update 03/23/2020
Message from Dr Martin::
Good evening parents and students. This is Superintendent ToddMartin.
As most of you already know, today Governor Cooper said that allNorth Carolina public schools will remainclosed until at least May15th. I want to reassure you that even though our students won’tbe in school for awhile our teachers will continue to providelearning activities and will continue to remain in touch with you,nomatter how long we are out of school.
For our elementary and middle school students, they need tocontinue to work on the materials provided intheir instructionalpackets from last week. There should be enough work for the nextone and half to twoweeks. Also, please continue to work iniReady for a minimum of forty-five minutes each week.
For our middle school and high school students, teachers willcontinue to monitor your progress daily throughCanvas. Also,middle and high school students, please check your email daily forupdates from your teachers.
Parents, I understand this is a difficult situation and that it is a bigadjustment for everyone but we will be okayand we are going towork our way through this. I want students to pace themselves. Iwant them to do someschool work every day but they don’t haveto sit at the kitchen table for hours every day. They shouldspendsome time every day keeping their minds engaged in learning butthey also need to spend some timegetting outside. We want themto continue learning but we don’t want students to wearthemselves out.
We are beginning to restrict access to our school campuses andso most teachers have transitioned toworking from home.However, they are still available to help our students. Pleaseremember that they areavailable and if you need help Iencourage you to email your child’s teacher.
Finally, we will continue to run our feeding programs. Our drivethrough sites are open at our elementary andmiddle schools andwe will continue to deliver to those who need this service.
My thanks to everyone listening tonight. This has been, and willcontinue to be, a big transition for everyone.At the same time, weare all partners in this and we will continue to work with you.
Thank you and have a good evening.
updates from 3/16/20
Message from Dr Martin::
Good evening. This is Superintendent Todd Martin calling withinformation regarding our feeding program andlearningopportunities for students while they are out of school for the nexttwo weeks. Even though thismessage is lengthy, I ask that youlisten to this message in its entirety because it has information thatappliesto elementary, middle and high school students.
First, as I indicated in yesterday’s message, our student feedingprogram will begin tomorrow, March 17th.Any child between theages of one to eighteen is eligible for free breakfasts and lunches.If your child needsthis service, meals can be picked up at any ofour elementary schools, Forbush Middle School andStarmountMiddle School. Meals for high school students may also be pickedup at any of these locations.Meals may be picked up between thehours of 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM each day. Also, if you cannot get toaschool, please call your child’s school and let them know that youneed your child’s meal delivered. Schoolstaff members will be onhand to deliver meals if needed. Please remember to refrigerateany perishable itemsthat come with the meals.
Also, our teachers and school personnel have been working veryhard to prepare instructional materials forstudents during thistime. Instructional packets have been created for all students ingrade kindergartenthrough grade eight. Parents may pick up theirchild’s instructional materials and other essential items suchasmedication on either Tuesday or Wednesday this week betweenthe hours of 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. You canalso sign up for mealdelivery when you pick up your child’s instructional packets ifneeded. If you cannot getto your child’s school either tomorrow orWednesday, we will deliver instructional materials to your homelaterin the week. Also, middle school teachers have beenuploading learning materials into Canvas.
Middle school students, if you do not have a device at home, youmay sign one out when you go by yourmiddle school to pick upinstructional materials.
High school students will be able to access learning materialsusing their Chromebooks. Teachers have beenuploadinginstructional materials into Canvas today and will continue to do sothroughout the week. Highschool students, please start checkingCanvas for assignments by the middle of this week. EarlyCollegestudents, if you do not have a device and need one please contactthe school to arrange for pick up.For students who do not haveaccess to the internet, please reach out to your teachers. They canprovide youwith instructional materials and your school can directyou to a source to potentially receive free sixty dayinternetaccess. Also, information about internet access, including hotspots in school parking lots, will beprovided at packet pickup.
Teachers in elementary, middle and high schools will be availableto students and parents who have questionsregardingassignments. You can reach out to your child’s teacher throughoutthe week via phone or email withquestions or if you needguidance. The best hours of contact are between 10:00 AM and2:00 PM but you canalso contact them at other times. Also, inmany cases, teachers will be reaching out to you this weektodiscuss your child’s learning opportunities while we are not inschool.
We will continue to refine plans throughout the week. I willcontinue to update as needed over the next fewweeks. Again, Ithank you for your patience and help as we work to support ourstudents during this time.Thank you again and have a goodevening.
Update from Dr. Martin:
As you know Yadkin County Schools will be closed for students atleast two weeks. Mon. March 16 will bemandatory workday forteachers/TAs. We will open student feeding sites Tuesday moreinfo to follow on thattomorrow. Out of school time programs willreopen Tuesday morning.
Update 3/15/20
Update from Dr. Martin:
The announcement today by Governor Cooper that NorthCarolina's public schools will be closed for at leastthe next twoweeks has brought many questions about what this means forstudents and employees. We hadalready been working on plansto provide educational materials and opportunities for students,both online andpaper/pencil, in anticipation that it might becomenecessary to close schools. We had hoped to get thosematerialsto our students early next week in anticipation that schools wouldclose. However, with schoolsclosed starting Monday this hasbecome somewhat more of a challenge. We still plan to providelearningopportunities for students. I ask that you bear with us aswe adjust to the Monday closing date and as soon asplans arefinalized I will communicate that out.
We have several students who take college courses through SurryCommunity College. We have beeninformed that SurryCommunity College will be closed next week so this should helpassure those studentsthat they will not have to travel to the EarlyCollege or Dobson campuses.
We do plan to offer a feeding program at various sites aroundYadkin County beginning Tuesday. This programwill provide freemeals for all children ages 1-18. As soon as we determine the siteswe will let you know. Also,we will make a decision regarding Outof School Time programs after we receive more guidance fromstateofficials.
As we continue to make decisions, including how these days willbe made up, I will communicate via phonemessages, Twitter andwith posts to the Yadkin County Schools Facebook page.
Update 3/14/20
Message from Dr Martin:
Good evening students, parents and guardians. This isSuperintendent Todd Martin calling with importantinformationconcerning Covid-19 or the coronavirus. I sent a phone messageMonday evening regarding ourefforts around coronavirus.However, much has changed over the course of this week.
As many of you are aware, the North Carolina High School AthleticAssociation has decided to suspend highschool athletic activitiesin our state. This applies to our middle school athletic teams also.Additionally, as oftoday, three North Carolina school districts haveopted to close. However, we are not to that point yet, andanydecisions to close will be made in close consultation with theYadkin County Health Department. However,if we were forced tobe closed, we are preparing a plan to continue instruction andstudent learning.
In addition to athletics and school closings, across North Carolina,school districts are making decisionsregarding field trips, afterschool events, and visitors to campus. This phone message isintended to provideyou with information regarding how YadkinCounty Schools will be handling these issues going forward.
You’ve heard me say this before and I will say it again. Studentsafety is our primary concern. To that end, ithas been decided thatwe are going to postpone all field trips until at least April 10th. Thisdoes not mean thatwe are doing away with all field trips for therest of the school year or any that are scheduled to take placethissummer. However, we are suspending upcoming field trips so thatwe are limiting students’ exposure tooutside groups. As April 10thapproaches, we will re-evaluate this and make a determinationgoing forward. Weare also postponing after school events. Theseevents typically draw large crowds of people to ourschoolcampuses and this exposes our students.
I am also asking for your help. I am asking that everyone limit theirvisits to school campuses as much aspossible. Meetings withparents can still be held and it will continue to be necessary forparents to pick up theirchildren from school if they are sick orhave an appointment. However, I am asking parents to limitcoming toschool to eat lunch as this exposes many students, notsimply to coronavirus, but to flu and other illnesses.
We are experiencing something that we have not been faced withbefore. At the same time, it is very importantfor all of us to worktogether to help protect the safety and wellbeing of our students. Iappreciate your helpand support as we continue to work throughthis issue and I thank you. Thank you for taking the time tolistento this message. I hope you all have a good evening.
Update 04/01/20
Message from Dr Martin::
Good evening everyone. This is Superintendent Todd Martin. I amcalling you this evening to provideinformation about spring break.Spring break is still scheduled to take place next week, April 6ththrough April12th. We have received guidance from the NorthCarolina State Board of Education and the Department ofPublicInstruction that school districts should continue with theirscheduled spring breaks. By having springbreak next week forstudents and employees, we will not use up students days thatcould be used if studentsare able to return to school in May. Wealso will continue to provide meal service next week duringspringbreak. Each of our elementary and middle schools will continue toprovide drive up and delivery Mondaythrough Thursday nextweek. We are going to give our child nutrition staff and ourdelivery personnel a day offnext Friday during spring break butThursday's meals will have enough food for Thursday and Friday.Thankyou for your continued patience, cooperation and helpduring this time. Have a good evening.