Welcome to Cros-Lex Community Schools

Dear Cros-Lex Families:

Yesterday Governor Gretchen Whitmer held a press conference addressing the most recent Michigan developments and directives in the COVID-19 pandemic.  She has ordered a “Stay Home. Stay Safe. Save Lives” directive. Click HERE to view the document. 

Schools along with all non-essential businesses are now directed to stay closed until April 13, 2020. What this means for Cros-Lex Schools is the soonest we can return is Tuesday April 14th. You can read the press release here which also links to the executive order to gain further details on how the order may relate to you and your family: Click HERE to view the Executive Order issued March 23, 2020. 

The Cros-Lex Free Food for Kids program is considered to be essential and will continue providing nourishment to children in need.  Please note, beginning on Tuesday, March 31st, meal distribution will only take place on Tuesdays for the remainder of the school closure. Take-home bags will include breakfast and lunch meals for seven days.

Locations and times of take-home meal distributions are:

• Curbside at Croswell-Lexington  High School at the front south entrance from 10:30 am-  1:30 pm
• Mobile delivery will continue at Grant Park on Wildcat Rd - 10:30 am -1:30 pm.

When coming to pick up meal bags, PLEASE stay in your vehicle and if possible pop your trunk so our staff can place the bags inside for you. It is vitally important we abide by the recommendations not to congregate and to avoid contact with one another to mitigate any possible COVID-19 exposure.

Additionally, in order to prevent the spread of the disease, all Croswell-Lexington Community Schools property will be off-limits to guests for the safety of our community. As of yesterday, Michigan is in the top five states in the nation in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.

On the educational legislative side of the Covid-19 crisis, the annual M-STEP state assessment will likely be waived for this school year. The State of Michigan applied for a waiver to be released from those assessment tests this year and it was granted by the federal government. Also, the College Board's AP Program has announced a new, at-home testing option for Advanced Placement (AP) students. Students will be allowed to take a 45-minute online exam at home for this school year only. We will be working with students that do not have online access at home. More information to come before testing.

I want to thank our custodial staff for thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting our school buildings. Also, I want to thank our cafeteria staff, maintenance & grounds employees, food service director Ms. Peters, and the professional/support staff who continue to play an essential role to distribute food to our families during Free Breakfast/Lunch Pick-Up. In addition, I want to thank our teachers and administrators for making the best out of a difficult situation by providing students with enrichment learning options. 

To date, our professional instructional staff are continuously working hard behind the scenes adjusting their lessons and preparing instructional resources for students/parents to access in the coming days for students to be working on. We anticipate the next round of instructional lessons and resources to be available online Monday, April 6th or pick-up on Tuesday, April 7th. 

Finally, I want to thank all parents for doing your best in difficult circumstances and working with your children to complete the distributed educational resources and activities. Together, we will all get through this crisis. 

On behalf of the Croswell-Lexington Community School District, I want everyone to know how much we miss all of our students and look forward to welcoming everyone back together again, healthy, revived, and united to build upon the amazing Pioneer spirit!

Stay safe, healthy, and positive!

Daniel Gilbertson

Superintendent

Dear Croswell-Lexington Community School’s Families,

Over this first week of school closure, I have been in communication regularly with district/building leaders, colleagues from our local county schools, as well as other ISD’s, the Michigan Department of Education, and keeping up to date with information flowing from the Governor's office.  I know there are still so many unanswered questions and timelines as to when school and life will return to what we know as normal. As soon as we have answers to those questions I will communicate them to you.  

Among the many heroes working courageously on behalf of others is our Food  Services department. Tuesday, our Food Service Department packaged 3396 total meals (to cover Tuesday - Friday) with 566 total families picking up meals either at CLHS or the G  In fact, on Tuesday alone they delivered 4,248 meals. I cannot thank them enough for all of their time and effort to help our community. The following meal distribution times will continue as follows and please remember the district buildings are closed to the public.

Friday March 20th CLHS outside/front of the Building 10:30 am -1:30 pm & Grant Township Park.

Beginning next week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday meal distributions will continue at the same sites and times.

For those students who did not pick up a paper copy of the instructional packets available last Monday, our professional staff will have more copies of the learning packets available for pick-up at the High School & Grant Twp. park during the meal distribution time on Friday March 20th. 

We also are working to update our website and upload curriculum pacing guides for each grade level that will assist families in knowing what instructional content/ standards/ benchmarks have been covered so far this year. I anticipate providing another update to families on Monday. 

I know that the daily rhythm of life has changed significantly for all of our families.  Some of you are juggling working from home along with your children’s needs. Some of you are laid off and dealing with that stress.  Below are some resources that may be helpful:

• Talking to Children About COVID-19: National Association of School Psychologists
• Coping with Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration
• Talking with Children about Coronavirus: CDC
• Helping Children Cope with Emergencies: CDC
• How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus: PBS Kids

Additionally, I am sure many of you have been faced with the question as to whether your child can get together with friends.  Here are some links regarding that topic for guidance:

• CDC Recommendation: Discourage children and teens from gathering in other public places while school is dismissed to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community
• Coronavirus is Here. Should Kids Still Have Playdates? Fatherly Magazine

We are waiting for additional direction from the state about the school year and we will continue to keep you informed as more information becomes available. 

There are so many truly courageous heroes fighting this national crisis, such as emergency first responders, doctor office and hospital staff, nurses, doctors, truck drivers, grocers, pharmacists, volunteers, and many others, who are risking their own health and safety on behalf of others. I remain hopeful if we all follow the CDC guidelines to protect ourselves and each other, show compassion to others in need, we will all be able to beat COVID-19 one community at a time. 

Please be safe and stay healthy!

Sincerely,

Daniel Gilbertson

Superintendent

Go Pioneers!

March 16, 2020

Dear Croswell-Lexington Families:

First and foremost, we hope everyone is safe and healthy and continuing to take all the precautions outlined by the MDHHS & the CDC. These updates continue to change each day so please continue to monitor the best health and safety practices set forth by these health organizations.  

Croswell-Lexington Community Schools will not be providing direct instruction over the next three weeks. However, teachers have already begun to organize optional learning resources for students through various methods and learning management software. None of the enrichment learning material offered to students will be due back to school. The enrichment instructional resources organized by our teachers are to give students a productive learning option during that time away from school. Already, it is humbling to witness the amazing spirit of support to learning and helping others not only that our teaching staff is delivering, but so many across all employee groups here at Cros-Lex Schools!

At this time, we are waiting on direction from Governor Whitmer to know the expectations of all Public School Districts during this mandated state of emergency. We are not sure if these ten school days of closure will be forgiven or will be treated similarly to snow days and need to be made up at the end of the school year to fulfill our required days of instruction. Below are additional decisions that have been made impacting our district families:

In case you have not received our Food Service guidelines/schedule sent out yesterday and posted on our website, you can view the link HERE. 

Tuesday, March 17th optional enrichment learning materials will be made available for pick-up at each elementary school, the middle school. and the high school from 10:30 am -1:00 pm. Parents and students will not enter the buildings to get these materials. They will be given outside the buildings. These learning materials from all of the buildings will also be available for download from our district Croslex.org website, linked HERE. 

For the few students who absolutely need essential materials from your building, you will be admitted (no more than 5 at a time) into the building to retrieve them quickly and leave. The times are the same as for picking up the learning materials: 10:30-1:00 p.m.

Online Classes through both Pioneer High School and Cros-Lex High School in which building closures do not affect daily educational expectations will continue to operate as usual. Students in need of technology (in these courses) should contact their building administration to make necessary arrangements.

Spring sports are suspended until further notice as well.

Please be reassured that we are continuing to make decisions that are grounded in accurate information from reliable resources, with an abundance of care for the welfare and safety of our children and the community. 

Daniel Gilbertson

Superintendent

Dear Cros-Lex Families:

Your Croswell Lexington School District wants to support and take care of any and all families needing assistance as we face the current unprecedented challenges that this school closure brings. We are all in this together.

Since the news came that we would be closing our schools, district staff and school board members have come together to plan how we can best serve our community. Please continue to check our website for updates. This is a time of rapidly changing information.

We want to continue to feed our children - Starting this week.

• The Cros-Lex Food service department will provide cold breakfasts and sack lunches at no charge for all students.
• We will have food pickup for all students at these locations on Tuesday, March 17 and Friday, March 20:  Grant Township Park (7942 Wildcat Rd. Grant Twp. MI. 48032) at 10:30-1:00 pm  and also at  Cros-Lex H.S. parking lot at 10:30-1:00 p.m.
• Beginning on Monday March 23, we will do food distributions three times a week,  Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the same times and locations...
• On Fridays we will provide three breakfasts & three lunches to include Saturday and Sunday.

Free Meals are available to children 18 years of age and under or persons up to age 26 who are enrolled in an educational program for the mentally or physically disabled that is recognized by a State or local public educational agency.

By now, many of us have become knowledgeable about the facts as we know them on COVID-19, so please continue to follow the CDC and MDHHS guidelines to mitigate and reduce the spread of this very dangerous virus.  

Last, our teachers and administrators have been working on our plan for supplemental/enrichment learning for students and we will be sharing that information tomorrow.

Hopeful everyone is staying safe and healthy!

Dan

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) UPDATE

This is the third communication regarding the plans and steps Croswell-Lexington Community Schools is taking regarding the COVID-19 virus. Be assured we will continue to communicate as needed! It appears the virus-spread changes daily and, therefore, our responses and actions need to continue to be timely, agile and adaptable.

We would like to again remind you that our District utilizes the most credible resources possible regarding the virus and recommended actions:

• Center for Disease Control link: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html
• Michigan.gov coronavirus link: https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus
• Sanilac County Health Department: https://sanilachealth.com

In light of the World Health Organization declaration last night of the COVID-19 status as a global pandemic and the Governor of Michigan announcing confirmed cases in Michigan, we want to share with you our current plans for keeping students and staff healthy while continuing to support learning.

With this in mind, we will enact the following measures as of Friday, March 13, 2020 until further notice.

• All student award programs and assemblies where large groups are involved will be suspended at this time.
• All school events where public participation is involved will be suspended.
• All District-sponsored student and staff travel will be temporarily suspended.
• All Cros-Lex facilities are closed for scheduled community meetings, rentals and gatherings.

Before and after school care programs will be ongoing to not cause hardship for parents, however, we encourage families to evaluate use as COVID-19 status evolves.

I am asking for families to prepare for the possible scenario that Croswell Lexington Community Schools would need to close for an extended period of time.

The Governor has declared a State of Emergency, and we are taking COVID-19 very seriously. Our goal, with your help, is to prevent illness from this virus locally.

In the event Cros-Lex needs to close, we are preparing to provide educational opportunities to our students through our online platforms, resources and one-to-one device platforms. We will release more information should this occur.

Croswell-Lexington Schools believe that online learning is an adequate replacement for face-to-face learning, and under these difficult circumstances, an appropriate option to keep students and staff connected with learning until face-to-face learning becomes a safe option. In the event that school is closed due to COVID-19, the District will be in communication with the Michigan Department of Education to receive direction on any adjustments needed to the school calendar. 

As promised, we will continue to work closely with health officials and continue to keep the District lines of communication regarding the COVID-19 virus timely, agile and adaptable with all Cros-Lex stakeholders! Because this is a rapidly-evolving health event, we will continue to communicate as often as we have new and relevant information to release.

Thank you for your efforts to keep all Cros-Lex family members healthy and protect student learning.

Daniel Gilbertson

Superintendent