Budget and Salary-Compensation Transparency Reporting
Mid-Michigan District Health Department

COVID-19 Updates

This PreK Return to Learn Plan was created using the information provided by the CDC, LARA, K-12 Road Map, and MAISD guidelines . MDE has not provided schools with any specific GSRP guidelines. When/if they do this plan may be revised. Attached you will find the LARA Child Care Re-Opening for specific details. This is a live document that is updated as new information is released. Funding/budgeting information has not been released. It is anticipated that these funds may arrive in early October. Many schools within our county are proceeding with preschool at this time.

During the board work session on August 4, 2020, the Vestaburg Board of Education proposed and unanimously approved the decision to delay face to face instruction and to implement Vestaburg Distance Learning for the first 6 weeks of the 2020-2021 academic year. Your student will have the choice between Vestaburg Distance Learning or Vestaburg Virtual Learning which are both described below.

March 1, 2022

Effective February 25, 2022, the CDC does not require the wearing of masks on buses or vans operated by public or private school systems.  They are making this change to align with recently updated guidance for areas where low or medium risk levels for COVID-19 exist, With the number of COVID-19 cases declining over the last several weeks, Montcalm County is now identified as a medium risk area. 

As a result of this announcement and updated guidance from the CDC, Vestaburg Community School, will no longer require that staff or students wear a face mask when riding a bus or in other school vehicles.  

We thank you for your patience and understanding during the time that we were required to follow the masking mandate under the federal executive order.  Should there be any changes in this requirement, we will communicate that to you immediately.  

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Brandon Hubbard
Superintendent
Vestaburg Community Schools

December 18th, 2020

Good Afternoon,

I hope this message finds everyone safe and healthy. I wanted to take a few moments to wish all of our families a safe and Happy Holiday season. It is my sincere hope that all of our students, staff, and families get a chance to regroup and recharge from this very difficult and stressful first semester of school and pandemic. As always, please know that we are thinking of you and here to help if needed.

Today Governor Whitmer and Robert Gordon, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, provided an update on the COVID-19 restrictions and orders. In short, they announced a reduction of restrictions that include allowing High School students to return to face to face instruction. Thus, at this time we are planning on welcoming all k-12 students that have chosen in-person learning back to in-person instruction on January 11th. All students will remain remote the week of January 4 - January 8, 2020. The purpose of this is to avoid a spike and possible exposures that would require a two-week shut down due to a holiday spike. The extra week will allow for those that may contract the virus to be identified prior to returning to school.

Updates regarding athletics will be forthcoming. Lastly, if one thing is certain it is that nothing right now is for certain and everything is subject to change. So, stay tuned for further updates if anything changes.

Stay Safe and have a Happy Holiday season.

Dear VCS Students and Parents,

As many of you know, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued an emergency epidemic order that runs through December 8, 2020. This order has set in place many restrictions regarding schools.   

After thoughtful consideration and guidance from our local health department, Vestaburg Community School has decided to move to virtual/remote learning for all students PreK- 12th Grade beginning on Tuesday,  November 17th.  Students will participate in Distance Learning through Tuesday, December 8th, and return face-to-face instruction on Wednesday, December 9th.  However, between now and the scheduled return, we will continue to work with the health department and to look at the data to determine if returning is appropriate or extending the suspension of face-to-face instruction is warranted. 

Students have been reminded to take their materials home every day to be prepared for possible closures.  However, if your child needs access to the building or to materials that may have been left, you need to contact your student’s principal to make an appointment at a scheduled time.  We will still be providing meals for our students. 

Distance (Face to Face Learners): We will resume food deliveries starting on Monday, November 23.  A sign-up will be posted on our district website and Facebook page.  Please utilize this sign up to have meals delivered to your home beginning the week of Monday, November 23.

 Virtual Students:  Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 17, you may pick up meals for this week, during the regularly scheduled time. Moving forward, for the remainder of the closure, virtual students will have the meals delivered directly to their homes.

 Effective immediately, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) has decided to postpone all school athletics. This will also be the case for all extra-curricular activities across the school district.  The building and facilities will be closed to all activities at this time.

 Lastly, we are sorry for the inconvenience and the burden that this causes many families.  We genuinely want our students to be in school, and we know that this is not ideal.  However, if we all work together, we can get through this and continue to provide a safe learning environment for our children.  Please visit the school district’s webpage for more information and updates.

 Sincerely,

Brandon Hubbard
Superintendent

December 4th, 2020

Dear VCS Families,

After much deliberation, Vestaburg Community School has made the difficult decision to extend remote learning for students at all buildings through January 8, 2020. As a result, we will finish the first semester on December 18th remotely, and we will begin the second semester remotely for the first week, January 4 – January 8. This decision was made based on current data in our county and continued staffing issues due to quarantines.

This has been a very challenging time for families and school staff. Each one of us has had to make hard decisions on resuming regular activity. The decision to remain with remote learning was not an easy one. As educators, we are well aware that the most positive learning experiences are when students and staff are face to face. As the spread of the virus is hitting the state and our community harder, it also has impacted our ability to offer in-person instruction. We are firm believers that in-person instruction is the best educational opportunity for students; however, we have always put the safety of our students, staff, and community as a top priority, and we must continue to do that now.

Learning is essential, regardless of how it is delivered. To provide the best educational experience, we can we need the support of our families to encourage attendance and participation by students on a daily basis. Credits still need to be earned, and grade progression still needs to take place. For that to happen, participation by students is critical. Any support that you can provide is much appreciated. Attendance is being recorded, and our truancy policy and procedures will continue to be followed.

Several services will still be available to families during the remote learning session.

● Food delivery will continue on Tuesdays.

● Technology assistance is available through phone, email, or virtual meetings.

● Social workers and counselors are available upon request for emotional support.

● Central Office will remain open.

Our goal remains to get students back in school. We are hopeful that through the efforts of everyone, we will be able to accomplish that goal soon.

Sincerely,

Brandon Hubbard
Superintendent
Vestaburg Community School

Date:  October 12, 2020

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We have been notified of a case of COVID19 involving staff member(s) within our school. We are working with our local health officials, Mid-Michigan District Health Department (MMDHD), and will be following their direction to implement the following plan of action:
We are working with MMDHD to determine close contacts of the case, however, this case involved a staff member during the week of October 5, 2020, when no students were in the building and there was no interaction or close contact with any students.
The case was identified quickly and the necessary steps, including the quarantine of all close contacts. The school staff will continue to clean/disinfect per protocol, as well as deep clean the affected areas where the exposure occurred.

Symptoms of COVID19 include fever/chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle/body aches, headache, new loss of taste/smell, sore throat, congestion/runny nose, nausea/vomiting, or diarrhea. Anyone with symptoms should be tested. Please visit www.mi.gov/coronavirustest for a testing location, or work with your primary care provider. More information can also be found at ww.mmdhd.org/coronavirus. If at any time you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s health, please reach out to Jennifer Johnson, RN at 989-763-2366.

Sincerely,

Brandon Hubbard
Superintendent 
Vestaburg Community Schools

New Spectator Rules for Home Games

With the most recent MHSAA updates, we will have the opportunity to increase the number of spectators we have at games! It is nice to be sending some good news for a change! Here is a quick summary of our new policy:

  • For all home games, each participant is allowed four spectators. Pass lists will work the same way as before. There is less uniformity across our league with the new guidelines, so away games might have different spectator rules. 

  • MHSAA rules require that we set aside tickets for visiting teams, so we will set aside 60 tickets for visiting volleyball teams and 90 tickets for visiting football teams. This will get us to our maximum capacities for the gym and stadium. 

Fans are required to follow the same COVID-19 rules as before. These include:

  • Wearing a mask over your mouth and nose 100% of the time

  • Sitting six feet away from members of different households

  • Sanitizing hands frequently