information from building principals, including details on food service, early next week. Just to clarify, in-person learning will continue at our elementary schools.
As we suggested in our letter to you just one week ago, today’s announcement does not come as a surprise. This change will now allow us to divert more resources to our elementary schools. Beginning on Monday, November 30, 2020 we will deploy newly available personnel (substitute teachers, aides, custodians, etc.) to our elementary schools in order to support those schools.
We recognize changes to our school schedules are inconvenient and can create real hardships for some. Please know we are sorry for how this necessary change impacts you. We are doing our best to support our students, families, and staff given these very difficult and ever-changing circumstances of a global pandemic.
School City of Mishawaka (SCM) has been reporting positive COVID-19 cases weekly since the Indiana State Department of Health Dashboard was created in early September. In an effort to be even more transparent, SCM has developed a COVID-19 Dashboard that can be accessed via mishawakaschools.com/COVIDdashboard. Quarantine data will be updated daily and COVID positive data will be updated on Friday afternoons.
As we enter this time of Thanksgiving, I am reminded that we should not grow weary in doing good by guarding our hearts with a mindset of gratefulness. While these last eight months have been challenging for all of us, our school district is blessed with outstanding students and families. Additionally, we have incredible servants in our teachers, nurses, aides, secretaries, program assistants, media clerks, bus drivers, technology, custodians/maintenance, food service, substitute teachers, other support personnel, administrators, and school board members. I am thankful for each one of you. We will continue to serve and support Mishawaka students and families to the best of our ability.
Sincerely,
Wayne Barker
Superintendent of Schools
Click the school logo below for detailed Live Virtual Learning information:
