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‘Phase One’: WCSD will provide educational packets next week

Warren County School District is rolling out the first phase of its education continuity plan.

“Some families are anxious for educational materials and frustrated we haven’t provided them sooner,”

Superintendent Amy Stewart said Friday. “We are thankful to all families for their patience and support as we work together to meet our students needs during this unprecedented time.”

Following guidance from the Pennsylvania and United States departments of education as well as district legal counsel, the district will offer offline educational materials to students starting next week.

“Phase One includes providing enrichment and/or review activities that reinforce or extend students’ prior learning,” Stewart said. “To do so, packets of activities were generated through current district resources and teacher contributions. Each grade level packet contains materials for multiple ability levels and will serve as a tool for review and/or enrichment for students.”

“Each student in the district will be receiving a Phase One – Offline Learning Materials Packet whether students have online capabilities or not” she said. “Please note these packets will not be collected back and are not graded.”

The packets will contain information for accessing “multiple online resources,” according to the release. “These resources have been put together by a team of educators both at the WCSD and the Intermediate Unit. The document will contain online resources specifically used by our WCSD teachers, as well as resources from the Intermediate Units and other outside agencies.”

On Tuesday, school buses will make their usual routes on a two-hour delay schedule. They will be carrying the educational materials to be distributed to each student.

There will be a packet for each student.

Stewart explained that the district is utilizing buses to distribute the packets because they are easily recognizable and students will not have to be asked to approach unfamiliar vehicles.

“We expect the stops to take longer than usual, so please be patient,” she said. “The buses will stop at each home or bus stop on its route, and the packets will be distributed to the students or parents/guardians present at the stop.”

“Please exercise social distancing when at the bus stop and when the packets are being distributed,” Stewart asked in the release. “Those who are not able to be at the bus stops or do not have a bus stop may pick up their materials on the following day, Wednesday, April 1.”

Students who attend Warren Area High School, Warren Area Elementary Center, or Beaty-Warren Middle School may pick up materials at the Warren Area High School bus ramp; those who attend Sheffield Area Middle High School or Sheffield Area Elementary School may pick up materials at the Sheffield Area Middle High School main entrance; and those who attend Youngsville Middle High School or Youngsville Elementary School may pick up materials at the Youngsville Elementary School main entrance. Student who attend Eisenhower Middle High School or Eisenhower Elementary School may pick up materials at one of two locations, depending on where they live.

Students who live in Lander or Russell areas may pick up the materials at the Warren County School District Central Office. Those who live in Sugar Grove or Bear Lake areas may pick up materials at the former Sugar Grove Elementary School.

Packets will continue to be available at the schools from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday, April 3.

Because the packets are individualized for each student, they must be picked up at the proper locations.

The pick-up locations do not match district grab-and-go meal locations in order to spread out those services to prevent people from having to come together in groups.

Future phases

“At this time, the Warren County School District is gathering information and resources to address student educational needs if an extended closure becomes necessary,” Stewart said. “There is a strong sense of urgency that our WCSD families please take the time to complete the brief technology survey that is made available on the district website and school’s Facebook pages. This information will allow the district to move forward with the specificity needed to execute plans for Phase Two and Phase Three, if necessary. As these plans become solidified, you will be notified.”

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