Cheat sheet: Key deadlines on CMS schedule changes

Before the district returns to the traditional five-day school week, parents can opt into or out of full remote academy. Here’s a quick rundown of the district’s schedule changes and deadlines.

• March 22: Elementary students went back to four-day weeks in person.
• March 26: CMS’s requested deadline for families to decide whether they’ll attend in person or in full remote academy. Schools have already sent out change request forms via ConnectEd.
• April 1: The hard deadline, set by the state, for families that want to switch to or from full remote academy. (In a big district like CMS, the sooner the better, because principals have to start planning.)
• April 12: Middle and high school students go from two days a week in person to four.
• May 10: All CMS students (aside from those learning remotely) will attend in-person classes five days a week through the end of the year.

State of play: This latest schedule change from CMS comes as a direct response to state legislation passed earlier this month requiring school districts to offer in-person instruction to all students.

Considerations: Masks are still required for all students and staff, as are other COVID precautions. But social distancing will be tricky.

A school’s ability to social distance will vary based on how many students are in-person, and there’s no way to know that until the April 1 deadline.

• But under the state legislation, schools do not have to maintain six feet social distancing.
• Additionally, recent CDC guidance says K-12 schools can drop from six feet to three feet social distancing if community spread is low to moderate.
• During the March 23 board meeting district officials said schools should accommodate distancing to “the greatest extent possible.”