Hart students can choose face-to-face or virtual learning.

Hart students can choose face-to-face or virtual learning.

HART — Hart Public Schools recently announced students will have two options when returning to school in the fall amid COVID-19 — face-to-face instruction five days a week or virtual learning from home.

“The process of determining what to offer was relatively simple, but the process of how to do school in this new world is very complicated,” states Superintendent Mark Platt in a Facebook post on the Hart Public Schools Community Page Tuesday night, July 28.

Masks are required for grades 6-12, but they are not mandatory for K-5 students, Platt said. However, they are currently required for all grade levels while students are on the bus and during classroom transitions.

Here is Platt’s statement in its entirety:

Good Evening,

There have been some questions about the plan for this upcoming school year. I am hoping this post helps answer some of the questions. We have always planned on coming back five days a week with many safety protocols in place. The safety protocols are determined by what phase our region is in. Currently, our region is in phase 4 which is the most difficult phase.

The Roadmap back to school that was presented to schools on June 30th can be found https://www.michigan.gov/documents/whitmer/MI_Safe_Schools_Roadmap_FINAL_695392_7.pdf

Essentially, our two options for families and students are:

1) Face to face instruction five days a week

2) Virtual (learn from home). This process will not be a live stream from the classroom. This process has a couple of looks to it depending on grade level. Virtual education will be far more robust than the spring, and the grades will count towards GPA and athletic requirements.

You will be receiving via email this week an information sheet that will allow you to choose what you feel is most comfortable for you and your family. Regardless of what option you choose, students would be eligible for participation in MHSAA activities.

In early July, the WSESD (West Shore Educational Service District) on behalf of all the school districts surveyed parents in its three-county region. Oceana County represented 55 percent of 839 respondents. The survey results were sent to CMU for analysis and desegregation of the data.

What we know is that most parents in the area prefer in-person instruction. We also know that there are some parents who will choose virtual instruction. We learned that a staggered schedule such as Monday, Wednesday, Friday one week, and Tuesday, Thursday the next was not desired.

Here is what I want you all to know. The district isn’t making the rules regarding masks, but we will be expected to follow the rules regarding masks. Masks for K-5 are not mandatory, but they are for grades 6-12. Masks are required for bus transportation and transition times in the buildings regardless of grade level for as long as we are in phase 4, which is our current phase.

The process of determining what to offer was relatively simple, but the process of how to do school in this new world is very complicated. The district has received a tremendous amount of input from various groups and has worked with other local districts and the WSESD. Some of the areas we have been working on are below:

– Technology

– Transportation, Facilities, Health, and Safety

– Budget/Pupil Accounting

– Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (CIA)

– Special Education

– Career and Technical Education

– GSRP/Early Childhood

Please be looking for the email. It will be available in English and Spanish. We will be communicating with the public frequently through a variety of sources. I hope this helps.

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