Back To School Welcome Letter Posted: September 18, 2020

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This has been and continues to be a challenging time for us all.  Over the last months, we have worked diligently to study the guidance from national, state, and local officials, as well as seeking input from parents and stakeholders.  During this trying time, a couple of constants have been the fluidity of this situation and the fact that with every answer comes more questions. This is a complicated situation, but we have done our best to use all guidelines mentioned above to develop our plan for classrooms.  Keeping our students and staff as safe as possible, is our top priority.

OLHSA Early Head Start, Head Start, and GSRP will begin distance learning on September 21, 2020 and will continue with this option through December 31, 2020. Our goal is to return to in-person classroom learning in January 2021 and more information will be forthcoming as we move toward reopening. We will look at the data in December and determine if it safe to return to classroom learning. A return to in-person learning would include keeping classroom sizes small and reduced hours for teachers to have time to sanitize and disinfect their classrooms. Our handbook with information on the school year is online this year and you will find it on our website at https://www.olhsa.org/earlychildhoodprograms.

This coming year you can expect to receive high quality supportive services from our distance learning program. We will have a drive through event at our OLHSA Pontiac and Webster Hazel Park locations, to pick up supplies to assist with distance learning. We will also have tablets available for families that need equipment to connect with their teacher. Parent Orientation will also take place through Zoom and this information will be forthcoming.

Thank you for your patience. Safety is our priority and we care deeply about the students, families and staff in our program. We will continue to make decisions whether to return to in-person classroom learning or continue distance learning based on data, in order to keep everyone safe.

Sincerely,

Janice Smith

OLHSA, ECS Director