Cherokee Public Schools

Just a reminder we need ALL families with students in Kindergarten - 12th grade to fill out the technology survey. This will help teachers better prepare for the remainder of the school year. https://forms.gle/rBNf8VR5VLRgeGHA9

CPS Parents & Guardians - To help our Kindergarten - 12th grade teachers better prepare for the remainder of the school year we are asking all families to fill out the attached form by Monday, March 30. https://forms.gle/rBNf8VR5VLRgeGHA9

CPS Parents & Guardians - To help our teachers better prepare for the remainder of the school year we are asking all families to fill out the attached form. Please leave questions in the comments. https://forms.gle/rBNf8VR5VLRgeGHA9

CPS COVIS19 UPDATE #12 Not a lot new today. I took some time to be silly with the grand girls today. They are sheltering at home with us. There are three things Id like to make sure our community knows: 1. We are feeding children ages 0-18 through the Summer Seamless Program, no questions asked. Sign your children up weekly for a weeks worth of breakfast and lunch. www.cherokee.k12.ok.us or call the school and press #5. 2. We are sending out a survey to gage our student’s ability to communicate with us virtually. Look for it and send it back. It’s important that we are able to serve all students. 3. The OSSAA has informed us that all their activities are cancelled, not postponed, for the remainder of the year. There are no summer activities allowed until restrictions from the CDC are removed or revised. Have a great weekend. Try and enjoy the beautiful weather while keeping social distance and remember we are all in this together and it’s going to be alright!

CPS COVID19 UPDATE #11 Well, the State School Board vote was to amend the previous extension of April 6th to May 8th. This means buildings will be closed to instruction but on April 6th a program of Distance Learning will have been developed by each school to meet local needs. Distance Learning does not mean only virtual. The school plan will fit the needs of the local community. There were several waivers granted. 8th grade students are being given a medical waiver from the State for driver’s license test. Seniors without Personal Literacy and Finance are being granted a waiver and will not have to have this on their transcript to graduate. The US History test is being waived and will not have to be on senior’s transcript to graduate. Those are the waivers that effect students and graduation. Our Child Nutrition program will continue through the summer. We were granted approval for this program even though we don’t meet the 50% free and reduced requirement. Getting your free and reduced paperwork to the school and filled out correctly is very important to your school. We would not be able to do this if we hadn’t talked into a different way to qualify. Situations like this bring home how vital it is to do everything we can to help us help you. Activities and events are cancelled until May 8th and at that time we will adhere to the CDC requirements until relaxed. We will not be scheduling any summer activities at this time but will revisit this when the CDC allows groups of more than ten to assemble. I know there will be many questions. The staff is video meeting in about forty minutes to start the process of moving forward. By April 3rd we will have educational services up and running for our community. As we move forward, decisions will be made about graduation and other important activities. I will put the information out as soon as possible. Please feel free to ask any questions in the comments. We will not be broken, we will evolve so that what lies ahead is better than what’s happening now or what’s behind us. Thank you for being a part of this journey and I send up prayers of health for all our students and families for the next few months. Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School

CPS UPDATE COVID19 #10 The Governor just closed down the 19 counties for 21 days that are reporting cases of the virus. Fortunately, Alfalfa isn’t showing as a county that has been directed to shelter in place by only going to the grocery or pharmacy. The order will expand to other counties as they report cases. Tomorrow, CPS will provide our Grab n Go meals for Wednesday-Friday. We have just been given the go ahead to do one delivery a week. So, next Monday’s pick up will have five days of breakfast and lunch. This will allow our staff to better shelter at home. If you are a family or a senior citizen who could use a supplemental Grab n Go food bag, Heather Gottsch and the FCCLA have made 103 bags for pick up. Please come by the school tomorrow between 10-12 and pick up one per family. We will provide what we have left next Monday to any family or elderly who come by tomorrow or Monday. Tomorrow is a busy day. The State School Board will vote to close school for the remainder of the year. Administration met today to develop a plan to move forward after April 6th. I will put out a message on Thursday that explains how we will meet the requirements of the SDE. Keep up the great work flattening the curve and keep washing your hands. We have a great team that will work hard to provide education that enriches life for students for the rest of the year. Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School

CPS UPDATE COVID19 #9 My notes from my phone call just now with the SDE and a little of this and that. The State Superintendent intends to take to the board a recommendation to complete the school year with continuous learning without opening the buildings. Distance learning only, no traditional or extra curricular activities. She recommends we follow CDC safety guidance. Shelter at home. Now through April 6, we need to prepare for phase 2, continuous virtual learning. The Board will vote on keeping buildings closed through the school year. Continuous learning. Districts are in different places. Some have things in place some use a vendor This will not be prescriptive. SDE is providing a framework grade by grade. Not full day but will give framework. No gathering in person. Do this in a virtual meeting. Equity, we want to reach as many children as possible. The SDE is pursuing congressional aid to help. Career tech students will be provided support for competition as well as concurrent enrollment. We will focus on enrichment. Districts need to make every effort to continue learning. There is a distance learning team at SDE. Credit granting is a local determination. Students on track to graduate are not to be negatively impacted by this emergency. The SB will be asked to grant waivers to the school year for: 1. required instructional hours 2. minimums length 3. accreditation 4. restrictions on funds 5. rsa 6. physical ed req 7. school board 8. Continuing education for board points 9. ADA March 1 cut off date 10. TLE The US History test will be taken to the school board for an emergency rule to allow a medical waiver for all students. Friday assessment and accountability were granted 8th grade test for drivers license is being considered for an alternative method. RSA, schools do not do k-3 screening. Use data prior to March 16 for promotion. In exchange for waivers the SDE is looking at simple set of assurances in exchange for flexibility. Two to three pages of assurances. I have seen some awesome FB teaching going on. Alicia Mitchell, I saw your paint class! These are the type activities we will be brain storming for educational services. We have another call Wednesday after the State School Board meets. CPS will have a Zoom call after the state call to start the process of developing educational services that will start a April 6th. We provided 125 meals today! That’s great news for kids! Thank you for all your patience and prayers. We are at the beginning but we will make it through. Please leave questions in the comments. Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School

We have an awesome staff that provided over 125 students with meals today!! If you would like meals next week please let us know by filling out the form found at https://forms.gle/djKMepDV1cPr8nMi6 or calling 580-596-3391 option 5. Please respond by noon on Wednesday, March 25.

Just a reminder tomorrow we start our grab & go breakfast and lunch pick-up. This will be from 10am to 12pm on Monday thru Friday. Meals will be handed out in the HS Student Parking lot. Please do not get out of your vehicle or come inside the building, meals will be handed to you. (Drive through style.) If you requested delivery assistance meals will be delivered to your door step. We have over 110 meals to hand out so please be patient with us as we figure out the logistics!

CPS COVID19 UPDATE #8 Today’s call with the SDE was informative in that it looks like a recommendation will be made on March 25th to continue education in some form virtually. No definitive decisions until the board votes but if I had a magic 8 ball it would say “most likely” lol. So, what does that mean? Right now it means that schools need to be brainstorming for the future. The good news is that we will not test or have a school report card. We will also not allow any child to fail. We will work to ensure that students go to the next grade and graduate. I want to write this to our senior class. I’m so very sorry you are missing the final days with your friends. So many important events are tied to more than ten people in a group. We will be watchful and grab any opportunity to make some of those things happen for you. It’s not over, it’s just on hold. What will we do now? KEEP OUT of the school and brainstorm together after March 25th to provide some amazing educational opportunities in a virtual setting, if that is the way the boards vote. I hope my eight ball 🎱 is wrong! Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School

UPDATE COVID19 #7 Today the State Superintendent asked the Federal government to wave testing and the school report card for this year. She also put out a message to all schools that states, in no uncertain terms, no activities at school except for Child Nutrition, business and maintenance Every teacher I know is having a hard time not being out in front of this if we return to school. Even so, we have to stop the spread of this virus so we can get back to education. Stay home, stay safe and stay out of schools. As I said to CPS teachers yesterday with love, KEEP OUT! I am thrilled to report that we have 99 breakfast and lunches ordered and will have a few extra if someone forgot or didn’t quite know what to do for ordering. Thank you to Amanda Tucker, and Esther Banderas for your amazing work to get this up and going. Tomorrow we have a call with the State Superintendent and I will share any new news after that time. Things change so quickly that I hesitate to give opinions on timelines for activities resuming. We are in a holding pattern and will just have to reinvent home life with books, puzzles and real face time. That’s not a bad thing, but this virus is, so wash your hands, don’t group together in more than 10 people, and stay home. We can do this! It’s a Great a day to be a Chief with clean hands! Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School

Just a reminder that orders need to be submitted by noon today. CPS will be providing lunch and breakfast for all our students if needed. We are providing a google form for you to order meals for your student or students. We ask that you have your order turned in by Thursday at noon for the following week. You will be ordering for a week at a time. This form will place an order for your student or students that will begin on Monday, March 23. We ask that if at all possible you pick the orders up, but if you are unable to do so there is a place on the form to give your address and we will deliver to you. https://forms.gle/b41ucciAoxZLGktC6 or you may call 580-596-3391 option #5

CPS will be providing lunch and breakfast for all our students if needed. We are providing a google form for you to order meals for your student or students. We ask that you have your order turned in by Thursday at noon for the following week. You will be ordering for a week at a time. This form will place an order for your student or students that will begin on Monday, March 23. We ask that if at all possible you pick the orders up, but if you are unable to do so there is a place on the form to give your address and we will deliver to you. https://forms.gle/b41ucciAoxZLGktC6 or you may call 580-596-3391 option #5

CPS COVID19 Update #5 After meetings with administration and a conference call with the State Department of Education, here is today’s update. We are working on a google form to be sent out so parents can order breakfast and lunch for a week at a time, starting next week. Meals will be picked up at the cafeteria from 10-12 daily. If you have a problem getting to the pick up, we have volunteers that will deliver. All students enrolled are eligible for meals. This form will be out by tomorrow and will need to be completed by noon on Thursday. Next Monday, the elementary and high school office will be open from 9-12 for pick up of medications that might have been left at the school. Please call ahead and it will be ready for you. On Wednesdays, there will be someone in the elementary and high school for phone calls and questions. No entry into the schools but the ability to talk by phone to an administrator to ask questions. The Superintendent’s office will be taking all calls from 9-12 Monday through Thursday starting Monday, March 23rd. For the next two weeks, there will be NO academics or activities. Prom will be rescheduled to a time when the CDC permits large group activities. All closings will be re-evaluated by the SDE at the March State School Board Meeting. No one will be in the school buildings except cafeteria staff and business managers for the remainder of the extended spring break. We will not have to make up the days of the extended break. There are so many moving parts of this situation that I encourage you to ask questions in the comments. By utilizing this resource, we can cover most of the unknowns. Daily updates around three each day. There is a special board meeting tomorrow to discuss this ever changing situation and an employee Zoom call tomorrow at 3. Everyone stay home, wash hands and stay up to date with the latest changes at Coronavirus@health.ok.gov Prayers welcome and being said for you and your families, Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public Schools

UPDATE COVID19 #4 The State Board voted to suspend all learning until April 6th for ever school in the State of Oklahoma. Before that time, the situation will be re-evaluated. CPS is meeting with several different groups tomorrow and Wednesday to develop a plan for Child Nutrition and education. Clarification from the SDE will be sought on the wording of “all learning suspended” but CN is clear we can provide grab and go meals. Instructions on how to get meals during the extended Spring Break will be given by the end of the week. Employees need to be monitoring their emails for updates and information. There will be a staff Zoom meeting that can be joined from your phone or laptop on Wednesday, March 18 at 3. During this meeting I will answer questions and give instructions for the coming weeks. This is an unprecedented situation but we will come through this and be stronger and better prepared for any future contagions. Our community rises to challenges and this will be no different. Thank you to everyone who is offering assistance and we feel fortunate to have you all as our community partners. Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public school

CPS COVID19 Update #3 The State board will meet today at 4PM to discuss closure. This is the agenda. A conference call will be made with all schools tomorrow at 2PM. I look to have a decision at 4PM today. If there is closure, CPS will proceed with our education action plan and will have a path developed to provide breakfast and lunch as a grab and go over the extended Spring Break. It is my hope that a black and white decision is made for unity within public schools. The decision to close has a huge impact on so many communities and the health of our State is too important to leave as school to school decisions. The decisions made are preventative and an effort to decrease community spread. I appreciate all of the prayers, texts and words of encouragement. These decisions are changing hourly and your kindness gives me peace of mind in decisions that must be made. CPS will provide information as it becomes available and is reliable. Thank you, Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School.

Elementary Weekly Activities for March 16-20

Weekly Activities for March 16 - 20

Update COVID19 #2 Today’s call with the State Department of Education encouraged all schools to come back on March 23rd. As with everything about this situation, that can change depending on community spread. There will be another conference call next week to update schools. If there are further developments CPS will adapt to the situation and report to our community. The President is scheduled to speak today. If there are adjustments required by his announcements we will evaluate our plans and comply with State and National requests. We intend to stay calm and continue on with education the best way possible for the given circumstances. Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public School

Update on COVDID19 for CPS: At CPS, we are monitoring the coronavirus situation and I will have a video meeting with the State Superintendent today. Depending upon what they tell us, we will make decisions for the near future. The OSSAA has issued a message that all of their activities will be postponed until further notice. A few things to prepare for: All school activities, practices and open gyms are cancelled for Spring Break with the exception of OYE, unless they cancel The possibility of all activities suspended for the rest of the year If the SDE closes schools in our state, we will have a plan for education for your students Administration is working on a guideline for those education plans Decisions will be made during Spring Break for activity trips for the rest of the year and education plans if there are closures. The buildings will be locked starting Saturday for everyone, stay home, wash hands While we do not know the number of people or where they live, there will be testing available so the numbers will increase. Keep to your health procedures and stay home if you are sick. Remember, we are not trying to be alarmists but preventative. What we do today as prevention, promotes less spread of illness for the future. This is a fluid situation with changes happening hourly. Please stay informed and CPS will continue to monitor and assess as needed. Donna Anderson Superintendent Cherokee Public Schools.