Glendive Public Schools

Thank you for your patience and grace in this difficult time. We have been working on a document to get out to our staff, parents, and community. Below you will find a link to the GPS Reopening Plan 20-21. This is not intended to be an all encompassing document, but a resource that you can go to for some information about reopening our schools for the 20-21 school year. Please also check out our website where you can find additional information and who to contact if you have questions or concerns. http://bit.ly/GPSReopeningPlan20-21

This year we will have different schedules to accommodate all the changes that need to be made. Below you will find the start and end times for each school. Please note that these can be changed as new information arises before the first day of school. Students will not be allowed to be onsite at the school before 7:45 a.m. JES - Start time: 8:00 a.m. - End Time: 3:20 p.m. LES - Start time: 8:00 a.m. - End Time: 3:05 p.m. WMS - Start time: 8:00 a.m. - End Time: 2:46 p.m. DCHS - Start time: 8:00 a.m. - End Time: 2:46 p.m. Thank you for your patience with this. There have been so many changes and we could not finalize these times until we had everything set. Please check out our Frequently Asked Questions Sheet for more information: https://bit.ly/GPS20-21FAQ

Glendive Public Schools is hosting a substitute teacher training on 8/21/20 at 9 am in the DCHS cafeteria. All current substitutes are required to attend along with any new subs. The district is in dire need of substitutes and encourages anyone interested to apply online at www.glendiveschools.com (click on menu - employment - current openings - then scroll to the bottom and click on apply - left hand column (vacancies- substitute) - apply!) A degree in education is not required but applicants must be able to pass a background check and have a desire to be a positive influence in the lives of our students. https://www.applitrack.com/glendiveschools/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Substitute

GPS Reopening 20-21 Frequently Asked Questions Updated: 8/14/20 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1melu61KH_WWSEBcEiiDpls-c6HZ-xxg1Yq2ug3Io3xk/edit?usp=sharing

With school just around the corner, please check out our communication sheet. The best way to get immediate and accurate information about what is happening with Glendive Public Schools is to download our app. (see sheet for details). Thank you for your patience as we work out everything that will help us have a great start to the 20-21 school year. PDF Version: https://5il.co/jkm3

GPS Reopening 20-21 Frequently Asked Questions Please check back frequently as we will be changing this document as more information comes out. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1melu61KH_WWSEBcEiiDpls-c6HZ-xxg1Yq2ug3Io3xk/edit?usp=sharing

Just a reminder that if you would like to opt your child out of face-to-face instruction for the start of the 2020-2021 school year, please complete the form below. Today is the last day to do it. Opt out Form: https://forms.gle/ZTnrrTsWPoPh7rmS9 Thanks!

Kindergarten registration is now open for the 2020-2021 school year. In order to be eligible for kindergarten, your child must be 5 by September 10, 2020. If your child fits this criteria, please click on the following link to register electronically. This is our first time registering online, but we are giving it a go! https://mtdecloud3.infinitecampus.org/campus/OLRLoginKiosk/glendive

Kindergarten Registration Information: Please watch out for information about how to register your Kindergarten Student by Tuesday, August 11th. We are working on a way to register your student online.

GPS is working on getting the A and B student groups finalized for each school. If your child’s last name starts with an A-K they will be in the A Group that will attend onsite Monday and Wednesday of each week. If your child’s last name starts with an L-Z they will be in the B Group that attends onsite Tuesday and Thursday. We know issues may arise with this split because of things like families with different last names, childcare, work schedules, etc. If this is the case for your child/family, please take the following survey with as much detail as possible. We will do our absolute best to accommodate everyone’s request but will also have to make sure the groups are evenly distributed to allow for social distancing and an optimal learning environment. Priority will be given to make sure that children in the same household will stay on the same schedule. Class Lists will not be released until this information has been collected, reviewed, and staff able to make adjustments. This survey is due at the end of the day on August 10th. PLEASE DO NOT MOVE FORWARD TAKING THIS SURVEY IF YOUR ASSIGNED SCHEDULE WORKS FOR YOUR FAMILY. Survey Link: https://forms.gle/iifUymSqU1BaQXV59

Glendive Public Schools is requesting that any parent or guardian that would like to opt their child out of face-to-face instruction for the start of the 2020-2021 school year, complete the form that can be found at the link below. Parents will be allowed to choose this option through Tuesday, August 11, 2020. Each school needs time to prepare and plan for staffing needs for both online and face-to-face instruction. Completing this opt out agreement is necessary and very important. If you have any questions about this, please contact the building administrator of the school your child will be attending. The Glendive Unified School Board has determined that students who opt out of face-to-face instruction will still be allowed to participate in sports and activities. Please note that this is only for people that are registered with Glendive Public Schools. All rules, procedures, and eligibility requirements must be followed to participate. Opt out Form: https://forms.gle/ZTnrrTsWPoPh7rmS9

We would like to take a minute to briefly explain the difference between online learning and offsite learning to hopefully clear up any confusion between the two. Online Learning This would only take place in the event that the government shuts down the school, if students/teachers have been quarantined, or if a student has chosen to be an on-line student. In these cases, we would have students use their provided device and connect with their teachers remotely. This would include but would not be limited to online independent assignments, Google Meet/Zoom meetings, interactive lessons, and would have teacher directed lessons. Offsite Learning (Restricted or Hybrid A/B model) This would be supplemental work for the hybrid format in order to meet requirements. During the hybrid schedule, this supplemental learning would take place in conjunction with classroom instruction. Students who attend school would be given additional “at home” activities to be completed outside the classroom along with a provided device. Examples of this offsite learning could be: reading, summarizing an article, math practice, spelling practice, little readers, projects, reading a novel, writing practice, review problems, journaling, review questions, etc. This could also include activities to promote social/emotional development such as: family dinner time, reading to a sibling, taking a walk, riding a bike, hiking in the park, swimming, preparing a meal together, etc. Our goal at GPS is to provide an excellent education to our students while keeping the health of our students and staff at the forefront.

On August 3, 2020, the board convened a meeting to discuss the framework for re-opening schools. The school administration team was tasked by the board to develop and present a re-opening framework. Board discussion and public comment was heard. After public comment and discussion, the board motioned and approved the reopening framework and to start the 2020-2021 school year with the A/B Hybrid/Blended model for grades 3 through 12 by a vote of 4 to 2. The board tasked the administration to develop criteria for when each level of the framework would be implemented. The board directed the administration team and GEA to work together to develop a K through 2 reopening plan to be presented to the board. Direction to develop a commitment form for families to choose the online option for students was given. This will be developed and sent out to families in the GPS district. There was discussion whether students that enroll in the online option would be able to participate in extracurricular activities. This was tabled and no determination was made. The board will address this issue at the next board meeting. Discussion on pushing back the start date of school occurred with no final resolution. The board recessed the special board meeting and will reconvene after further information has been gathered. The next regular scheduled board meeting is scheduled for August 10, 2020 at 7:00 PM in the DCHS auditorium. GPS Reopening Guidance (Options):https://5il.co/j3o7

Just a reminder about our board meeting tonight. Agenda: https://5il.co/iyo6 If you are interested in talking during the public comment section of the meeting, you will be required to sign in at the beginning of the meeting. We are trying to get it set up to live-stream tonight's meeting on Facebook. If we are able to live-stream this meeting, you will not be able to participate in the public comment section of the meeting while viewing online. Please note that the Dawson County Health Department has alerted everyone that Dawson County now has 6 active COVID-19 cases. They have initiated Governor Bullock’s mandatory mask directive that will require everyone to wear a face covering at the meeting. Because this meeting will most likely have more than 50 people attending, it had to be approved by the Health Department. Please follow all safety protocols that will be in place at the meeting. Dawson County Health Department Post: Face masks are now required in Dawson County per the Governor’s directive. For further information on the directive, please visit the Dawson County Health Department’s website at www.dawsoncountymontana.org/daparrtments/publichealth

Hello from Glendive Public Schools! ​2020-2021 Glendive Public Schools Reopening Parent Survey This survey was requested by the GPS Board of Trustees in order to explore reopening plan options for the 2020-2021 school year. Please fill out this survey for each of the children in your care by Sunday, August 2, 2020. We want to make sure everyone gets one of these so we apologize for all the repeat messages. https://forms.gle/r2tyw3tnSAcXcNmU6 Thank you!

​On July 29, 2020, the board convened a meeting to discuss the recommendations from the Emergency Operation Team committee for re-opening schools. The EOP committee was tasked by the board to develop a hybrid framework. The link below shows the recommendation presented to the board. Board discussion and public comment was heard. After public comment and discussion, the board requested more information that will be presented at the recessed special board meeting on Monday, August 3, 2020 at 4 pm in the DCHS auditorium. Discussion on pushing back the start date of school occurred with no final resolution. The board also gave direction to explore the possibility of an online option for students that are choosing not to return onsite this fall. A final decision about what the start of school will look like was not made. ​GPS Emergency Operation Team - Recommendations to the GUSB: https://5il.co/iv90

GPS Families and Staff, Last night, the Glendive Unified School Board voted to support the blended/hybrid model of reopening schools. This model, which was proposed as one of the three options by GPS administration, is a combination of on campus and online instruction. The primary goal is to have kids in our buildings as much as possible. We are scheduling a meeting with key stakeholders to work out the details of that blended/hybrid model taking into consideration CDC, state, and local health department safety guidelines, to ensure that our schools operate in a healthy and safe manner. This plan will be presented to the board on Wednesday, July 29th at 4:00 p.m. For more information on what was presented to the board, please click on the following link. GPS Reopening Guidance: https://5il.co/ik2s

We need your help! If you have a student eligible for kindergarten this fall (turns 5 before Sept 10th), please take the time to fill out the following survey. This will help us get a better picture of how many kindergarten students we will have this fall since we were not able to hold registration and screenings in the spring. More information will be sent out Aug 3 about registering for kindergarten. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_4eqFgN0mxjkhCn_ck2PpCzknD7oB3wz2b6WQ2_cjik-ISA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Today is the last day to take the survey. Please check out the link below. 𝗚𝗣𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗬 Glendive Public Schools is committed to coming up with the best possible plan for the 2020-21 school year. In order to do this, it is imperative that we hear from you. We ask that you take a few minutes to complete this survey to help guide our planning. It is the utmost priority of GPS to safely reopen schools during this public health emergency. Your feedback is crucial to help ensure students and staff have healthy learning and working environments. Please click on the link below to be taken to the survey. Thank you! https://forms.gle/UShZNx85KYDBQC4D7

𝗚𝗣𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗬 Survey Link Below... Glendive Public Schools is committed to coming up with the best possible plan for the 2020-21 school year. In order to do this, it is imperative that we hear from you. We ask that you take a few minutes to complete this survey to help guide our planning. It is the utmost priority of GPS to safely reopen schools during this public health emergency. Your feedback is crucial to help ensure students and staff have healthy learning and working environments. During this unprecedented time, the District has been following the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the State, Dawson County Board of Health, Dawson County Health Department, and the local medical community. Throughout this pandemic, the District’s first priority has been and will continue to be the safety of our students and staff. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗚𝗣𝗦 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆? The COVID-19 Survey collects your feedback so that our District leaders can gain information to build response plans in preparation of opening school under the following conditions: - Completely Online - Restricted (fully on-campus w/ CDC guidelines) - Partial (any combination of the previous two). 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗗𝗖 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 https://bit.ly/CDCrequirements We know that parents/guardians may have different opinions about the school year depending on their child’s health, grade level, etc. In order to better serve the community, we ask that you fill out the survey for each child in your care, or for each child that attends a different school. When you finish, the survey link will be available to retake the survey. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆? The survey takes on average 3 minutes to complete. Your answers will only be saved when you click "Submit" on the last page. Please respond to each question honestly and feel free to select "N/A" for any questions you don’t feel you have enough information to answer or aren’t comfortable sharing. Thank you in advance for helping Glendive Public School District understand your experiences and needs. Your participation is completely voluntary, and we value your feedback. 𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗞 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗚𝗣𝗦 𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗-𝟭𝟵 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗬 https://forms.gle/QUoFGn2ACDpC4GvL9