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June 15, 2020
Dear Families,
Can you please do me a huge and lovely favor? Please find some time in the next few weeks to write and tell me about the RESILIENCE of your child. I have been collecting the reflections of our staff, and now I would be thrilled to add to the documentation of our 75 Morton experience by gathering the many examples of your resilient children.
The NYC DOE has begun to release preliminary plans regarding the reopening of schools in September. The big issues are social distancing and health and safety. They are envisioning half of the student body attending each day on a rotating schedule. This would mean 10 students and one adult in full-sized classrooms. There are many unknowns: arrival and dismissal logistics, movement around the building, blended learning (a combination of live and remote teaching), lunch protocols, etc.
We are being asked by the DOE to begin thinking about all of this. We have created a planning committee that will address each topic through a process of asking questions and proposing solutions. We will not have the authority to make any final decisions.
Please be sure to fill out the parents' DOE survey regarding reopening. And have your child fill out the students' DOE survey. (Enter 02M297 M.S. 297 to find 75 Morton in the drop down menu.)
As of now there is no school calendar for next year. The inability to plan your lives, our lives, your children’s lives is extremely confusing. We know. Please focus on what we do know:
75 Morton is your child’s middle school and has an amazing staff. The staff is leaning into the challenges of next year by rewriting curriculum, exploring more ways to deliver curriculum, and how to transition all of your beautiful children back into our loving socially-distanced arms and hearts.
The 75 Morton community has work to do! Our PTA will still be organizing events, raising money, and supporting our work. We need your continued involvement and financial support.
Your children have a year of academic, social, and emotional growth ahead. They need to be connected to their community. We at 75 Morton will do an even better job of that work next year, even in these uncertain times.
We have learned so much since March 15, all of which we will apply to our work with all of our students and families in September.
I am looking forward to seeing many of you on tomorrow at 11am at the PTA meeting, and of course I will share any more news, if I have any to share.
I am also very pleased to invite you to our event with Renee Blake and Ken Saunders tomorrow evening at 6pm. Ken and Renee did work on equity with us earlier this year. When the events surrounding the killing of George Floyd took our focus, I called Renee and Ken. Their presentation, An Open Conversation About Race and Humanity, will be the beginning of our community learning and sharing around these issues. Renee and Ken are part of our community and I am very grateful for their presence and guidance.
We have had a few inquiries about your children coming to school to clean out their lockers. There is still no date set by the NYC DOE to allow students into the building. On June 17 and June 24 many of our staff will be going to 75 Morton to pack up their classrooms so the rooms can be prepared for next year. They will not be online on those days but will be communicating about that directly with your children.
And lastly, don't forget to tune in for the first ever 75 Morton graduation ceremony on June 22 at 6pm. The one great thing that a virtual graduation provides is unlimited seating! So share the invitation with the whole family, extended family, friends, babysitters, dog-walkers, everybody!
With Respect,
Jacqui