Correction: A previous version of this story indicated that Superintendent Erin MacGrgeor had said prom and graduation had been canceled. That was incorrect, and the story has been updated to reflect that. Our apologies at the error.


By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com

The Howell Public Schools Board of Education has laid out its plan for the educating students throughout the remainder of the school year.

Yesterday’s executive order from Governor Gretchen Whitmer ended face-to-face instruction for students, leaving how to finish the academic school year in the hands of individual districts. At a special, online meeting of the HPS Board of Education this afternoon, Superintendent Erin MacGregor and Executive Director of Instructional Services, Elson Liu presented their Continuity of Learning Plan. It was broken down into two sections, with plans for elementary and secondary education.

MacGregor said they have established 3 goals with the plan: connecting with families to make sure they are cared for emotionally; move their curriculum forward, understanding the challenges; and provide opportunities to honor and celebrate the kids.

The plan also laid out assumptions from the district: that engaging a majority of the students (75%) will be challenging; advancing curriculum will create a wider gap when school returns in the fall; HPS students have access to technology tools that support online learning, but HPS families do not have equal access to the internet; and traditional end-of-year events can’t be replicated. Superintendent MacGregor said he feels bad for the outgoing senior class, as many events have had to be cancelled. However, he later clarified that they have not made any decisions about prom and graduation. “However, we do have processes in place at both the elementary and secondary levels to plan for and possibly redesign year-end events in order to celebrate and honor our students. We will provide more information on these events in the future.”

On both the elementary and secondary education levels, the goal is to keep weekly engagement open between students and teachers, with weekly reporting from principals on how everything is going. Liu said, the expectation for the academic piece on the elementary side will be 8 weeks of education, broken down into for two-week chunks. Each week there will be 2 lessons of ELA and math. Counselors are developing social and emotional learning resources and supports, and specialist teachers will be providing activities for art, music, physical education, and technology.

MacGregor said the secondary side will hold their classes in a similar 8 week structure. But while the secondary students all have been provided technology that can be used for participating online, the district recognizes that some elementary students are without. For those families, paper packets will be made available.

For middle and high school students, the district has adopted a “Do no harm” philosophy with grading. Students will be given the choice at the end of the semester for each class to take a “no mark,” a “pass,” or a letter grade. The “no mark” option will not be used in GPA calculations.

The Continuity of Learning Plan will now go to the Livingston Educational Service Agency for approval. This program for finishing the school year is expected to roll out April 13th.

MacGregror said parents should check their regular Tuesday/Thursday email updates from him for more information.