M-DCPS Transitions to Stage II of Reopening of Schools Plan - Staggered return for selected students begins on October 5

Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is transitioning to Stage II of its Reopen Smart, Return Safe reopening plan. On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade School Board voted unanimously to authorize the Superintendent to reopen schools for students beginning Monday, October 5. Students whose parents opted for the Schoolhouse model in July will begin to return to school sites on Monday, October 5, with a phased-in approach, by grade level, which will be completed by Friday, October 9. Students whose parents selected My School Online (MSO) when surveyed in July will remain engaged in distance learning.

The safety of students, employees and their families has been the primary guiding principle throughout the District’s reopening efforts. Given that commitment, and in alignment with the recommendations provided by public health experts, the physical return will be staggered by grade levels, providing for a reduced school capacity and allowing for the testing of protocols and potential adjustments, prior to schools operating at full Stage II capacity.

The reopening phase-in schedule will occur among the following student groups (whose parents opted into the Schoolhouse model), as outlined below:

Students will be returning to school through a staggered process with Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1^st graders, and students with special needs who are on a modified curriculum, returning on Monday, October 5th. Grades 2-6 and 9-10 will return on Wednesday, October 7th while grades 7-8 and 11-12 will return on Friday, October 9th.

Friday, October 2 will be a teacher planning day to allow teachers the opportunity to further arrange their classrooms, engage in additional lesson planning and other activities to assist in their preparation to welcome students back. There will be no school for students that day. This will have no impact on the instructional time already allocated for this school year.

It is also important to note that ALL high school schedules will revert to a 7:20 a.m. start time beginning October 7, in both the Schoolhouse model and My School Online.

Parents have begun receiving a notification card in the mail, to serve as a reminder of which learning model they selected during the July opt-in period. Students should be ready to present these notification cards to physically enter their schools on their assigned return date. Parents may also review their selection through their child’s Student Portal or the Dadeschools mobile app. Those students whose parents opted for the Schoolhouse Model AND who are eligible for District transportation are also being provided with their transportation information.

School administrators will have the discretion to make limited exceptions for parents who wish to change their initial selection. To request a change, parents must contact their child’s school to complete a change of declaration form. Any exceptions will be made based upon the specific conditions of each school’s in-person enrollment to ensure social distancing measures are not compromised.

Parents are urged to talk to their children and emphasize the importance of personal responsibility and the proper utilization of facial coverings at all times, while on school campuses and school buses. Parents are also asked to conduct a daily health screening of their children, as outlined in the District’s reopening guide, prior to sending them to school.

The decision to transition to Stage II of the District’s reopening plan was made in light of Miami-Dade County’s transition to Phase II of reopening, the marked improvements seen in the series of health metrics identified by medical and public health experts, guidance from the State, and the school system’s overall level of readiness in terms of workforce, facilities and all necessary protocols.

For the past several months, M-DCPS has been preparing for the reopening of schools through intensive and continuous deep sanitization, maintenance and physical modification of school sites; securing of Personal Protection Equipment, the development of protocols and processes to ensure social distancing at all times; a contact tracing and investigation program and data dashboard to ensure the dissemination of real-time COVID-19 related information, and much more.

Visit reopening.dadeschools.net to read the complete M-DCPS Reopen Smart, Return Safe guide in English, Spanish or Haitian-Creole.

For the most up-to-date information, please download the Dadeschools mobile app to your iPhone or Android device. Follow us on Twitter @mdcps and @miamisup, on Instagram @miamischools and @miamisup, and on Facebook at MiamiSchools and AlbertoCarvalho