Minnetonka Public Schools presents 7 options for students returning to school

On Tuesday, Minnetonka Public Schools sent out a letter to parents and students highlighting seven options for opening school this year and providing alternatives as conditions change during the year.

The seven options will be presented to the School Board so it can adopt the final plan to start the year. Minnetonka Public Schools says the district will be refining options for when the conditions improve or get worse, as they will be required by the state to make changes if the COVID-19 pandemic worsens.

According to Minnetonka Public Schools, all of the options describe the following: the in-school experience part of the option; the online experience part of the option; unique transportation needs; unique food service aspects; how special education would be delivered as part of the option; how 504 plans would be managed and implemented as part of the option; what specific cleaning precautions would be part of the option; how student expectations would be addressed under the option, how teacher and para exceptions would be addressed under the option; how explorers would work; how preschool would be delivered; how Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) would be structured; how Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) would be structured; how other community Education programs would be structured and any other details that are unique to an option.

The options are laid out as follows:

• Option 1: Fully open
  • This model anticipates modified social distancing and the implementation of some barriers between students at all times. All students would in school, except for students excused for medical reasons or whose parents choose e-learning. Those excused students would be online. For more information on this option, click here.
• Option 2: Completely online and mailed materials
  • This planning team developed expectations for improvements in the online delivery model that was used during the recent school building closure. Improvements in the model were to be determined by the committee. For more information on this option, click here.
• Option 3: Hybrid A
  • Hybrid A anticipates that all students would in school one day and home the next, etc. on staggered schedules. Students would use both in-school and online options. For more information on this option, click here.
• Option 4: Hybrid B
  • Hybrid B anticipates that younger students would be at school most of the time and older students would be online most of the time. For more information on this option, click here.
• Option 5: Hybrid C
  • Hybrid C anticipates that all schools would be on a double schedule with the student body divided up for half in session 1 and half in session 2. Session 1 schools would start at 7:30 a.m. and end by 1 p.m. for the "morning session" and the "afternoon session" could go from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information on this option, click here.
• Option 6: Hybrid D
  • Hybrid D anticipates that all students in grades 9-12 would be in schools on Monday only and online Tuesday through Friday each week; middle school students would be in schools on Tuesday and online the rest of the week, and elementary students would be in schools on Wednesday through Friday and online Monday and Tuesday. Specials would be scheduled on the days that students are in school. For more information on this option, click here.
• Option 7: Hybrid E
  • Hybrid E anticipates that younger students and Immersion students in grades K-5 would be in school most of the time and older students would be online most of the time. For more information on this option, click here.

The School Board will be reviewing these plans and make decisions about the next steps during its meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday. To watch the meeting, click here.

Parents wishing to make a comment to the School Board in advance of the meeting were asked to email the school board.