Emergency preparedness in Mesa Public Schools
The health and safety of students and staff is our top priority

(Updated July 14, 2020)

Hello Mesa Public Schools community,

Thank you for your patience as we have refined our final school-opening plan. Our Safe.Strong.Ready. school-opening plan will be discussed at tonight's Governing Board meeting. We know you are eagerly awaiting more information, so we recommend that you watch tonight's meeting at mpsaz.org/live, starting at 6:30 p.m. The plan is the sixth item on the regular meeting agenda.

The Safe.Strong.Ready. school-opening plan will be posted at mpsaz.org/reopen by 9 a.m. tomorrow. The recorded video of the meeting will be available on the district YouTube channel later in the day.

As a reminder, Mesa Public Schools will begin our school year August 4 with structured, remote learning for all. Remote learning will continue until it is safe to transition into modified in-person learning and ultimately in-person learning. This evening you will learn more details about how this will occur.

Reach out anytime at reopen@mpsaz.org, and thank you for your continued support.

Safe.Strong.Ready.

(Updated July 2, 2020)

In response to Governor Ducey's executive order issued June 29, Mesa Public Schools will begin the school year on August 4 with enhanced, structured remote learning for all students. Remote learning will continue until it is safe to provide modified or in-person instruction.

This decision was not made lightly, however, we believe it is in the best interest of our students, families and staff. Along with the importance of continuing student learning, our community relies upon our other services, such as meals and counseling.

Based on feedback from parents, students and staff, we know many found remote learning challenging last spring. Our Opening of Schools Task Force and staff have devoted countless hours toward improving the remote experience for our teachers and families. This includes a new online curriculum for elementary students, and additional training for our staff and families.

Remote learning will include daily attendance and schedules for students. Teachers will provide feedback on student work and issue grades. We know the importance of student and teacher interaction. Therefore, teachers and staff will be accessible to students in a variety of ways. Students with special needs will receive specially designed instruction and other related services as appropriate.

On July 14, we will release our refined final plan, with details about the following:

• Meal service
• Child enrichment programming for working parents
• Device distribution
• Options for internet access
• Teaching & learning information
• Transition plans to modified in-person and in-person learning models
• And much more

Thank you for your continued support. Please visit mpsaz.org/reopen for updates, and reach out anytime via email at reopen@mpsaz.org.

Safe. Strong. Ready.

(Updated June 29, 2020)

This afternoon, Governor Doug Ducey issued an executive order delaying the start of in-person learning until Aug. 17. The order states that schools and districts may begin the school year as scheduled with remote learning. The Governing Board and district leadership are discussing the details of the executive order and how it may impact the start of the school year.

Thank you to our families and staff who have shared their learning model preferences. With this new information from the Governor, we feel it is best that we pause our parent, teacher and employee surveys until we can provide more details.

Thank you for your patience and support as we continue to prioritize the safety of our students, staff and community during the unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19.

(updated June 11, 2020)

On June 18, the district will release its initial plans for returning to school, and your feedback is requested. Please join us at an upcoming stakeholder virtual meeting to share your thoughts. Meetings can be joined by computer or phone.

Parents and community members:

• June 18, 3-5 p.m.*
• June 22, 5-7 p.m.*
• June 24, 8-10 a.m.*

Teachers and staff:

• June 18, 3-5 p.m.
• June 22, 5-7 p.m.
• June 24, 8-10 a.m.

Students:

• June 18, 3-5 p.m.
• June 24, 8-10 a.m.

*Spanish-speaking session available.

Sign up now at mpsaz.org/rsvp or by texting MESA to 41411. You will be contacted directly with specific instructions for joining your preferred meeting. Learn more at mpsaz.org/beprepared.

(updated June 5, 2020)

We hope you and your family are healthy and happy during this unconventional summer break.

Our Mesa Public Schools Opening of School Task Force has been hard at work creating a responsible and reasonable plan for returning to school that focuses on safety and choice. More than 27,000 parents, teachers, staff and students completed our recent surveys about returning to school. Wow! Thank you for making your voice heard. If you did not have a chance to participate in the survey and have feedback to share, please email superintendent@mpsaz.org. Your feedback is important and will help inform the priorities of our plan.

Based on our community feedback from the surveys and emails received, we know there are several topics you feel passionately about, including returning to in-person learning, face masks, specials, activities and athletics. We hear you, and we are taking all of your feedback into consideration.

Our task force comprises more than 170 teachers, support staff, administrators, parents and community members. Currently, there are 11 design teams covering the following areas:

• Budget/funding/resources
• Business and community partnerships
• Communication
• Educational innovation
• Family support
• Health and safety
• Instructional day logistics
• Personnel practices and policies
• Sports/specials/extracurricular activities
• Teaching and learning
• Technology

On June 18, we will communicate the initial stages of our plan. We will hold online stakeholder meetings on June 18, 22 and 24 to gather feedback from our community. We will share additional details and sign-up information about these virtual events next week.

We are aware of rumors and misconceptions spreading on social media. Please remember ANY information about the opening of schools will come directly from the district or your school administrator, and it will be posted at mpsaz.org/beprepared. We understand the wait for details can be frustrating, especially as small districts in the state have begun to release their plans. As the state's largest district, with more than 63,000 students, it is in the best interest of our community that our opening plan is well-thought-out and comprehensive before release. Please know, we will be opening our schools in August and providing choices to meet the varying needs of our students and families.

Mesa Public Schools remains in close communication with the Governor's office and state health and education agencies. Should the pandemic situation change, we are prepared to modify our return-to-school action plan as needed. Given the fluidity of the situation, our district website will be continually updated based on the most current information.

We continue to thank you for placing your trust in Mesa Public Schools. It is a joy to partner with our families in the education of our community's children. Please remain assured that your child will receive the high-quality learning experiences fundamental to our promise that every child is known by name, served by strength and need, and graduates ready for college, career and community.

Sincerely,

Pete Lesar
Interim Superintendent

Andi Fourlis
Incoming Superintendent