SJCSD

To the St. Johns County School District Families,

This year we have experienced fragmentation in our society and anxiety in our lives. The tragic death of George Floyd has been the catalyst for social unrest and protests that speak to the inequities felt by the black community. As superintendent, I believe it is paramount that our schools educate and support children as they develop into young adults with the knowledge to take the next steps in their lives and the character to help build a better world for themselves and their families.

Our mission statement reads that we “will inspire good character and lifelong learning in all students, creating educated and caring contributors to the world.” Our core values go on to include the six pillars of Character Counts! and understanding that “in order to grow and thrive, individuals need caring relationships and a nurturing environment.” To accomplish our mission, we must teach students how to think for themselves, treat everyone with respect, and demonstrate caring and compassion to one another. It is important that moving forward, we engage our students in conversations about the issues of equity, opportunity, responsible citizenship and other important issues that face our country.

We strive to be a better school district every day and foster a positive supportive school community, that is free of prejudice, discrimination and racism. I am committed to continuing our hiring efforts to create a more diverse teacher and administrative workforce that best represents our students and the community we serve.

Since 1998, the St. Johns County School District has embraced Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship in the Character Counts! program. At this time, my hope is that we will lean on these foundational pillars of character to learn, teach, and grow as one community together. The biases that we each carry with us can only be confronted by our understanding and willingness to look through the lens of another. We must accept our differences in order to embrace each other as we humbly work together as one community and country. I am committed that our school system will continue to build a school community of inclusion and support, to develop trust, caring and respect in our students and staff.

Sincerely,

Tim Forson
Superintendent of St. Johns County Schools

Dear SJCSD Parents,

How quickly we have found ourselves in the world of virtual learning. I hope that your child has been able to engage with his/her teacher and has received meaningful feedback regarding academic progress. Since transitioning to a virtual platform I expect that you and your child are receiving confirmation of assignments being accepted as well as feedback on quizzes and assessments.

Given the structure of this virtual environment, you will not receive interim reports in the format you have received in the past. If you do not feel you have received adequate feedback on a specific class, please email your child’s teacher.

Over the next few days, I will share additional information regarding fourth quarter grading, promotion decisions, and other policy considerations to be reviewed or revised while using the online format. Presently, I do not know if we will continue in a virtual platform after May 1. As soon as we receive state guidance on this issue, we will share our decision with you. At this time, we also do not know how summer programs and camps will be impacted. I appreciate your patience as we navigate through this situation.

Working together,

Tim Forson
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District

Dear SJCSD Parents and Guardians,

I hope you and your child are starting to adapt to the online environment. This has been a learning week for everyone, and I am confident that the problems we have faced are being resolved. Our teachers continue to do amazing work for the benefit of all children.

Today, I have made the very difficult decision to cancel all traditional high school graduations. The UNF arena is no longer available and I believe our high schools need to be consistent in how we celebrate the Class of 2020. In addition, COVID-19 could still be a threat into the summer, we simply do not know. Your school will communicate virtual graduation plans as soon as they are finalized.

Have a great Friday, and a restful weekend. Stay safe and enjoy your family.

Sincerely,

Tim Forson
Superintendent of Schools
St. Johns County School District

Dear SJCSD Parents and Guardians,

Today we faced additional challenges with connectivity to Schoology. I share this frustration with you and assure you that we are working with the vendor to solve these issues. In the meantime, I encourage you and your child to reach out to his/her teacher via email. As I wrote yesterday, patience and flexibility are paramount. We will keep getting better.

Meal service will continue at designated school and community sites until further notice. This is an essential service offered to children 18 years or younger in need of breakfast and lunch while we are closed. In the last few days there have been posts on social media encouraging others to visit specific schools to receive these meals. Some of these posts encourage community members with children to drive through more than once to prevent the service from ceasing and preserve job functions at these sites.

While we want families who need the meals to receive them for their children, prompting the community to show up just to get meals puts a strain on distribution. It prevents us from allocating funding, efforts and resources where the need is greater.

Today Governor DeSantis issued an executive order to stay at home except for individuals who are essential employees providing essential community services as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In this guidance, “educators supporting public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities for purposes of facilitating distance learning or performing other essential functions” is included in the essential critical infrastructure workforce. We are continuing to review and define essential staff through job functions while promoting a work at home model for employees who can.

I appreciate your commitment to your child’s education. I value the support and trust you have placed in the St. Johns County School District to instruct your children while we continue to learn in this new environment.

Sincerely,

Tim Forson
Superintendent
St. Johns County School District