Safely reopening our school this fall is our No. 1 priority.

Summit Families,

On Thursday, June 25th the Iowa Department of Education (DOE) released its Reopening Guidance for Schools. I have evaluated this guidance and shared it with Summit’s Board of Trustees to determine its alignment with our Return-to-Learn Plan (RLP). My research and additional information gathered in my attendance at webinars with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) over the last few months lead me to believe that additional safety mitigation efforts above what the DOE is suggesting are necessary to safely reopen our schools.

In addition to the DOE guidance I will continue to utilize the recommendations from the IDPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Linn County Public Health (LCPH) as our plans take shape.

The DOE has asked school districts to submit a series of assurances by July 1, 2020. These assurances indicate our intent to have comprehensive Return-to-Learn plans in place for the fall; however, it is not required that the full plans are finalized at the time the assurances are due. During the first two weeks of July I will complete the required policies and procedures that will be necessary in order for Summit to operate as safely and efficiently as possible. These new policies and procedures will be shared with the Board of Trustees for approval and then will be shared with the Summit Community for comment. A final draft of these adopted policies and procedures will be delivered to our Summit families no later than August 1st.

In addition to specific information around health and safety, more details regarding school infrastructure, academic standards, social-emotional/behavioral health, and equity will be shared.

The health and safety of our students and staff will remain our number one priority as we prepare to open school on August 12th. I sincerely appreciate your patience, your trust, and your questions as we work to safely reopen our school.

I hope you will join us at our Town Hall this Tuesday night at 6:30pm for further updates.
Sincerely,
Paul G. Pressler
Head of Schools/Principal