UNITED
Community School
Latest School Coronavirus Updates
Dear UCS Families,
This afternoon, Governor Cooper announced that all public school buildings are to remain closed for the rest of the school year; therefore, UCS will continue to implement our distance education plan.
Please click either link below to read the briefing in its entirety.
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCSBE/bulletins/288439e
Thank you and we hope you all stay healthy!
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As of March 23, UCS will transition to online instruction. All K-7 teachers will meet with their students via daily video conference calls. Students will complete assignments on Google Classroom. As of right now, it is considered supplemental instruction. Please click here to view our distance education page for more information.
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March 15, 2020:
We just received additional guidance from the state on what public school obligations/requirements are for the next two weeks while school is closed for students. The gist of that guidance is:
(1) The state made it clear that the mandatory closing is for students and not staff.
(2) Schools were encouraged to provide some type of distance learning, but have total flexibility in what that looks like for their students.
(3) As of now, it does not appear that we will need to change our Spring Break. We are still planning for April 6-17 to be closed for students.
(4) We do not have answers to what will become of modifying school calendars, EOG requirements, etc. There is a lot that they do not know. If something wasn't addressed in this communication, the chances are we don't have the answer to it. We will provide information and updates as we get them.
Here is the update for what this week (March 17-20) and next (March 23-27) will look like for UCS:
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Tomorrow (Monday) will remain a closed day per our school calendar.
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Tuesday and Wednesday will be staff work days for staff to work on the distance learning plans for students.
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Wednesday from 8-12, parents may come by the school to pick up supplies. Teachers will send specific communication to their parents regarding if that will be necessary or if all of the classwork will be digital.
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UCS will "ease into" distance learning on Thursday and Friday. The student activities will be very simple, with only 1-2 brief activities on those days.
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The week of Monday, March 23-27 will start our official distance learning schedule.
Be on the lookout for more information over the next few days regarding our distance learning program. We appreciate your flexibility, understanding, and patience as we navigate this unexpected state of emergency. Feel free to reach out with any questions.
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March 14, 2020:
Good evening, UCS Families,
As you may already be aware, this evening, Governor Cooper directed the closure of all schools for at least the next two weeks; therefore, United Community School will be closed from Monday, March 16-30. Stay tuned for further updates.
Thank you for understanding,
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March 13, 2020:
This afternoon, we were advised by the State Superintendent and the CDC to remain open. As you are aware, this is a fluid and rapidly changing situation.
In the event of school closure, UCS may offer online instructional options for our students. In order to do so, we need to know what technology our families have access to. Please fill out the following Home Technology Survey by clicking here. You can also copy and paste the following link into your web browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcDnC_yy3odcxeujuqBIZHJT3YKqvyK9lycl_WBERk_SiIHw/viewform
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March 12, 2020:
Our admin team has been meeting about the rapidly developing Coronavirus situation.
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UCS will be restricting large gatherings of students and staff. All assemblies and school events/field trips will be postponed or cancelled for the next 30 days. We will re-evaluate and communicate at that time.
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We will promote social distancing to limit physical contact between people.
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Non-staff/non-student visitors will be restricted to just dropping off and picking up students to limit the amount of foot traffic in and out of the building.
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Staff are being trained on the online instructional tools that we will use in the event that UCS decides to implement virtual instruction.
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School closure is a strong possibility for all North Carolina schools. We encourage your family to start planning for that possibility.
This is a serious and unprecedented situation and we are treating it as such. We are in constant contact with local and state officials. Our team's number one priority is the safety of our students, staff, and entire UCS community.