Posted: September 10, 2021
Important Information about Weekly Covid Testing On-Site at TECS
TECS has put many preventative strategies in place to keep our school and community safe. Frequent COVID testing for students, teachers, and staff provides an important layer of prevention and is more effective, the more people we have participating. We need 100% participation (vaccinated people will be getting tested).
Please know we are thinking about your children and you as we develop our procedures. They will be with one of their teachers or a familiar face and assisted, as needed by a nurse. We want to make this as painless and positive as possible so we are making sure our protocols are comfortable for students. Please help us by not only registering (link below) but also by talking about testing in a positive way to your child!
All students will receive the antigen testing. Students in Junior Academy will be able to do this independently while our younger students will be assisted by a nurse. All students, who attend TECS in person, are required to register for weekly in-school testing (link below).
Testing is scheduled at school every Tuesday and will begin on Tuesday, September 7th. Your child’s COVID test results will be emailed to you directly by the end of the day.
For more information, there is also a letter attached from the company, Quidel, doing the testing with more information. Finally, The CDC guidance on testing can be found here.
Registration will take 1-2 minutes - Click here to register!
Posted: December 3, 2020
Dear Parents/Guardians,
We hope you and your family are well and staying safe. As we move through this holiday season, please know how thankful we are to have you as part of our TECS family! We wish we could all be together in school as normal, but as the pandemic continues to grow, it does not allow for that to happen. We are thinking of all of our families and are always here if you need us.
We have been continuing to monitor the State of Delaware COVID-19 data and unfortunately the numbers according to the Delaware Department of Public Health (DPH) are getting increasingly worse, not better. On Wednesday, December 2nd, Delaware hit an all-time high (since the pandemic began in March) of 754 new positive cases in one day. Today, in Governor Carney’s press release, he announced a new Stay-at-Home advisory and recommended that schools continue virtual learning. Therefore, for the safety and well-being of all of our students, staff and families, we have made the very difficult decision to continue the 2020-2021 school year with full remote learning from home.
Although it is not ideal to be teaching and learning from home, we know that with the continued uncertainty of COVID-19, this is the safest and smartest choice. Not one student, family or staff member has had to worry about contracting the virus because they have been forced to come into the school building. At this time, we expect to be fully online until (at least) February 1, 2021 due to the spike in cases after the new year, as predicted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We were hoping and praying that we would be able get the students and staff in the building and back to normal much sooner, but it is just not safe to do.
We would like to thank you for supporting the school and your children through these very trying times and this difficult holiday season. No matter how challenging this Coronavirus may be, our focus will always be on keeping you, your children, and our staff members safe and healthy. Not one life in our school or community is worth losing to COVID-19. We will continue to think about you and pray for your family during this holiday season and are committed to doing all we can to make sure that your children are successful. Again, please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you need anything to help you while you are at home, and thanks for your continued support of our school.
Sincerely,
Salome Thomas-EL Principal
Elizabeth Yates Assistant Principal
Download this letter
Posted: August 3, 2020
Sadly, due to the large spread of COVID-19 we cannot open for face to face instruction to start the school year. We will be delaying the start of the school year until Tuesday, September 8th to give us time to thoroughly plan after the governor makes his decision for all schools. At that time we will open on a hybrid schedule or full remote learning from home. Please see details in attached letter.
Posted: September 29, 2020
Thank you for a great start to our 2020-2021 school year! We have been so impressed with the students and their ability to adapt to online learning! We know it is not without challenges, but we are resilient and when we work together with grace and patience, we can overcome anything!
We have been monitoring the State of Delaware COVID-19 data and unfortunately the numbers according to the Delaware Department of Public Health are not at the level where we would need them to safely begin instruction in our school building. As of September 27th, the 7-day average of percentage of persons who tested positive in some of the communities we serve was 9.5%. The State of Delaware 7-day average of percentage of persons who tested positive was 6.8%. According to CDC guidelines, those rates need to be under 5% to safely begin in-person instruction in our school. Therefore, for the safety and well-being of all of our students, staff and families, we have made the very difficult decision to continue the 2020-2021 school year with full remote learning from home.
Although it is not ideal to be teaching and learning from home, we know that with the continued uncertainty of COVID-19, this is the safest and smartest choice. At this time, we expect to be fully online until (at least) January 4, 2021. We were hoping and praying that we would be able get the students and staff in the building and back to normal much sooner.
We would like to thank you again for your unwavering support of the school and your children. These are very trying times and we are sure this is not easy for you and your family. We will always keep the safety of our children and families, and our staff at the forefront of every decision we make, no matter how challenging it may be. Not one life in our school or community is worth losing to COVID-19. We will continue to work as hard as we can to provide all the tools your children need to be successful.
Posted: May 25, 2020
As the 2019-2020 school year comes to an end, we have developed so much respect for you and your children after enduring the first pandemic of our lifetime. We could never have imagined that your children would have been asked to go home in March and not leave the house until the summer (or not return to school). We cannot begin to thank you enough for all of your support these last 21⁄2 months! You worked with us to get our Remote Learning Program up and running and we thank you for your diligence in making sure your children completed their work packets and participated in the Zoom classes and online videos. We know it has not been easy, but together, we have made the best of a challenging situation! So, again, thank you!
We also want to thank our teachers who have worked so hard to continue the instruction for the students. They never anticipated that March 13th would be their last day teaching in our school, but they rose to the challenge and put all their heart and energy into making sure the learning did not stop! The teachers will be wrapping up the final days of instruction this week and plan to hold some fun activities for the students next week. Our last day of online learning for the 2019-2020 school year will be Friday, June 5th. Also, we will be providing our Summer Program virtually this year and would love for all of our students to participate. It will be held Monday through Thursday from 9:00am until 12:00pm. It will begin on Monday, June 15th and end on Thursday, July 23rd. More information will be coming to you very shortly!
Finally, to our 8th grade students, CONGRATULATIONS on completing your education at Thomas Edison! Although your 8th grade year did not end the way you would have liked, we are so proud of how you have handled this challenge and want to celebrate all that you have accomplished at TECS! We look forward to acknowledging your time at Edison on Thursday, June 4th through Zoom. You have been given the foundation to succeed in high school and college, as so many graduates before you have done, and we are so excited to see you soar!
We do not know what next year will bring, but we will keep you updated! As of now, we are planning to begin school on Thursday, August 20th. Stay safe and have a wonderful summer!
Respectfully,
TECS Administration
POSTED: April 24, 2020
Dear Families,
As you know, Thomas Edison has been carefully monitoring all the guidance from federal, state and local officials. In today’s press conference, Governor Carney announced that schools in our state will not reopen for in person learning this school year. The Governor’s stay-at-home order remains in place as do federal guidelines around social distancing. Below is a statement from Dr. Susan Bunting, Delaware’s Secretary of Education:
Today the Governor announced that students will not be returning to school on May 18th as originally hoped. Due to the continuing COVID health crisis, school buildings will remain closed through the end of this school year. Students will continue to engage in remote learning following their own district- and charter-designed plans, which include individual closing dates for the ’19-’20 school year.
The Delaware Department of Education will convene a team of stakeholders to collaboratively plan for the remainder of this school year, assess transition, and then continue to adjust and transform practices for the return to school for the ’20- ’21 school year once public health officials determine it is safe to return.
We know that not reopening schools this year may be upsetting and difficult for many families. We believe however, that our remote learning plan is working well and that it will provide students with the resources they need. While we know that this is not the perfect situation, we are hopeful that working together as a community, our students will make it through this time stronger and with the knowledge that they need to move forward in their academic career.
We continue to focus on finishing up this school year strong, while we also turn our attention to what summer and next fall plans could look like. We encourage you to think long-term as well. As always, we want to make sure that our families have the resources that they need. Here are some that may assist you:
We appreciate your patience and understanding during this unprecedented time. We will continue to communicate regularly as we learn new information. In the meantime, if you have questions, please feel free to reach out.
Stay Safe and Healthy! We miss you all!
Click Here to download and print this letter
Additional Resources
POSTED: April 2020
We hope you are staying safe during these uncertain times. We know it is not easy, but together we will get through it! Our teachers have been working hard to continue the teaching and learning for our students. Although it is different than what the students experience when in school, we are still hopeful that the students are working hard and challenging their brains. Teachers are making the new work packets for students in Grades K-8 and they will be available for pickup on Monday, May 4th (from 10-12noon) or Tuesday, May 5th (from 12noon to 2pm). All packets will also be posted on our website for students to view online or download (and print, if you wish). Teachers will continue to make instructional videos to complement the work packets and our hope is that every child accesses these videos (see instructions below).
It is imperative that we stay in touch with you and your child(ren) during this school closure. If you have updated contact information, phone number or email address please share that information with your child’s teacher or email info@tecs.k12.de.us and our office staff will update your information. Also, please continue to check our website (http://thomasedison.charter.k12.de.us) and our Facebook page (@EdisonCharterSchool) for additional information about COVID-19 and educational resources. We will be updating both sites as new information becomes available.
Finally, please continue to stay safe and practice social distancing. We are here for you, so please reach out if we can help in any way. We are truly miss all our TECS students and families! Feel free to email us at Info@tecs.k12.de.us or connect with us on our Facebook page @EdisonCharterSchool. Please remember all schools are closed for everyone’s safety but the administration and some teachers come in on a limited basis to prepare what our kids need to learn at home. Thank you for being amazing partners with us during this difficult time! We truly appreciate your resilience and the hard work of your children.
Grades K-8 Packet Pick-up Dates:
Monday May 4th from 10:00am until 12:00 noon Tuesday, May 5th from 12:00 noon until 2:00pm
If you have a TECS issued device and need to log on:
Username: TECSstudent For the password please reach out to your child’s teacher
To access TECS COVID-19 Instructional packets and videos:
1. Go to our website: http://thomasedison.charter.k12.de.us/remote-learning
2. Click the Remote Learning link
3. Open their grade level folder (for the grade you want to access)
4. Locate folder with the same name as your child’s packet (student has an “Eagles” packet
so they need to open the “Eagles” folder)
5. Open the instructional packet or the video that you would like to view (video should
begin to play automatically)
Parent survey regarding distance learning (posted March 30, 2020):
In an effort to better serve you and your children at home with distance learning, we are asking every TECS family to complete a short Google Forms survey. The survey can be found at the secure link: https://forms.gle/mgMmnkUzVsd24Pz37
Remote Learning Student Link
March 13, 2020 COVID-19 Update Letter Click to View
Delaware Dept of Education COVID-19 Resources: https://www.doe.k12.de.us/covid19