At Battle Creek Public Schools, we believe that a quality education is the foundation for future success. We see every child by name, need and strength, and will continue to do so when school resumes in the fall.
We are working collaboratively with the Calhoun County Health Department to develop plans that ensure that our students can continue learning in a way that prioritizes the health and safety of students, staff and their families. While we aren’t sure yet what arrangements will be required, we are planning for a variety of scenarios. Our plans include opportunities for in-person learning, virtual education or a hybrid approach based upon the most current health department recommendations.
Whether school takes place in person, virtually or both, we plan to increase the support for the social-emotional well being of students. We know that the pandemic has created hardships for many students and families, and our team is ready to offer the support our community needs.
When in-person attendance resumes for staff and students, we anticipate that structural changes may be needed to maximize social distancing and minimize exposure. The plans we are considering include the construction of barriers in common areas and offices; changes to large gathering processes like lunch, recess and assemblies; and other precautionary measures.
In April 2020, BCPS began distributing Chromebooks to students without access to a device at home. Now, we are increasing our investment in digital resources to support all learning, growing this technology distribution program to ensure that every student in the district has a BCPS Chromebook.
We expect to have a full plan available for release in July and will be sure to inform our families and community as soon as it becomes available.