Hello Westview Community, April 3, 2020
Governor Holcomb and State Superintendent McCormick have recently announced that students will not be coming back for this academic school year. It’s sad news for sure, but it’s a realistic and rational decision based on data and time. This is a reality none of us could have dreamed about at the start of 2020. For me, it seems that time has been flying by and then in the very next moment it seems to stand still. The ups and downs are definitely a challenge but it also presents a TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY for Westview students, staff, and community to showcase our collective QUALITY.
Westview clearly values traditional face to face engagement and we have proven successful with it and our results have been proven on the basis of relationships and our community. But the current conditions require us to demonstrate our quality with at-home instruction. This has been mandated from the State of Indiana to meet our required number of instructional days. This will need to be a mindshift for everyone. We will need to focus on providing quality experiences and meaningful opportunities vs providing a typical quality instructional day. Our new method of engagement will be Learning Uniquely at Home based on meaningful experiences. I am excited to see the results of what we can do and how much we can grow.
We will have a target of doing our first round of at-home learning and delivery the week of April 27th with three rounds to follow on May 4th, 11th, and 18th. We will deliver at-home instruction each of those Mondays via our school buses for traditional bus riders, student walkers and students who are driven to school by parents will have pick-up times on those Mondays too.
Some of the biggest points with this new at-home instruction is the recognition that it can not replace our face to face instruction, but it’s the right thing to do for our students to bridge this experience, and the process of creating and engaging at-home learning will help us prepare for a COVID-19 future concerning the 2020-21 school year. We are in a new normal until a vaccine and immunity are created.
Please continue to observe good hygiene, social distancing, and best practices concerning your health.
We will need everyone’s help. Parents will need to lend a hand with managing expectations, focusing students, and making the most out of this situation. I know our community will respond to our efforts and we will all grow together from this experience.
Sincerely,
Dr. Randall Miller
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort or convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.” - MLK