Update - 3/17/20

Good Evening,

I am going to give you an update to where Ronan School District No 30 is as of today. It has been awesome watching all of our staff pull together. The District is pleased that we have been able to keep our employees working during this challenging time.

Our food service crew is getting up early in the morning preparing breakfast and lunch for the kids in our area from 0 to 18 years old. I talked with Marsha, head of food service, and she said they fed 150 breakfasts and 300 lunches today. Our transportation department has been an integral part of the team and along with food service personnel delivered to over 10 locations throughout Ronan and Pablo.

The next groups that need to be acknowledged are the custodians, maintenance department, and secretaries who are our first line of defense. We are also pleased that we are able to re-assign our para-professionals to work with custodians to ensure they continue to get a paycheck. This deep clean should make our schools as safe as possible when students are allowed to return. Our secretaries will also be in to answer any questions and direct your calls if necessary.

The teachers have been proving they are true professional educators. They are currently working on lessons which can be accessed from home. We understand there is some with technology challenges, but we will provide hard copies of any lesson. Teachers also will have “internet office hours” every day from 10-11 am and 1-2 pm, Monday thru Friday. At that time they will be accessible online to answer any e-mail questions. If necessary call your school and we will make sure the teacher gets back to you. All teachers can be e-mailed using first name.last name followed by ronank12.edu. (Ex: mark.johnston@ronank12.edu)

Today, the admin team worked together to lay out our plan on how we can get our educational material to our students. For grades K-4 you can expect a call from your child’s teacher so we can find out the best way to get you the material and answer any questions you may have. If you don’t hear from your teacher by the end of the day Thursday, please call your school and we can make sure we connect you. Because teachers are using their own personal phones, I have advised them to use *67 before dialing, which will make the call come from a restricted number.

For parents who have a student in 5-12th grade, you can also expect a call from your teacher. 6th-12th grade parents can expect a call from your child’s 3rd period teacher as some see over 150 students per day. If you do not hear from us by Thursday, call the school and we will make sure a teacher gets back to you.

For all grades we will be using our online lesson plans where teachers will post a link to the work they have created to enhance your child’s learning during this time. The IT department has done a great job providing a video to the teachers on how to use this platform which will give you access to your child’s lessons. These lessons are meant to be curricular enhancements and ways to keep your child learning during this difficult time. Please be patient the first couple of days because this is new way for us to get work to our students. We will have a hardcopy of every assignment at your child’s school and when asked will even send them out with breakfast or lunch to be delivered where your child picks up their meals.

On the Ronan School District No 30 web page www.ronank12.edu , you will see on the right hand margin, lesson plans under additional information. You will select this week and the school of your child. On the ones that have blue links, click and it should take you to your student’s enhancement activities. I just tried it and am pleased to say it was simple and worked awesome.

I will keep you informed as we go through this challenging time. Please stay safe.

Mark J. Johnston
Superintendent
Ronan School District 30