Update Center

Decatur Township Families,

    As we celebrate the beginning of 2021, I want to wish all of you a Happy New Year and best wishes moving into the second semester of school.  There are a couple of reminders and important dates regarding Decatur Township Schools that I wanted to share prior to next week:

• We begin the second semester this Monday, 1/4/21, with all grades, K-12 on a virtual schedule. 
• The following week, starting Monday, 1/11/21, we will begin full in person instruction for all schools, K-6 while grades 7-12 will be on a hybrid schedule.  This hybrid schedule will be the same as the first semester. 
• Please reach out to your child’s school building for any specific questions regarding your child’s schedule.
• Regarding child nutrition, we will still be serving Free Meal Packs on Wednesday, 1-6-21 at the following locations:
  •          Blue & Gold: 11 AM - 12 PM & 4 PM - 5 PM
  •          DTSE 11 AM: 12 PM & 4 PM - 5 PM
  •          DCHS: 11 AM - 12PM
  •          Stephen Decatur 11 AM - 12 PM
  •          Liberty: 11 AM - 12 PM
  •         West Newton: 11 AM - 12 PM
  •         Valley Brook: 11 AM - 12 PM 
  •         Troy Manor: 11 AM - 12 PM
  •         Windsong: 11 AM - 12 PM
  •         Lynhurst Park: 11 AM - 12 PM
• Beginning the week of 1-11-21, we will return to offering 1 meal pack location for our remote and hybrid students.
• ALL meals will be picked up at DTSE on Wednesdays from 11 AM - 12 PM and 4 PM - 5 PM.
• All meals are free through May, 2021.
• Families need to complete 1 Google Form per student, regardless of learning model or grade level.

This information, along with the Google Form, is available at www.decaturproud.org/child-nutrition and will be posted on district social media.  If you have any questions, please call the Child Nutrition Department at 317-856-5265.

Lastly, I look forward to this spring semester as we continue to serve our community.  I am thankful for our teachers, support staff and administration.  Together, we will serve our children and continue to monitor our COVID situation, looking to bring back all students to in person learning as safely as possible.  I hope you have had a restful, safe holiday season. I look forward to 2021!  Together, we are Decatur Proud!

Sincerely,

Dr. Prusiecki
Superintendent

Decatur Township Families,

    As we head into the holiday season and the new year of 2021, I want to share with you the status of our schools as we come back for the second semester on Monday, January 4, 2021:

• We will begin school on Monday, January 4th being completely virtual, grades K-12.  As of this announcement, we plan for this to continue for just the first week of school, January 4th - 8th.  

• Beginning Monday, January 11, 2021, MSD of Decatur Township will go back to the school model we had for the majority of the first semester:
• K-6 elementary schools will be back to full in-person instruction five days a week.
• Grades 7-12 will be back to the hybrid model that we used the first semester.  
• Remote students will continue their instruction virtually unless families have chosen to return in person.

• In light of the flexibility given by the Marion County Board of Health, MSD of Decatur Township will proceed cautiously, monitoring the health metrics as we continue to seek advice from the Marion County Board of Health.  As the metrics change next semester, we will adjust accordingly, striving to bring all students back to in-person instruction, but doing so as cautiously as possible for the safety of our students, teachers, and all staff.  

• We will continue to adhere to the necessary safety protocols:
• No one is allowed into our buildings without administrative approval.  Our buildings will be closed to the public except for students and staff.
• Masks will be the expectation of all students and adults.  Even though grades K-2 students are no longer required to wear masks by the MCBH, it is the expectation of our Decatur Township Schools to have masks worn as much as possible for the safety of everyone.  
• Social distancing of six feet is essential for our high school students while three feet is the new requirement for middle school and elementary school students.  We will continue to strive for six feet even though the new requirement by the MCBH has reduced to three feet. 
• Frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizer will continue as these safety protocols prove to help stop the spread of COVID. 

With our first semester coming to a close, I want to thank you, as an entire school community, for working together for the sake of our children.  It has been a unique and challenging experience; however, our Decatur Community has made it the best possible through the collaboration of everyone involved.  Thank you for allowing us to work with your children to prepare them to be Tomorrow Ready!  We look forward to 2021 and the opportunities that will come with it.  Be safe over winter break and continue to practice the safety protocols to limit the spread of COVID.  Lastly, I do wish all of you a Happy 2021 New Year!

As Always, We are DECATUR PROUD!

Dr. Prusiecki 
Superintendent

Decatur Township Families,

Next week is Thanksgiving Week. We have school on Monday, November 23rd as well as Tuesday, November 24th with the remainder of the week off for the holiday. With virtual school starting on November 23rd, I wanted to share that we will be putting some supports in place for families to utilize if you so choose. They are the following:

Our Child Nutrition Department will begin providing meals for our families every Wednesday, starting on December 2nd, the Wednesday after our Thanksgiving break.  Children must be present to qualify.  Meal Packs will be at the following locations:  

• Blue & Gold 11 AM - 12 PM & 4 PM - 5 PM
• DTSE 11 AM - 12 PM & 4 PM - 5 PM
• DCHS 11 AM - 12 PM
• Stephen Decatur 11 AM - 12 PM
• Liberty 11 AM - 12 PM
• West Newton 11 AM - 12 PM
• Valley Brook 11 AM - 12 PM
• Troy Manor 11 AM - 12 PM
• Windsong 11 AM - 12 PM
• Lynhurst Park 11 AM - 12 PM

The dates for meal distribution will include December 2, 9 & 16 as well as January 6 & 13.  Any questions, call Child Nutrition at 317-856-5265.

We are partnering with AYS, Inc, our before and after school care, to make available child care with supports in place to assist with virtual learning for our children.  We are excited to foster child care options for our community.  The following is from AYS, Inc:

In collaboration with MSD of Decatur Township and in order to provide families with a safe place to take their students while the district returns to virtual learning, AYS will be reopening its full-day Liftoff E-Learning program at Blue and Gold Academies on Monday, November 30. This program will focus on providing e-learning and social and emotional support for students in a safe and healthy environment. Learn more and register today at www.ayskids.org/e-learning!
 

Our transportation system will assist with providing a ride to high school and middle school extracurricular activities that have competitions with other school districts this winter season.  This is permitted by the Marion County Board of Health as long as appropriate safety protocols are in place.  Cohorts of students based on their activities will allow for appropriate social distancing and support for our families who need help getting their children to their activities.

All competitions will allow only parents to attend with no more than two tickets per student.  This applies to any athletic or fine arts competition. This is subject to change at any time if necessary.  

All school buildings will be off-limits to the community unless you have authorized permission by school officials.  We will be disinfecting all school buildings daily to ensure a safe environment for our employees as we support virtual learning.  

As we transition to virtual learning next week, please communicate with us any concerns or items that we need to address. Each school will share expectations, protocols, and procedures for the next several weeks of virtual learning. In spite of our new learning environment due to COVID, our district vision is still preparing our students to be Tomorrow Ready! Let’s all do our share to stay clear of large group gatherings as well as using hand sanitizer or hand washing to combat this virus. Mask wearing as much as possible is strongly recommended. Thank you for your commitment to Decatur Township Schools. Together, we will overcome this pandemic as we continue to help our children learn and grow. Together, We are Decatur Proud!

Sincerely,

Dr. Prusiecki
Superintendent 

Spectator attendance at all Decatur Central High School and Decatur Middle School Winter Athletics, as well as all Performing Arts events, will be limited to parents and essential personnel only for the foreseeable future.  As always, we will work with DCHS Live to broadcast/stream as many DCHS home events as possible.

We look forward to the day we can return to full capacity events but are thankful that our students can still participate in co-curricular activities. We will communicate any changes in this spectator attendance policy when possible.  Please mask up, keep your groups small, and do what we all need to do to stop the spread of COVID-19!

Decatur Township Families,

          As a follow up to the mandates prescribed by our Mayor and the Marion County Board of Health earlier today, I want to share with you how this impacts MSD of Decatur Township Schools.  All schools will begin Virtual Learning starting Monday, November 23rd.  We will continue with our current school schedule tomorrow, Friday, November 13th through next week, November 16th through the 20th.  I wanted to confirm this transition today to allow all families as much time as possible to begin making the necessary adjustments for the upcoming virtual schedule.  If your child is already in remote learning, they will continue with that schedule as we transition to district-wide virtual learning.  As shared by the Marion County Board of Health today, we plan to remain on this virtual schedule until January 15th.  

        There are many questions that need to be answered with this kind of transition.  Answers to those questions will be forthcoming, either from the district or from your child’s school, depending on the topic.  I encourage you to continue wearing a mask as much as possible, washing your hands and using hand sanitizer when able, while restricting your interaction with large groups of people, social distancing when you can.  The Decatur School Community has led the way in maintaining a safe school environment this school year.  Under the parameters of the Marion County Board of Health, we can continue the best practices to ensure community safety for all of us.  Even during these challenging times, our success working through this pandemic is critical for preparing our children to be Tomorrow Ready!  Again, stronger together, we can do this.  We are Decatur Proud!

Sincerely,

Dr. Prusiecki
Superintendent

Click here for more information.

Decatur Township Families,

At the conclusion of this week, we have completed 12 days of school, operating as a full in-person elementary level, a hybrid secondary level, along with remote learning K-12.  I want to thank you for working with our children’s schools, bringing learning back to the forefront during these challenging times.  Our students are doing a tremendous job in our new environment - wearing masks, socially distancing themselves, and frequently washing their hands.  Thank you for your cooperation and support to ensure safety protocols in our buildings.  Additionally, I want to share some metrics with you regarding enrollment and building safety since school started August 6th:

• As of Thursday, August 20th, we have had a total of 4 positive cases in Decatur Township Schools.  This number includes both students and staff.  
• In addition, the total number of students and staff who have been quarantined due to contact tracing is currently 8.  All families have been contacted by anyone who has been identified through contact tracing due to a positive case of COVID.
• The number of parents that called their children in due to self-screening and “self-quarantined” them as well as employees that did the same is 102.
• Lastly, the number of students who have been sent home with symptoms is 136. 

• ---

  Currently, our student enrollment in Decatur Township is 6,575.  
• Our total number of employees in Decatur Township is 891.

• ---

  Therefore, the percentage of positive cases per our School population is 0.05%.
• The percentage of quarantined persons per our School population is 0.1%. 
• The percentage of self screened quarantined individuals is 1.3%.
• The percentage of students who have been sent home is 2%.
• In Marion County, the seven-day positivity rate on July 26 was at 9.4%.  As of a confirmed rate on August 12th, that same seven-day rate is down to 7.3%.  Overall County Metrics are trending in the right direction.  

With our metrics where they are, and with the support and assistance of both the Marion County Board of Health and the State Board of Health, these numbers illustrate that our safety plan is working.  Like the Flu or any other virus, we cannot ensure 100% protection against COVID, but we are providing an environment that upholds our mission of Student Safety.  I would also ask that we continue to be vigilant both at home and school to continue washing hands, socially distance and wear masks as much as possible.  These three measures are the best way for us as a school community to maintain this safe environment as we enter into the fall months of school.  Our partnership with Community Health has allowed for great oversight while strengthening our safety protocols.  Collectively, we are moving in the right direction for overall in-person learning, doing so with effective safety measures, and doing it as a school community.  By doing this, we are continuing our Vision for making our children Tomorrow Ready!

On behalf of Decatur Township Schools, thank you again for your patience and resilience for the benefit of our children. Together, we are Decatur Proud!

Sincerely,

Dr. Prusiecki

Superintendent

Today, August 13th, Decatur Township Schools is pushing out our District Culture Guide to all iPads and MacBooks for both students and staff.

To locate the Guide:

On the iPad, open the books app and tap on Library.

Please be aware that this initiative is at your disposal for your use, as our School District utilizes a common social and emotional system for managing our responses to the events of any given day. Thank you for your commitment to our school community and our families.  We are stronger together as we take advantage of our common language through our Decatur Culture Guide.

Decatur Culture Guide

Decatur Township Families your 2020/21 school bills have been uploaded into Skyward. You may now
view the bills online and payments can be made through your child’s school Treasurer or EFunds.
Students who attend Decatur Central High School or Decatur Middle School (including Remote Learners)
will have class fees added after the first 10 days of school to allow for schedule changes.

Decatur Township Families, 

     Reminder of a couple of things as we start the 2020-2021 School year:

• Our first day of school is this Thursday, August 6th.
• All Elementary Schools are going back to school every day, unless you requested the Remote Learning Option.  For Liberty Early Elementary, Blue & Gold Academies, Stephen Decatur, Valley Mills, and West Newton - our kindergarten building and our five elementary schools are back full time, every school day. Families who have chosen the Remote Learning Option at the elementary level, your assigned teacher will be in touch with you this week.  You will not be attending school in-person.  Families may choose or opt-out of remote learning at the end of the first nine weeks grading period.
• For all secondary students, including Decatur Middle School, Decatur Central High School, and Decatur Township School for Excellence, a mixture of in-person learning and virtual learning is the most we can provide in the building per order of the Marion County Board of Health.  This is what we call the Hybrid Model - Two days a week in the building, three days per week virtually.  A complete Remote Learning Option is also available for all Secondary Students.  
• Under the secondary hybrid model, this week, half of all students, whose last names start with A-K, will attend in person on Thursday, August 6th, while the other half, whose last names start with L-Z, will have virtual instruction this same day.  On Friday, August 7th, L-Z will be in person and A-K will have virtual instruction.  DTSE will operate on a separate “A/B” schedule.  Please consult with DTSE Administration for appropriate scheduling guidelines.
• Also, under the secondary hybrid model, starting Monday, August 10th, our first five day week, A-K Students will attend in-person on Mondays and Thursdays.  L-Z Students will attend Tuesdays and Fridays.  Wednesdays will be virtual learning for all students on that day.  Students who have chosen complete Remote Learning will remain remotely for the entire semester.  
• We will continue to work with the Marion County Board of Health to determine if we need to go completely virtual at any time based on the data regarding COVID-19.  Also, the Marion County Board of Health will assist in contact tracing and further testing of individuals if any students or staff test positive for COVID-19.  MCBH will also assist in determining the students or staff that need to be quarantined should a positive case arise.  
• For class schedules, classroom assignments, virtual back to school nights, or any other building-level questions or concerns, please contact your child’s building for assistance.  

Thank you again for your patience and understanding as we work through these unique and unprecedented times.  Stronger together, we will uphold our mission of Learning, Safety, and Customer Service as we educate our school community to be Tomorrow Ready. 

As always, Together, We are Decatur Proud!

Dr. Prusiecki

Superintendent