Dear Bluejacket Families, 

Only four more bedtimes before we are back into our school routines! We are looking forward to the start of school on Tuesday, September 7. We understand the first day of school is filled with emotions, and this year will present more challenges than a normal year. Patience and grace continue to be our theme for the start of this unusual year.

Transportation Changes

With a shortage of drivers (a national problem), we expect some delays during the first weeks of school. We are continuing to troubleshoot a number of challenges and make changes as we go. We appreciate your patience and kindness — especially for our drivers who are all learning new routes. We have had more than 200 new students enroll during the last month, so we are in a continual state of adapt and modify.

Updated bus routes will be available today. To be sure you have accurate bus stops, please LOG INTO SKYWARD FAMILY ACCESS TO CONFIRM YOUR BUS ROUTE PICK-UP AND DROP OFF TIMES. Once logged in, choose Student Information (menu on left of screen), select View Bus Schedule (middle of page), and View Pickup Bus Stops & View Dropoff Bus Stops. If you forgot your username or password, please click on the forgot your login/password link. Children should be at the bus stop 5 minutes before the scheduled pick-up time.

Please note:

• Many routes have been adjusted since our early August email notification. Please check Skyward for updated times.
• If you have a second household or alternate pick-up location, those routes may not yet be scheduled. Please check to see if they are accurate.
• If you are newly enrolled (within the last ten days) the route may not yet be scheduled. This is a normal timeframe for new enrollments, which may take up to ten days to get into the system to route.
• If the information you see in Skyward Family Access is not correct, please contact the transportation department using our Transportation Help Desk Form.
• We have been responding to calls as quickly as possible, but fear we may have missed some. If you have an unresolved issue, please RESUBMIT your question on our Transportation Help Desk Form.

With the severe shortage of drivers, we have an unpredictable situation. We encourage families to consider making a backup plan in the event there is a disruption to your child’s route. We hope this will not happen. However, if we have an illness or absence on your child’s route, there could be a significant delay in morning pick-up or after-school drop-off. Please have a contingency plan so your child is not left at home unsupervised.

Safe Return to Learn Plan

We believe in-person learning is critical to student well-being and academic success. So, as we prepare to welcome students back to school, our goal is to keep students in-person, in-school learning. Preventing and mitigating spread is important to achieve our goals. 

Our Pandemic Response Committee has been working closely with Isanti Public Health and our school nurses to plan for the utilization of our baseline Safe Return to Learn plan. Please be very familiar with this plan as we need all parent and student assistance to stay safe, take advantage of personal mitigation strategies, use tests according to guidance, and stay home if not feeling well. 

Most recently, the team has also been working diligently on our COVID Response Plan in the event that positive cases occur. The objective of this plan is to isolate spread in the smallest cohort of students possible in order to keep the most students attending in-person learning. This means that temporary mitigation strategies would be implemented in the smallest cohort possible (according to the amount of viral activity) to stop and reduce any spread. 

• We have worked through dozens of scenarios, in the event of a possible outbreak, with various mitigation strategies depending on ages, vaccine status, and the number of positive cases and contacts. 
• We have plans and decision-making guides in place to respond to any increase we see in absenteeism or positive COVID tests. 
• Mitigation strategies may include contact tracing, quarantining, self-isolation, masking, or changing learning models (as a last resort). 
• If there is an increase in case rates or transmission in a classroom, on a bus, on a team or any cohort or grouping of students and staff, we will implement additional mitigation strategies, which could impact a small group of students or a whole classroom or team. 
• We will be asking for everyone’s cooperation if/when we experience viral activity. 

We hosted a successful COVID vaccine clinic this week, thanks to our partners at Allina Health and Isanti Public Health. And in accordance with the CDC, Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Education, everyone is strongly encouraged to wear a face-covering when coming to school. 

Please visit our Safe Return to Learn website if any of these terms are confusing, we have added a Glossary of Terms and links to additional resources for your convenience.

It was wonderful to see parents and families at Open Houses this week — the first time since March 2020 that parents were in our schools and our classrooms. We hope your visit helped you feel confident with your child’s teacher and all of the staff who will work to support children this year.  Thank you for the privilege of educating your child! It is going to be a great year!

Nate Rudolph
Superintendent

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Dear Bluejacket Families, 

As the first day of school approaches, we are focused on one goal: Safely welcoming all students and staff back to school! As parents and educators, we know that children need the structure, routines, social interaction and high-quality teaching to learn and grow and thrive. We believe that students are best served in-person in our schools. Our second goal is to keep children in school. We are confident that with everyone’s cooperation, we can achieve both goals and have an outstanding school year.

Back to School is typically filled with a lot of energy and emotion. And this year seems exceptionally so. It’s helpful to remember that we all have the same goal: we want our children to thrive in school. We’ve learned over the last two school years that kindness and patience goes a long way. When children are having “big feelings” — excitement, anxiousness, confidence or uncertainty — they rely on the adults in their world to bring a sense of calm and security. Our staff are skilled at meeting children where they are, making a connection, and helping them gain the confidence and skills they need to achieve their goals. 

We can’t wait to see your child, to talk about their hopes and dreams for this year, to see them interact with classmates, and to rekindle their joy for learning. Thank you for allowing us to be partners in learning with your family. We look forward to providing a great learning environment for Every Student, Every Day.

Let’s work together Bluejackets!

Nate Rudolph
Superintendent

School Open Houses

Our schools will host Open House events next week. This will be our first parent-child district event at our schools (other than graduation) since March 2020. We’re asking for your cooperation in limiting the number of family members attending each event, and when you see friends, please move conversations outdoors instead of gathering in hallways or classrooms. Please check the district website for specific dates and times.

Transportation 

As anticipated last year, our state is facing a serious shortage of bus drivers. The driver shortage started as many as five years ago, but has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cambridge-Isanti Schools took action last spring to reduce the number of routes and bus drivers needed when we moved to a two-tier system; Most recently additional routes have been required due to increased enrollment and road construction projects in the county. We are still working to recruit a few more bus drivers in order to be able to provide timely service. However, some students may experience delays due to the driver shortage.

In addition, all of our drivers are learning new and more routes. As we head into classes this fall, it is likely we will experience challenges with busing. Students could experience some route delays. Masks will be required on all school buses (per federal mandate). We appreciate your patience and understanding.

School Supply Lists

Supply lists are available 24/7 from any device—even on your smartphone while you’re out at the store. Simply scroll to your school and grade level. While in your grade level supply list, you may also click one of the retailers at the top of the page, prefill your online shopping cart with your child's supplies, and have it shipped directly to your door.  We hope this tool helps to make the back-to-school process easier and smoother for you!

C-I Online Registration Deadline

The registration deadline for Cambridge-Isanti Schools Online is Friday, August 27. Please go to the website for more information and for a link to the registration form for students in grades K-8. If you have questions about availability of online classes in grades 9-12, email Jeremy Miller, Dean of Students, at jmiller@c-ischools.org.

COVID-19 Mitigation Plans

As schools open across the country, we are paying close attention to safety guidance from the CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics, Minnesota Department of Health and our local public health departments. As we watch surges in various areas of the country and state, it is a good reminder that certain precautions and cooperation are needed to protect our students, families and staff. 

Our district has layered prevention and mitigation strategies in our updated Safe Return to Learn Plan for 2021-2022 which is publicly available on our website for your review. We will continue to follow MDE and MDH guidelines based on school-based case rates. This means that if an outbreak occurs, in order to isolate and limit spread, there may be different instructions at one school or level than another. We will communicate via email from your school principal or school nurse if your child’s school has any additional precautions or recommendations throughout the school year. We are asking for your cooperation on the following mitigation measures. Again, our goal is to keep students in school all year. 

• Daily Self-Check and Self-Report of COVID-19 Symptoms

The practice of self-checking and self-reporting of COVID-19 symptoms will remain the same as was last school year, which includes families and staff conducting a daily self-check for COVID-19 symptoms and staying home if they are sick or display any symptoms. Please do not send children to school if they are sick or display any symptoms. All staff and students should self-quarantine when showing one common or two uncommon COVID-19 symptoms. They can return when they do not have symptoms for 24 hours. This includes no fever for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine.

Parents/Guardians should contact the school nurse assigned to their child’s school to report a lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 case. Individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 will be required to stay home for a minimum of ten (10) days from the time symptoms started and/or the time they tested positive for COVID-19.  They may not return to school until after that time AND must be symptom-free.  If the Minnesota Department of Health revises their guidance, the district will communicate this information.

• Safety Precautions

Cambridge-Isanti Schools will continue to implement mitigation strategies. Some of those strategies include:

• Hand sanitizing stations will be available throughout buildings 
• Social Distancing will continue to be encouraged when possible
• Signs will be posted throughout the buildings to remind everyone of continued proper hygiene and mitigation strategies 
• Masks will be required on school buses and other District transportation (per federal public transportation requirements)
• General “high touch” areas will be cleaned and sanitized regularly
  
  

• Vaccines are available for ages 12+ through public health

Vaccines are available without charge to all students age 12 and older through public health departments and local pharmacies. All eligible students and staff are encouraged to be vaccinated. The middle school and high school will be operating at full capacity and on a regular schedule where students may come in close contact with a large number of classmates; unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to wear a mask. Our schools will continue to assist our public health partners by offering space outside of school hours for public vaccine clinics. Please follow Isanti Public Health for vaccine information.

To assist families who are interested in having their child vaccinated, we are collaborating with Isanti Public Health to offer an optional vaccination clinic at our secondary schools during open house.  If you are interested, please click on the corresponding link to register for a slot:

• September 1 - Cambridge-Isanti High School - 4:00-7:00 - Registration Link
• September 1 - Cambridge Middle School - 5:00-6:15 - Registration Link
• September 1 - Isanti Middle School - 6:15-7:45 - Registration Link

The Pfizer shot will be available to be administered at the vaccination clinic for students age 12 and older; additional details for the clinics will be provided after registration. 

• Mask Guidance

At this time, masks are recommended by the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Education. Likewise, Cambridge-Isanti Schools recommends masks within our public school buildings and other District sites. Masks are not required inside our schools; we respect each family’s decision about masking. Masks are required on all public transportation (planes, trains, buses, taxis) including school buses, per a federal mandate. 

• Take Home COVID Testing Opportunities

Based on current levels of community spread across Minnesota, the CDC and MDH recommend that all unvaccinated school-age children and school staff should get tested for COVID-19 at least weekly throughout the school year. Unvaccinated children involved in any extracurricular activities or sports should be tested more frequently. Vaccinated students and school staff should get tested if they are experiencing symptoms or were exposed to someone who has COVID-19.

Cambridge-Isanti Schools will offer free COVID testing on a voluntary basis. These optional tests are provided by MDE and MDH as part of a statewide educational testing program and are similar to the saliva tests offered last spring.

With parent permission, students will be able to get a Zoom enabled test kit from the school nurse’s office on a specified date (TBD) each week. Students can take tests home and complete it with a parent/guardian by following the kit directions. They will then return the kit to the nurse’s office the next day. Completed test kits will be mailed by the District each week. Test results will be sent to the parent/guardian from Vault and data will not be shared with the School District. If the student receives a positive test, the parent/guardian is required to call and inform the school nurse and follow protocols accordingly. 

The district will also have the availability of optional rapid tests for symptomatic students.  This is optional and would only be conducted with informed consent from a parent/guardian.  

Order an at-home test at no cost

Vault: No-Cost COVID Testing For All Minnesotans Families are invited to order in-house test kits to keep on hand. Minnesota and Vault Medical Services have teamed up to offer at-home COVID-19 saliva testing for everyone who lives in Minnesota, with or without symptoms, at no cost. Typically Vault saliva test kits ship within a day of receiving the order. Note that shipping and delivery does not happen on Sundays or holidays. If you need a test immediately, visit Find Testing Locations for in-person options.

1. Please take time to review our complete Safe Return to Learn Plan for 2021-2022 in its entirety. 

Kindness, Compassion and Respect

There are many strong feelings about masking or not masking. We expect everyone in our schools to treat each other with respect, kindness and compassion, regardless of any family's decisions. "Mask-shaming” or “anti-mask-shaming" will not be tolerated. Please help us encourage all students to honor and respect each other by observing our Bluejacket Character Traits of Responsibility, Respect, Compassion, Self-Discipline, and Honesty!

Bluejacket Families and Staff, 

Earlier this week, we sent you an email addressing a number of questions about the upcoming school year. Since that time, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Minnesota Department of Health have released new guidance for all school districts. There is a high level of concern for the Delta variant that causes the COVID-19 illness.

Minnesota Department of Education and CDC Recommendations

• All students, staff, and visitors in school buildings should wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.
• All people ages 12 years and older should get vaccinated for COVID-19 before returning to in-person school, sports, or other activities to protect themselves and people around them who cannot get vaccinated. Find Vaccine Locations near you.
• People who are not fully vaccinated and returning to in-person school should get tested regularly for COVID-19 according to CDC guidance [more on at-home tests].
• Students, teachers, and staff should stay home if they feel sick and should contact a healthcare provider for testing and care.

Cambridge-Isanti Schools support these recommendations; however, we also understand they are recommendations. Families are encouraged to make informed health and safety decisions for their own families. The new guidelines align with prior plans and our earlier communication. 

Face masks will not be required in school buildings, but those who wish to wear them are encouraged to do so. Face coverings are required on school buses, which are classified as public transportation. (These are the same requirements that apply to flying in airplanes or riding a train.)

The safety guidelines put in place for schools by our state and federal government agencies are designed to keep students and staff safe—this is among our highest priorities as well. We encourage families to review the CDC recommendations and select prevention and mitigation strategies that best protect your children and families. The pandemic is not over, and we will continue to be diligent with contact tracing in combination with recommending isolation and quarantine, handwashing, respiratory etiquette, cleaning, and disinfection as important layers of prevention. For those who are uncomfortable with our in-person learning plans for fall, our C-I Schools Online program is a state-approved online program for grades K-12. 

We are looking forward to partnering with you during the coming school year as we work to serve every student, every day.

GO BIG BLUE! 

Nate Rudolph
Superintendent

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Happy Summer Bluejacket Families and Staff, 

After a year like none other, we know that many families have questions about the upcoming school year as you plan for the fall. For that reason, below (and on our website) we provide a “Top 12” list of questions we are receiving in hopes of helping families prepare. 

In recent weeks, national news reports have shared new CDC guidelines for schools, and recently the Minnesota Department of Education provided some updates to school districts. Because Minnesota has reached a 70% first-dose vaccination rate, we do not expect statewide restrictions that we experienced last year. Health and safety remains a top priority, so we will be continuing with some of our mitigating strategies from last year including hand-hygiene, cleaning protocols, and social distancing wherever possible. Face coverings will not be required in schools, but those who wish to wear them are encouraged to do so. You can read our Safe Return to Learning Plan on our website for more details.

If you have friends or neighbors who withdrew last year, please encourage them to contact the district about re-enrollment before August. We want to ensure we are fully staffed to welcome all our Bluejackets back to school.

We recognize that there is a lot of information included in this mid-summer update as we prepare for the school year. The information provided below is generally organized by questions about COVID-19 procedural plans, school schedules, and general information. We hope that you enjoy our beautiful Minnesota summer outdoors over the next month and look forward to seeing you in the fall! 

GO BIG BLUE! 

Nate Rudolph
Superintendent

 

Top 12 Back to School Questions

• Will there be a regular schedule? Yes! Students will attend school five days a week, as published in our 2021-2022 calendar.
• Will we have to wear face masks? Face masks will not be required in school buildings, but those who wish to wear them are welcome to. 
  School buses fall under “public transportation,” so face coverings will be required on buses until the federal government changes public transportation requirements. (These are the same requirements that apply to flying in airplanes or riding a train.)
• Is the COVID Vaccine required for students? COVID vaccines are not required to attend school; they are strongly recommended by the CDC for everyone age 12 and older. MDH has additional resources and guidance for those interested.
• What health and safety protocols will the schools continue from last year? We will continue to follow all state/federal health and safety mandates; we are not preparing any additional local restrictions. 
  Frequent hand washing is a healthy habit. We will continue to have regular hand washing breaks in school and maintain many of our cleaning and sanitizing practices. We will also continue to contact trace any COVID-19 (and variant) exposures and communicate accordingly. We will urge families and staff to monitor for illness and stay home when sick, and we will maintain 3 feet of social distance whenever possible.
• Are there new school start and end times for next year and what are they? Yes. As a reminder, we will have new school start/end times in the coming school year because of the need to change transportation models. Younger students will ride separately from older students on buses, and we will have shorter overall ride times for students.
  Elementary schools will start earlier and secondary schools will be on the second tier. The times have changed slightly since originally published in April. So, please double-check the start and end times for your school.

Early Childhood:
ECSE Sessions: 7:50 - 10:35 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. - 2:35 p.m.
Preschool: 7:50 - 10:35 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. - 2:35 p.m.

Elementary Student Day (Instructional Day):
CPS: Start/End 7:30 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.
CIS: Start/End  7:30 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.
IPS/SFAS: Start/End  7:30 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.
IIS/SFAS: Start/End 7:35 a.m. - 2:18 p.m.

Secondary Student Days (Instructional Day):
CIHS: Start/End 8:25 a.m. - 3:10 p.m.
CMS: Start/End 8:45 a.m. - 3:31 p.m.
IMS:  Start/End 8:40 a.m. - 3:26 p.m.

Woodland Campus (Instructional Day):
Brookside Academy Primary: Start/End  7:25 a.m. - 2:05 p.m.
Brookside Academy Secondary: Start/End  8:40 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Moving Forward: Start/End  8:40 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Riverside Academy: Start/End  8:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.

• When will new bus schedules be available? Preliminary bus route pick-up and drop-off times will be sent out by August 10. This is approximately one month prior to school starting. In a typical year, this process takes place two weeks prior to school. We know that families are eager to plan schedules with the changes in start and end times; therefore, the preliminary (subject to change) times will be expedited.
  We encourage all families to use our transportation this year! We will be back to 100% capacity. We have been able to reduce the length of bus rides for students, provide more age-appropriate services, and look forward to shorter drop-off and pick-up lines at schools. 
• What before/after school supervision or child care options are available

PreK to Grade 5: Adventure Center is a fee-based program that serves children in PreK to Grade 5. Adventure Center offers a safe, fun, and enriching space for elementary and preschool students to play, learn, and grow during out of school time. Activities include: after school snack, homework time, free play, crafts, and more. Our hours of operation are 6:00 am-6:00 pm. For more information contact Pat Bourke at pbourke@c-ischools.org or 763-689-6180.

Before & After School: Please register at your earliest convenience to assure a spot.
Register for school-age child care. 
Register for preschool-age care.

Grades 6-8: There will be an organized before school program at each middle school for students arriving prior to 8:15 AM. The program will run, tentatively, from 7:30 to 8:30 AM. Students arriving at school during this time will need to register and are expected to participate in the program. You can expect additional information from your middle school in August. 

• How can I be sure to get all the information I need from schools? Review your Skyward Family Access periodically to make sure we have current information on file for your child. Under the Student Info tab, you may request changes to student information, health information, family contact information, and emergency contact information. 
  We strongly encourage all families to provide the District with at least one mobile phone number for text messaging. If you were not receiving text messages from the Superintendent last year (each time an email was sent), please add or edit your cell/text number in Skyward to the THIRD phone field. Text messages will only be sent to the THIRD phone number. If your primary number and mobile number are the same, please put the number in both the #1 and #3 phone contact fields.
  School E-Newsletters will be your primary source of information, in addition to periodic emails and text messages from the District. You may also want to bookmark the Cambridge-Isanti Schools website. We will use your contact information (email, phone or text) from Skyward to communicate. 
• Does everyone have to verify their Skyward Family Access information? Yes. In support of our efforts to increase broadband access in our community, we will be collecting information on digital technology access at home, so we need every family to complete the verification. 
  To complete the verification, log into your Skyward Family Access account and click the Student Information Verification button in the menu bar. After each step, click the button on the bottom of the screen to move to the next step. Once each step is checked off, review your information and click Submit.
• Will you allow volunteers and parent visits to school this year? Yes. We are excited to welcome parents and volunteers back into our schools. We are partners in your child’s education and we believe the more adults we have supporting our children, the better for all. Learn more about volunteering in our schools on our volunteer webpage.
• Do I need to deposit lunch money for my child this year? The Federal School Lunch program will continue to provide school breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost to families this year. We will also be bringing back more of our à la carte options available for purchase through student lunch accounts. It is a good idea to deposit money in your child’s account through Skyward Family Access if your child will be purchasing à la carte options. Regardless, we encourage all families to complete an Application for Educational Benefits to receive potential discounts on sports and activities, community education classes, drivers education classes, SAT/ACT testing, transportation, home broadband connectivity, and to qualify for pandemic-EBT benefits.
• When will school supply lists be available? Supply lists are already available on our website 24/7 from any device—even on your smartphone while you’re out at the store. Simply click on the school and the grade level. Lists are also conveniently linked to popular online stores for easy online ordering and check-out.

C-I Schools Spotlight Video

Earlier this year, Superintendent Rudolph had the opportunity to visit with ‘87 Bluejacket alumnus Major General Shawn Manke, Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard. General Manke talked about being a high school student and the qualities of confidence, competence and commitment that he thinks are important for high school graduates today.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/_S1AuRn9hI8