It’s a Great Day to be a Tiger! We are excited for the possibility that we will be able to open WMCSD schools August 7th for students. Our teachers have been getting their classrooms ready and attending professional development in the month of July. That is in addition to all of the work they are doing on their own to prepare themselves for the challenges this year is sure to deliver. Faculty and staff will return to work on August 3rd for four days of professional development and preparing for teaching students both face-to-face and through distance learning.
Winona Elementary will host Parent Days on August 4th-6th and will take advantage of a slow start August 7th-14th. This will allow parents, students, and teachers to ease into the new year with all the health and safety protocols that will need to be taught to our PreK through sixth grade Tigers.
On July 1st we shared the requirements for at-home learning. At-home learning is a huge commitment on the part of both students and their parents. Students will be expected to spend up to 5 and ½ hours per day working on assignments. Parents must be able to provide the student(s) in the household with a computer, Internet access adequate for live streaming, and transportation to and from the student’s assigned school on scheduled days to complete tests and other graded assignments as needed. Parents and students who participate in at-home learning must complete training for the online learning programs used such as Google Classroom and all assigned curriculum programs used by student(s). More information will be released soon on the district website at winonamontgomerycsd.com.
We’ve had some questions about CARES Act money, or ESSER funds as it is called in schools. WMCSD submitted our plan by the deadline date of July 10th. Along with many Mississippi school districts, our plan was returned due to U. S. Department of Education Secretary DeVos’ Rule to ensure all students benefit from CARES Act money including public and private school students. More information on this can be found here: https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/secretary-devos-issues-rule-ensure-cares-act-funding-serves-all-students
WMCSD does not have the ESSER money assigned to us at this time. We are allowed to and have obligated some of the money for clearing supplies, face coverings, health services, and online learning programs. However, we do not know how USDE Secretary DeVos’ Rule will impact the final amount and must be cautious in our obligations.
The Mississippi Department of Education and Winona-Montgomery Consolidated School District plan to provide devices for our students to use to enhance learning and provide opportunities to learn in a variety of situations we may find ourselves in during the global pandemic. The date for being able to purchase the devices is not available at this time. WMCSD is a small district with limited resources, so we must work with MDE to purchase the devices.
If you have questions for us, please send them to tigertalk@winonaschools.net or call your child’s school. We are so appreciative of the support of our communities and look forward to the new school year.