Superintendent's Message - May 4, 2020

As I am sure you all know by now, Gov. Roy Cooper announced on April 24^th that N.C. public school buildings would remain closed for the 2019-2020 academic year and students and teachers would finish out the year with remote learning.

 

Although we are disappointed that we will not return to our school buildings, we understand that this decision is in the best interest of everyone’s health and safety. As a district, we will continue with a variety of remote lessons and activities that engage and enrich our students. Our Extended Home Learning website is a great resource for parents and students. Don’t forget that Tuesday, May 5^th is an optional teacher workday, so students will not be required to log on for e-learning that day.  

 

Our School Nutrition Program continues to operate meal locations throughout our community, feeding students ages 1-18 Monday through Friday. A list of meal sites is available by selecting the Locations for School Meals icon on our website.

 

We know you have many questions about what this decision means for end-of-year activities and events, especially high school graduations. We are working hard to develop plans that will provide celebrations that honor achievements and accomplishments of the Class of 2020 while respecting our current situation. Seniors and their parents had the opportunity to complete a survey designed to gather their input about graduation. We also have assembled a committee that includes senior class leadership, parents, high school principals and district personnel to develop a plan to celebrate our graduates. We will share more information once our plans are complete.

 

In other district news, the Cabarrus County Board of Education will hold its May work session on Monday, May 4^th at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held electronically. Members of the public may listen to live audio of the Board Meeting at the following link: https://youtu.be/3uxJwZHeYB4. You can view the complete meeting agenda at https://go.boarddocs.com/nc/cabcs/Board.nsf/Public.

 

I hope you watched our video feature An Apple A Day, which took you into the classrooms of our Teacher of the Year finalists:

 

If you missed it, you can watch the series on our district YouTube channel. We will name our Teacher of the Year in the coming weeks.

 

Our district is partnering with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s Cato College of Education for the UNC Charlotte Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP), a teacher residency program designed to diversify the teaching workforce for understaffed subject areas and high-need schools in our district. Through the program graduates can earn initial teacher licensure and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree in less than 18 months. To learn more about the program or to apply, visit https://tqp.uncc.edu.

 

Please continue to stay safe by adhering to guidelines and recommendations from state and local health officials. 

 

Thank you for your continued support and cooperation. Stay well. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Chris Lowder, Ed.D.

Superintendent