District Update – November 2, 2020

November 2, 2020

Good Morning, Madison Families:

I hope that everyone had a restful weekend and a Happy Halloween! I wanted to send out a quick communication to update families on a few topics. You should have received a Blackboard message last night stating that we are scheduled to return to face-to-face learning tomorrow, November 3, 2020.  Therefore, the last day of distance learning, for student’s who signed up for face-to-face instruction, will be today. We are excited to have students back in the building tomorrow!

Friday, November 6, 2020 is scheduled to be a half day. As a result of our first review of our Extended COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, the district implemented half day in-peron/half day remote learning days on Fridays.  On Wednesday, November 4, 2020 the district will hold our second monthly review of our Extended COVID-19 Preparedness Plan at 5:00.  At this meeting, we are looking to review our current model and layout for the remainder of the first trimester.  The main item of discussion will be our current Friday format.  We do not anticipate any other changes to our learning model for Mondays-Thursdays. Once this meeting is complete, I will send out a communication regarding what that will look like.  

During our district-wide remote learning, we were notified of two additional school associated cases in the early elementary building.  Those two classrooms were directly notified and will be rejoining face-to-face learning two days after the rest of the district.  In total for the 2020-2021 school year, the Lenawee County Health Department has notified the Madison School District of seven confirmed positive cases and zero probable cases.  This information is kept up-to-date on our website.  Please, click on the link to be directed to the document: School Associated COVID-19 Cases. 

Later today, High School families will be receiving a survey regarding their intentions for the second trimester.  In this survey, families can elect whether or not they will be utilizing face-to-face or virtual instruction.  We know that the second trimester is still a little ways off and your decision may change depending on the status of the State and COVID-19.  However, building a high school master schedule is very complicated, and we want to provide our staff with as much time as possible. We are looking for anticipated data to start looking at the number of sections of classes.  Please, take the time to provide your input. 

Lastly, it was a great week last week for Trojan Athletics.  The varsity volleyball team was crowned TCC champions, a cross country runner qualified for the individual State finals, and the varsity football team won their first ever playoff game! We wish these programs continued success as they progress through the remainder of their season.  

Go Trojans!

Nick Steinmetz

Superintendent