Hello Marshall Owls Family and Happy Almost February!
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the support system for Marshall High School students this year, particularly this semester. The challenge continues to be a huge one for our students, parents, teachers, and administrators but we have seen the Marshall Strong spirit again and again, particularly in our MHS students!
I certainly understand the frustration and dismay many feel as we attempt to bring in-person, in-seat instruction to our high school students. When planning for the delivery of instruction, we worked extensively with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Area Supervisor and the Deputy Commissioner, whose guidance we found invaluable. With their input and approval, a plan was adopted to provide the best possible educational scenario for our students. The plan included some points that may need to be clarified for further communication from the school to parents and community members. They are:
1) Total remote or hybrid learning is no longer a possible option for the delivery of instruction. Research is clear and as we know, remote instruction has not been successful for not only Marshall students, but those across our state and nation. DESE requires us to have students in-seat and in-person for the school day.
2) To provide in-person instruction to all students, there is not a location in the city where all 800 students can meet. For the location to be acceptable, the technology infrastructure must support approximately 200 devices and have adequate restroom facilities. Hence, the decision was made to house students at the Martin Center, the Saline County Fairgrounds, the Saline County Career Center, and Marshall High School (in areas not affected by the fire).
3) If the fire had happened in an elementary school, the organization and lesson delivery would have been much less complicated and probably more understandable. For example, third grade students could be with third grade teachers. In the situation of a high school, however, where multiple ages are assigned to multiple teachers throughout the day, instruction is much more complicated.
4) Students were divided in grade levels at the four locations and teachers were assigned to the location that had the students who were most dependent on particular teachers. Unfortunately, there are teachers who teach three, possibly four, levels and cannot be with all those they teach. We have tried to allow some teachers to travel from one location to another but it has been impossible to arrange that for all teachers.
5) We do not have a sufficient number of buses to transport all students from location to location during the day to be taught by their regular teacher.
6) Edmentum was chosen as the instructional platform to allow students in all locations to participate in the individual courses in which they are enrolled. The decision was made to move away from Acellus, as we found it was more suitable to credit recovery and not as rigorous as our standards demand. Also, Acellus has been removed from DESE's list of recommended platforms.
7) Students should feel comfortable discussing any challenges or hardships they encounter with a teacher, counselor, or administrator. If any student is not at ease with an adult(s) in their location, if you will have them (or their parent) contact an administrator at the high school or central office, we can certainly step in to help.
8) Finally, MHS students will be returning together to the high school on March 22nd. We have communicated with all involved that this is a non-negotiable date. We will welcome them back for their fourth quarter studies.
I would encourage all involved to continue to communicate with Ms. Jones, another member of the administration team, or teacher on behalf of MHS students. I would also encourage students to advocate for themselves and their needs, although that may be rather uncomfortable at first. I believe they will benefit greatly, as will the adults who help them.
After spending time with the MHS leadership team, teachers, and staff, I continue to be impressed and inspired by their constant attention to and care of our high school students. Their tireless work has made an unfortunate situation the absolute best it can be. We ask for your support and patience as we move forward. We will continue to do our best for all MHS students, teachers, staff, and families.