Not “Business as Usual,” But the Important Work Continues

Monday August 17th marked the first day of school for the majority of our families. Our Early College High School successfully started back the week prior at their new location in building 5 of the VGCC campus.

To state the obvious, this was not the typical way that we start a school year. There were no throngs of people at open house, back to school shopping for new supplies, or an opportunity to shake hands with your child’s new teacher and exchange friendly smiles.

These rituals were replaced with chromebook pickups, virtual open houses and drive-through meet and greets. 

What things are the same?

• The importance of meeting the individual needs of each of our students
• The commitment of our teachers and staff to building relationships and providing high-quality instruction
• The support system that is in place to make sure that this is a successful school year, regardless of whether we are operating under Plan A, Plan B or Plan C

How will we make this happen?

• By providing students with access to instruction each day, in a variety of ways that will meet the needs of our families. The preferred method is that each student will be logged in for direct instruction throughout the day, but where this is not feasible we want to provide alternatives to our students so that they can succeed.
• By reaching out to families in a variety of ways to monitor engagement and provide support
• By working with families with internet challenges through individual hot spots, bus wifi, school parking lot access, and community partner and business access
• By providing families with choice (Plan B or Virtual Academy) when we can safely do so

Relationships Matter- Now More than Ever

Relationships still matter- now more than ever. One of the things that I love most about Franklin County Schools is the collective commitment of our school community to one another. Our folks genuinely care and are here because we love our students and school family. It takes each and every one of us stepping in and stepping up to wrap our students in the support that they need to be successful during unprecedented times. We all play a role.

I look forward to the day when we can all come back together with handshakes, hugs and the  small talk that we took for granted and we miss so much. In the meantime, we are going to make the most of a tough situation and we are going to come out on the other side of this situation stronger and wiser.

Where can we learn more?

• Visit the Franklin County Schools website at www.fcschools.net and check out the “Back to School/Remote Learning" tab. 

This is a partnership and we are in this together.

Thanks for being a part of the Franklin County Schools family!

Sincerely,

Dr. Rhonda Schuhler, Superintendent