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FPS Board of Education Says FPS Schools Are Ready and Prepared to Open August 11

FREMONT- The Fremont Public Schools Board of Education met yesterday, August 10, in the Fremont Middle School gymnasium to discuss final reopening procedures for the 2020-2021 school year.
At the beginning of the meeting, the board opened the floor for public comment. There were two in attendance that stepped up to speak at the podium- a thankful parent and a worried teacher.
The parent, Lisa Schultz, praised the school’s efforts in working diligently to safely re-open while making sure they can provide a healthy, learning environment for students this fall.
“I know many are concerned with schools re-opening; my husband and I have a son who will be a sophomore at the high school, and he uses an inhaler daily…However, we must weigh these risks against the harm we are causing our children by them not returning to school.”
Shultz also stated she was glad that the FPS school system was reopening because she believed remote learning in the spring was mentally hard on students, and not all students had access to Wifi.
Britt Jensen, a science teacher at Fremont Middle School, spoke with a more concerned tone to the board.
“Looking at the data available, it is very evident that we are not in a position to be throwing roughly 4,700 students into close proximity with each other.” Jensen continued, “Six-foot distancing will be impossible in some FPS classrooms with the number of students we are being asked to place in them.
Jensen stated he does not think FPS should take any chances and criticized the Board of Education’s decision to not require masks during classes such as gym class.
Superintendent of Schools, Mark Shepard, spoke and reiterated that the social and emotional well-being of every student is their highest priority. He then turned it over to Kate Heineman, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning, to share what the schools will be doing to make sure this aspect of student’s lives is going to be well taken care of this school year.
Throughout the first two weeks, FPS will have a rigorous plan in place to assess each child’s well-being in regards to trauma, new changes, and other factors that could be putting a child at risk. Heineman shared that the school knows that these changes won’t come easy for all students and that this past year has been traumatic for many.
Heineman said some of this trauma is due to problems students faced by going remote in the spring. Some parents couldn’t afford childcare services, but also couldn’t afford to take off work to be home with their kids. Children faced issues such as poverty, hunger, and safety issues within and outside of the home. She stated that these problems could have also stemmed before COVID-19 due to the 2019 Floods.
Throughout the school year, Heineman said FPS will be constantly monitoring students’ behaviors to determine what kind of help each student may need.
Mark Shepard shared his thoughts on how well he believes the school system is prepared to open this fall.
“We’ve worked really hard since March 6 to truly identify the best way to keep our students safe. I think we’ve put a lot of effort into it, we’ve listened to the guidance, and we’ve followed the data and we will continue to follow it.” He continued, “We are in contact with Three Rivers Public Health daily, sometimes even hourly, to assess where we are, and what the next steps will be. We’re prepared to make changes in an instant if need be.”
Shepard also expressed confidence in the detailed Back to School Blueprint FPS released.
“Our school blueprint was created with input from multiple organizations and I believe 45 employees of the FPS School System were involved which is roughly 25% of staff. We spent almost four months putting this together and it is a moving, breathing document. We will make adjustments and changes depending on what the future holds during this pandemic. As of right now, I believe everyone involved in this has put in the work to make sure we are prepared and able to open school safely.”
Executive Director of Human Resources and Elementary Operations, Kevin Eairleywine, discussed absences and accommodations for teachers and students this year due to COVID-19.
These new categories can be found here https://fremonttigers.org/human-resources
As of the meeting, on August 10, Eairleywine said, “So far, we have received 102 applications for leave and 98% of them have been able to be covered.” He continued, “19% of these applications were COVID-19 related, but the other 81% were for personal, maternity, or sick leave.”
Director of Food Service, Rowan Lang, gave an update on the results of the Summer Feeding Program.
Throughout the summer, 140,853 total meals were served to students. From March 23 – April 3, the school had a daily meal hand out, and from April 6 – August 6 the school provided three meals a week and weekend backpacks. During this time, the school provided 3,024 weekend backpacks.
Lang said the schools are prepared to serve meals in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines. Students will be served their lunches, eliminating the usual buffet-style service, and students will eat in multiple areas to be able to comply with social distancing guidelines.

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