2020/21 School Year Updates

We are excited to welcome and serve all students for the 2020-21 academic school year. This school year will undoubtedly be different from any other school year we have experienced as families, students, and staff. Our school staff have been working tirelessly with the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota Department of Health throughout the summer to prepare for the school year.

GFW will use three learning models throughout the 2021 academic school year

In-person
In-person (Following Hybrid Guidelines)
Distance learning

We are happy to announce that we have enough space in our buildings to allow all students to return all day, everyday for in-person learning while complying with all Minnesota Department of Education and Minnesota Department of Health guidelines for hybrid learning. In the simplest of definitions, GFW can run all aspects of what is included in the hybrid model with 100% attendance. For families who are not able or ready to return, they may select distance learning as an option. Our Back to School Plan documents the details of each of the models.

The safety of our students, staff, and community is at the center of our Back to School Plan. We will be continually monitoring state, county, and local data as well as partnering with public health officials to make decisions. We ask that families stay flexible as we monitor and adjust to the data. This means we may need to change from one model to another model during the academic school year; we may also need to update the details within each model in order to respond to new executive orders, guidance, and data. We will make changes as needed here on the back to school website and push those updates out through emails and social media.

I believe our staff can and will provide a great education for our students this year that will meet the academic and social emotional needs of our students.

We look forward to a successful year!

Sincerely,

Jeff Horton