Four Days Per Week for Grades 3-5

Decorative image with colored diamonds on gray background
Four Days Per Week for Grades 3-5

Greetings RPS Staff and Families, 

We are excited to announce that we will be adding two days per week to the hybrid program for students in grades 3-5. This means that students in K-5 will all have the opportunity to attend class Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. This change will take effect starting Monday, October 19, following the MEA break.

This is an evolution of our hybrid model, designed to better meet the needs of our elementary students, staff and families. We have received ongoing feedback from our students and families that an increase of days present in school for our hybrid students would better support their learning. We have also received ongoing feedback from staff in grades 3-5 that the hybrid model would be more effective if it matched the model being used in grades K-2.

Transportation

  • Over the next two weeks, our transportation staff will work to update routes to accommodate this new schedule. So far, we have had fewer students riding the bus than anticipated, which will help in the routing.
  • We are grateful to our families who have found alternative transportation options, as this has allowed us to serve more students overall. If you are one of the families opting to drive, bike or walk, thank you! We hope you will be able to continue to do this so that we can continue to provide bus transportation to students who need it. 

Social Distancing & Class Size

  • With this change, it will mean some elementary classes may have up to 22 students, depending on the size of the classroom. While social distancing and reduced capacity along with added safety measures remain a priority, the Hennepin County COVID-19 case rate is low enough that we are not restricted by the 50% capacity limit guideline. Please know that we will continue to do our best to maintain these small classes as we remain in our hybrid model.

I know many of our elementary school staff and families will find this to be welcome news. The students enrolled in the hybrid program certainly will!

As a reminder to all RPS families, you have the opportunity to change your child’s enrollment to distance learning at any time and you will have the opportunity to change to the hybrid program during the upcoming grading period (as space allows). If you are considering a change in your child’s enrollment preference, please contact your school directly. 

Have a great weekend.

Sincerely, 

Superintendent Steven Unowsky


DISTRICT RESOURCES

Read More

Empty Bowls Fundraiser: You're Invited

You’re invited to join us from 5-6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12, for the Empty Bowls fundraiser. Empty Bowls is an event celebrating our community through art, music and food! 

stem in rps

Take a look at how students in RPS engage in STEM (and STEAM) courses from elementary school through graduation, and how our dedicated teachers support and inspire students through hands-on, real-world activities.