To all parents, students, and members of our Jacobson family:

On behalf of the administration, teachers and staff, we want you to know  that we are thinking about your families every day. As much as we wish we could be in school right now, unfortunately, for everyone's safety we all need to stay home for a little longer.  We look forward to seeing you very soon.

In the meantime, your teachers have been working hard to provide you with lessons, videos, books (and also some fun!) through your laptop and iPad devices as well as packets that have been provided to those without reliable internet.  Our counselor and special teachers have links on the back of this letter so check them out! I have had a great time creating YouTube videos and hope that you enjoy watching them.

Last week, the B-K school  board, on the recommendation of our administrators, made the decision to require educational programming for all students, to continue as long as we are out of the building.  We believe that this is what is best for all of our students, despite all of the hard work that is involved for all concerned.  Although we understand that the daily routine for students doing their learning at home is very different than it would be here at school, we do expect them to learn. We are also asking you as parents to challenge us to help make this new style of learning as meaningful as possible, because we are learning as we go as well.

Linked on the left menu labeled by grade are summaries of the expectations that your students at their grade level will be expected to follow and are required to complete on a weekly basis as long as we are out of school.  Our focus will be on new lessons and learning in:

(1) Math, using our Eureka curriculum in grades K-4 and Khan Academy and other materials in grades 5-6;  and

(2) Reading and Language Arts, using our new CCC (Center for Collaborative Classroom) materials for grades K-6. Although teachers may, on occasion, use supplemental resources, these two are the core of our teaching and your student learning. 

Grades 5 and 6 will also continue Science and Social Studies learning. Please read the grade level links carefully as your teachers have spent a lot of time working on the expectations.  If there is anything that you believe is unclear or unreasonable for you or your student, please contact your teacher immediately and if issues persist, please feel free to contact me at any time.  Your child’s education is the reason why we are here and nothing could be more important to us, so please let us know if you need help in any way, not just for reading, writing and math, but with any issues that are impacting your family. 

Your student’s teacher should be connecting with you as a parent regarding your student’s progress, social-emotional needs and completion of their assignments. This will look differently at each grade level, so the connections may be via Google classroom assignments, SeeSaw notifications,  email or zoom sessions. 

Please know that we are here for you during this difficult time.  If I can help in any way, please call me at school or call my personal cell phone- (641) 430-4512.   Together, we will get through this year and look back on this as a successful and unique experience.  

Mark Young, Jacobson Elementary Principal