How We are Helping Others, Helping Our School, and Helping Ourselves
Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School Families,
As we continue into our second week of distance learning, I wanted to provide you with a few updates.
You may have already seen Governor DeWine's announcement yesterday (March 30th) that the date for physical school closure has been extended through May 1st. Deer Park Schools sent a press release yesterday as well. While this adds more challenge to the upcoming weeks, Deer Park Schools had already been preparing for the likelihood of this occurring. The Jr/Sr High School staff has been working hard to communicate plans for this, and I want to take this opportunity to pass along information that is important from this date moving forward.
First, I want to let you know that we are adopting a "Students First, Content Second" approach. We are working together to communicate clearly on a school-wide and on an individual teacher level to both our parents and to our students. We are in unprecedented times, therefore we must approach our learning in a new perspective. While we completely recognize the importance of helping to provide as much structure and learning opportunities for students, we also recognize that our students and families are facing a life challenge that they've not had to before. As many of us our parents ourselves, we understand the challenges our Deer Park Families are experiencing. Please see more information below under the "Assignments" section.
Secondly, I want to encourage you to please ask questions if you have them. This can be to teachers, counselors, or any administrators. As a school and as a district, we will continue to work hard to disseminate information as best and as thoroughly as we can. While we will attempt to over-communicate, we recognize that not all questions may be answered at all times. We also recognize that emails such as this contain a lot of information that may feel overwhelming. That being said, we are going to go back to sending Wildcat Weekly emails, but they will be sent on Sunday evenings from this point on.
Again, please do not hesitate to reach out if there are any questions! We are here to Help Others through this, and we believe that we will work through this to become stronger together.
Thank you,
Shane Hartley
Deer Park Jr./Sr. High School Principal
Email: hartley.s@dpccsd.org
Phone: (513) 891-0010
Assignments
Our teachers are committed to creating assignments for students that will keep them engaged in their learning without overwhelming the students. We recognize that students do not have the normal access to one on one help that they normally would, and we recognize the challenge on families to try to complete assignments. This is part of our "Students First, Content Second" mentality (thank you to a neighboring school for coming up with that phrase!).
Students should continue to use Schoology to access specific assignments for their classes. Students should also continue to communicate with teachers when they're having difficulty with their assignments for whatever reasons. As mentioned in a previous email, our teachers will have "office hours" every school day from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
One Stop-Shop Assignment Access
Starting next week, we are also going to set up a "One-stop shop" for students and families. This will be in the form of an accessible spreadsheet that will be sent through our Wildcat Weekly and posted to the Jr/Sr High School page on our Deer Park website
Collecting Paper Assignments
For any paper copies of assignments that have already been sent home, please know that we will be patient with these. Our first priority is safety, so we are asking that students or their parents simply use a device (phone or computer) to take a picture of these assignments and send them to our teachers through email. If you have any questions as to the logistics of this, please contact either the teacher or me.
Request for Paper Copies due to Limited/No WiFi Access
For students who still wish to receive paper copies due to limited or no WiFi access, we sent an email last week for a sign-up. That sign-up was limited to only Deer Park email accounts (that is, only to student emails), but we've updated the settings. If you would like to add your name to this request, please click here to add your name to the list. We will work on an individual basis to meet these needs by the end of this week. Also, please see the information below regarding providers offering free internet for students.
End of Year Activities
We are committed to keeping as many traditional end-of-the-year activities as we can, though we realize that these will need to look differently. Graduation and Prom are two specific events that we're committed to keeping, though we are in a bit of a waiting pattern as dictated by the data for the Coronavirus. These events will likely take place in the summer with dates to be determined.
We are also still working through logistics and plans for our other end-of-the-year activities, and we will send out that information to students and families as it becomes available.
District Coronavirus 2019 Information Page
A page on the Deer Park website has been created which is dedicated to bringing you the most up-to-date information on all things affecting Deer Park Schools. It includes several quick links to local, state, and national health organizations, along with a frequently asked questions section. Please visit the page to stay up to date with all COVID-19 information.
Click here to stay up to date with all COVID-19 information.
Providers Offering Free Internet for Students
We understand that not all families have access to wifi at home. If you need the internet at home, many telecom providers are offering enhanced services or free service. Please view a pair of options below.
Charter-Spectrum's Free WiFi Deal
Charter-Spectrum is offering free access to broadband and WiFi services to households with students who do not already have the services. The WiFi access will be available for 60 days to households with students from kindergarten to college who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll in the service you can call 1-844-488-8395 or click the link above to learn more.
Charter-Spectrum Free WiFi
Comcast "Internet Essentials" Program
Comcast says applicants who qualify will get a 25 Mbps connection for free for two months. All new customers in this program will receive a free self-install kit that includes a cable modem and WiFi router. There is no term contract. Click the link below to learn more.
Comcast Internet Essentials Program