Governor Gretchen Whitmer officially suspended in-person learning for the rest of the school year for K-12 students in response efforts to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
“Executive Order 2020-35 orders all K-12 buildings to close for the remainder of the year — unless restrictions are lifted — and ensures continuing of learning by setting guidelines for remote learning. District facilities may be used by public school employees and contractors for the purposes of facilitating learning at a distance while also practicing social distancing,” shared Local 4.
You can read the full order here.
According to Local 4‘s report, Governor Whitmer said the following:
“My number one priority right now is protecting Michigan families from the spread of COVID-19. For the sake of our students, their families, and the more than 100,000 teachers and staff in our state, I have made the difficult decision to close our school facilities for the remainder of the school year… As a parent, I understand the challenge closing schools creates for parents and guardians across the state, which is why we are setting guidelines for schools to continue remote learning and ensuring parents have resources to continue their children’s education from the safety of their homes. There is no video chat or homework packet that can replace the value of a highly trained, experienced teacher working with students in a classroom, but we must continue to provide equitable educational opportunities for students during this public health crisis.”
Michigan high school seniors will be given the opportunity to graduate this year so that they may make a successful postsecondary transition, Whitmer said.
Standardized tests scheduled for the remainder of the year, like the M-STEP and the SAT, will be canceled. There will be a make-up date in October for high school seniors to take the SAT and for other students to take the PSAT.
The institutions themselves will be in charge of picking the new start date in the fall. And the best news of all: Teachers and employees will be paid for the remainder of the year.
On Wednesday, the state reported a total of 9,334 cases in Michigan, which included 337 deaths. The state expects a peak of COVID-19 cases in April according to Local 4. They also reported that more than 400 ventilators have come to the state from the Strategic National Stockpile.
At this time, we’d like to present you with a few resources that will be useful during this time to continue enriching your child’s mind, as well as looking out for their mental and physical health:
- Coronavirus and Kids: How to Care for Their Mental Health—and Yours
- 6 Ways to Keep Your Kids Busy While Avoiding Coronavirus
- Chelsea District Library COVID-19 Resource Page
- United Way COVID-19 Resources
- Here’s 33 National Park Tours You Can Take Virtually From the Comfort of Your Home
- Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video)
- Libraries are live streaming content that you can check out here.
- The Art Institute of Chicago Puts 44,000+ Works of Art Online: View Them in High Resolution
- Here’s the Entire List of Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions Due to School Closings
- 100 Activities To Do At Home During School Closures
- Learn In Color (Facebook Post)
- Livonia Public Schools releases a full list of resources based on grade:Preschool and Young 5’s
Keep in mind, that due to this change, resources will keep updating as teachers and parents will want to continue the stimulation of young minds, as well as parental needs, so for further information please visit DetroitHelpHub.com and view the resources section. Some of the resources include health tips, Detroit’s zeroed-in attack of COVID-19, and where to get lunches for kids that do not have the resources at home.
