March 29, 2020 - 9:00am: Update from Lynn Cota, Superintendent
Dear FNESU Community,
On Thursday, March 26, 2020, Governor Phil Scott announced the Gubernatorial Directive #5 – Continuity of Learning Planning in response to the COVID-19 crisis. “Schools for preK-12 students shall remain dismissed for in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, unless otherwise ordered by the Governor if the COVID-19 response should allow.” To clarify, this does not mean there is no school for the remainder of the year. Effective, April 13, 2020, all schools will be shifting from a Maintenance of Learning Plan to a Continuity of Education remote learning plan. We have developed our FNESU Continuity of Education Plan (FNESU COE Spanish Version), that will continue to be updated as new guidance from the Agency of Education is received. Families can expect more information as we shift into the Continuity of Learning phase beginning April 13.
Governor Scott has had to make some tough decisions in order to prioritize the health and safety of the citizens of Vermont. Although we anticipated a longer period of closure for schools, the latest directive caught many of us by surprise. Now that we have all had a little time to digest the new reality of public education for the remainder of the year, I want to assure you that the leaders, teachers, and staff of FNESU are all doing their very best to adjust to this shift. The learning curve has been steep, but we are committed to rising up and meeting this challenge in support of all our students and families.
The latest School Dismissal Order, the Stay Home Order, the reality of the COVID-19 virus, and the financial hardships faced by so many of our citizens is incredibly stressful. In FNESU, our priority will continue to be the health and well-being of our students, staff, and families. Our staff will continue to check in on students to be sure everyone is doing ok.
We are committed to continuing the delivery of meals to children in FNESU. Currently, we are serving more than 2,500 meals a day. If you would like to add your child(ren) to our meal delivery route, please call your local school. Our staff are doing an amazing job of making sure children are fed and learning materials are delivered. Thank you for the many waves, cheers, and posters of gratitude, our staff appreciates you.
To our students, especially our high school seniors and parents, this latest news has understandably been met with a deep sense of loss. This is certainly not how any of us wanted to see the end of the school year, for some the end of the school career, turn out. We know it must be hard to think about losing out on all of the activities and celebrations that usually come each spring. In the Governor’s directive, he left the door open for the possibility of returning for end of the year celebrations and ceremonies depending upon the reality of the COVID-19 virus at that time. Seniors, we are committed to celebrating and honoring you, as soon as it is safe to do so.
The best thing we can all do now is comply with the Stay Home, Stay Safe order to do our part to mitigate the spread of this COVID-19 virus. The more all of us follow the order, limit our interactions with others, and only go out for essential tasks like groceries, pharmacy, medical care, exercise, and work (for Essential Persons) the quicker we can bend the curve, stop the spread of this virus, and get back to normal. Here is a link to COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions.
We will continue to put updated information and resources on our www.fnesu.org website, our FNESU Facebook page, and we’ll use School Messenger for important updates. If you are experiencing financial distress, homelessness, hunger, job loss, health care related issues and other hardships that arise please reach out to Vermont 2-1-1 by dialing 211, or visit www.unitedwaynwvt.org/vermont-211.
Please know we are thinking about all of you, we miss our students, we’ll get through these next few months together, and we can’t wait to see you all in person in the fall!
Sincerely,
Lynn Cota
Superintendent
Dear FNESU Community,
On Thursday, March 26, 2020, Governor Phil Scott announced the Gubernatorial Directive #5 – Continuity of Learning Planning in response to the COVID-19 crisis. “Schools for preK-12 students shall remain dismissed for in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year, unless otherwise ordered by the Governor if the COVID-19 response should allow.” To clarify, this does not mean there is no school for the remainder of the year. Effective, April 13, 2020, all schools will be shifting from a Maintenance of Learning Plan to a Continuity of Education remote learning plan. We have developed our FNESU Continuity of Education Plan (FNESU COE Spanish Version), that will continue to be updated as new guidance from the Agency of Education is received. Families can expect more information as we shift into the Continuity of Learning phase beginning April 13.
Governor Scott has had to make some tough decisions in order to prioritize the health and safety of the citizens of Vermont. Although we anticipated a longer period of closure for schools, the latest directive caught many of us by surprise. Now that we have all had a little time to digest the new reality of public education for the remainder of the year, I want to assure you that the leaders, teachers, and staff of FNESU are all doing their very best to adjust to this shift. The learning curve has been steep, but we are committed to rising up and meeting this challenge in support of all our students and families.
The latest School Dismissal Order, the Stay Home Order, the reality of the COVID-19 virus, and the financial hardships faced by so many of our citizens is incredibly stressful. In FNESU, our priority will continue to be the health and well-being of our students, staff, and families. Our staff will continue to check in on students to be sure everyone is doing ok.
We are committed to continuing the delivery of meals to children in FNESU. Currently, we are serving more than 2,500 meals a day. If you would like to add your child(ren) to our meal delivery route, please call your local school. Our staff are doing an amazing job of making sure children are fed and learning materials are delivered. Thank you for the many waves, cheers, and posters of gratitude, our staff appreciates you.
To our students, especially our high school seniors and parents, this latest news has understandably been met with a deep sense of loss. This is certainly not how any of us wanted to see the end of the school year, for some the end of the school career, turn out. We know it must be hard to think about losing out on all of the activities and celebrations that usually come each spring. In the Governor’s directive, he left the door open for the possibility of returning for end of the year celebrations and ceremonies depending upon the reality of the COVID-19 virus at that time. Seniors, we are committed to celebrating and honoring you, as soon as it is safe to do so.
The best thing we can all do now is comply with the Stay Home, Stay Safe order to do our part to mitigate the spread of this COVID-19 virus. The more all of us follow the order, limit our interactions with others, and only go out for essential tasks like groceries, pharmacy, medical care, exercise, and work (for Essential Persons) the quicker we can bend the curve, stop the spread of this virus, and get back to normal. Here is a link to COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions.
We will continue to put updated information and resources on our www.fnesu.org website, our FNESU Facebook page, and we’ll use School Messenger for important updates. If you are experiencing financial distress, homelessness, hunger, job loss, health care related issues and other hardships that arise please reach out to Vermont 2-1-1 by dialing 211, or visit www.unitedwaynwvt.org/vermont-211.
Please know we are thinking about all of you, we miss our students, we’ll get through these next few months together, and we can’t wait to see you all in person in the fall!
Sincerely,
Lynn Cota
Superintendent
Congratulations to the 2019 FNESU Educators of the Year!
Kris Hoyt
FNESU Middle/High Educator of the Year Richford Jr-Sr High |
Lisa Robtoy
FNESU Elementary Educator of the Year Enosburg Elementary |
FNESU Educators of the Year with Superintendent, Lynn Cota
|
Christine Cullen
FNESU Educator of the Year FNESU |
Linda Marcy
FNESU Para Educator of the Year Richford Elementary |