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Dear Brandon families,

Today marks the official first day of the Governer's shutdown of Michigan's schools.  The following are the details of the Governor's orders:

All Public Schools in Michigan will be shutdown from March 16 through April 5th.
Under this order, Brandon would return to school on Monday, April 6th.
There were no provisions made at all to forgive these days similar to snow days or to allow schools to move to on-line/distance learning and count these as days of instruction.  As such, any assignments will be optional and ungraded within the districts that plan to offer distance learning opportunities (see below for Brandon's educational plan).

The following is important information for all of you:

1)  Buildings Closed - The buildings will be open on Tuesday, March 17 from 8 am to 12 pm for students to come to the schools and pick up essential items that they may have left behind.  After that, the buildings will be closed other than for food service until April 5th.

2)  Food Service - Similar to the district's summer feeding program (Meet up and Eat up), any student 18 years or under (special education up-to 26) can receive food 7 days a week during the shutdown.  A separate message was sent with the specifics of the food service plan.  It is also on our website and went out via social media.

3)  Educational lessons during the shutdown - First, this is a reminder that these are optional and will be ungraded.  With that said, keeping students active and engaged really is in the best interest of our students.  Our Brandon team will be providing activities and assignments for students for the next two weeks.  This will look different at each grade level and your school's principal/director will be in communication with how this will work for your children.  You should expect those communications from your principals later today or tomorrow. For today and tomorrow, let's make reading our top education priority.  I would recommend blocking off a little extra time each day to enjoy your favorite books.

4)  Questions - Please send an email to your school's principal.  We are honoring the Governor's directives and will be doing as much work-from-home as possible during the shutdown.  Emails for staff are all on the district's website but these are some important emails for all of you:

Superintendent - moutlaw@brandon.k12.mi.us
BHS Principal - dstevens@brandon.k12.mi.us
BMS Principal - mtucker@brandon.k12.mi.us
Harvey-Swanson - dbrauher@brandon.k12.mi.us
Oakwood - cstewart@brandon.k12.mi.us
Preschool and Special Education - dzedan@brandon.k12.mi.us
Enrollment - thill@brandon.k12.mi.us
Food service - mgenslak@brandon.k12.mi.us
Athletics - cdeines@brandon.k12.mi.us

5)  Other Common Questions

What happens if the shutdown is extended beyond April 5th?  The Governor is not having this conversation at this point, but the CDC has shared an opinion that schools may need to be closed longer to help curb the spread of the virus.  If it was to be extended, we would expect more flexibility to be able to count distance learning as days of instruction.  We will continue to monitor this and we will keep you in the loop as things progress.
What about sports?  The MHSAA has closed down all sports practices and games through April 5th as well.
What about spring events such as the play, honors nights, prom, graduation?  At this time, the closure is only until April 5.  We will discuss these in the case that the shutdown is extended.

We will continue to send updates regularly, although your next communications will likely be coming from the building level regarding optional educational activities.    Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions at all.  Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Matt Outlaw-- 
Matthew S. Outlaw Ed. D
Superintendent of Schools
Brandon School District
(248) 627-1802
moutlaw@brandon.k12.mi.us
 
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