Dear families —
My plan is to write regularly to keep families updated on the PPCS Board’s priorities and plans, and to communicate about our school. Today, I wanted to clarify a few questions that might have been on your minds:
- Why does PPCS operate differently from the Moscow School District?
- What happens if an in-person teacher needs to take a day off?
Why does PPCS operate differently from the Moscow School District (MSD)?
Palouse Prairie Charter School is technically its own school district! We are chartered by the state of Idaho. We have a friendly and collegial relationship with the MSD, and we contract with them for various services, including busing and lunch. As a result, and knowing that many families have children in multiple schools, we try hard to keep our schedule aligned with that of the MSD. We always follow MSD’s lead when it comes to winter-weather school closures.
At the same time, we do have flexibility that the MSD might not always have. This allowed us to decide to use the remote yet connected learning model. It also enabled us to start our school year earlier and continue with learning plans when MSD cancelled school this week.
While this hazardous smoke continues, we will continue to offer remote learning and in-school learning and care, as we have communicated. However, shutdowns of the Moscow School District and University of Idaho have an impact on PPCS, including on our busing and lunch (which we don’t get when MSD doesn’t operate).
What happens right now if an in-person teacher needs to take a day off?
If a PPCS teacher who ordinarily teaches in the building is not able to be at school due to illness, childcare, or other issues, we are not currently able to find and sufficiently train substitute teachers to maintain our required levels of safety and instruction. This means that if a teacher takes leave, their students will need to learn remotely on that day. We are working hard to solve this problem by hiring and training more staff, and finding and training reliable substitute teachers.
We appreciate your resilience and flexibility in the face of so much uncertainty, and are so glad you are part of the PPCS CREW! If you have thoughts, questions, or ideas for the PPCS board, you can send them to me at jbearman@palouseprairieschool.org .
warmly,
Jessica
Jessica Bearman
PPCS Board Chair
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