2020 Return to School Plan

• 2020 Return to School Plan (PDF) – English
• 2020 Return to School Plan (PDF) – Spanish
• Protocols for Families (PDF) – English
• Protocols for Families (PDF) – Spanish
• 2020 Schedule – First Four Weeks
• Email about MyMedBot and FACTS Family Portal – English and Spanish
• Directions to set up FACTS Family Portal – English and Spanish
• Calendar
• Health Check Questions in Spanish
• COVID-19 Return to School Guidance – CDC & WA DOH

Dear Tri-Cities Prep Students and Families,

I hope that you have all been able to remain cool over these last few weeks! 

Many of you may be aware that the Benton Franklin Health District released a letter last week recommending that area schools begin the school year online.

It is important to note that this is a recommendation.  Through my correspondence with BFHD and weekly zoom meetings, they assured me that they recognize that schools can make their own decisions about reopening.  They also recognize that smaller private schools may be in a different situation than the larger public schools.

With this in mind, we will continue to work on our plans for the school year.  The original start date was set for August 24^th.  We are going to move that one day ahead to August 25^th.  We want to bring one grade level at a time for the first week of school.  We will use this time to train students on entering and exiting school buildings, maintaining social distancing, and other protocols to make this year a success.

Our face-to-face model included converting our gym into two classrooms.  However, I recently learned that the work currently being done to resurface our gym floor might take longer than expected.  We will now shift and begin the school year with our Hybrid Model.  This model takes ½ of the student body at a time to accommodate the number of students with the number of classrooms we have available.  More information will be forthcoming in the next two weeks about our Hybrid Model. A quick description is that while ½ of the students will be on campus, the other ½ will be distance learning, alternating every other day.  Again more information clearly describing the model will be released in the next two weeks. One of the benefits of a hybrid model is that it allows us the time to effectively train our students and make this new learning experience a success.  When circumstances change, allowing us to bring our entire student body back to school, you will be notified 2 weeks in advance to give us time to get the infrastructure ready.

I will say this again.  If you prefer to have your son or daughter continue their education online, that is perfectly fine with us.  All I ask is that you notify me by August 17^th to make sure we supply the appropriate support to make it successful.  In the interest of continuity, we ask that those choosing to either participate in the Hybrid Model or Distance Learning Model commit for 1 quarter at a time. 

Your student’s schedule was mailed on Monday, along with other important information.  I also include this link to access our bookstore: https://tcprep.org/parents/school-supply-list-books/  Please do not worry if your books do not arrive on time, we are planning to make copies of our bigger textbooks (a few weeks of information at a time) since students will have to carry their backpacks with them.  This will help with the weight of the backpacks, and this will also buy you additional time. 

If you have books that you would like to donate/sell to another family, please let me know.  You can also find our supply list on our website by either accessing the student or parent portal.

I was recently reminded of the need to be flexible and fluid, as information seems to be changing all the time.  My sincere thanks to all of you as you continue to provide the faculty and me with an incredible amount of patience and grace throughout this time.  I look forward to seeing our students, I look forward to seeing them converse with each other, I look forward to watching friendships form, and I look forward to watching teens “safely” be teens.

Go Jags!

Sincerely,

Lisa Jacobs