Family Resources
Pre-K and K Hybrid Learning begins Monday, February 1
COVID-19 Operations & Safety Plan Student / Family Handbook
Saturday, January 16
January 16, 2021
Dear Excell Academy Families:
I hope this update finds you and your family well, staying safe, and optimistic about 2021. I wish you and yours a very, safe, healthy, and prosperous New Year.
Once again, I thank you for your patience as Excell Academy has finalized plans to comply with the Governor’s order for schools to safely bring prek-5th grade students back on site. Since receiving the Governor’s Order last month, a combined Administrative team has been strategically planning and prepping for the transition by collecting and analyzing data from our families and staff, consulting with our Regional Centers COVID-19 reps, reviewing COVID-19 positive case data weekly, as well as updating our COVID-19 Building Operations Plan. As a result of our safe planning and preparations, with the recommendation of Excell’s Incident Command Team, and advice from our Regional COVID-19 support reps, Excell Academy plans to safely bring prek-5th grade students back on site in a Hybrid Learning Model (only students whose parents selected Hybrid) in the month of February. All Prek-5th graders whose families opted to continue distance learning as well as all 6th – 8th graders, will continue in a distance learning model. Designated Prek – 5th grade students will return on site beginning the first week of February 2021 according to the following Hybrid Rolling Start timeline:
| Date | Grade Level | Hybrid Schedule | Hybrid Families Virtual MANDATORYOrientation |
| Feb 1 | PreK & K | M-TH (on site)9:00am – 3:45pm | January 26th |
| Feb 8th | 1st | M-TH (on site)9:00am – 3:45pm | February 2nd |
| Feb 16th | 2nd & 3rd | M-TH (on site)9:00am – 3:45pm | February 9th |
| Feb 22nd | 4th & 5th | M-TH (on site)9:00am – 3:45pm | February 16th |
COVID-19 Operations & Safety Plan Student / Family Handbook & Mandatory Family Orientation –
Please BE SURE to read Excell Academy’s COVID-19 Operations & Safety Plan Student / Family Handbook posted on Excell’s website and sent in the family communications text blast. In the Family Handbook, you will find very important information regarding new on-site safety procedures and protocols for all students and families. You will also find information on Excell’s COVID-19 uniform policy, COVID-19 safe drop-off and pick procedures, temp checks, social distancing, sanitizing, disinfecting, masking requirements, and other required safety procedures.
ALL families who selected the Hybrid Learning Model must agree to all of the safety procedures and protocols in order to finalize your student’s Hybrid “In Person” enrollment. Please note, NO STUDENT will be allowed to attend “In Person” at Excell Academy without a signed safety agreement from a parent or legal guardian. Excell’s COVID-19 Safety Plan Agreement Form will be shared with all families at your designated grade level orientation meeting. A parent or legal guardian MUST be in attendance and MUST sign the “Agreement Form” at the end of the orientation session.
QUESTIONS
After reading the Family Handbook carefully, you may forward any additional questions to info@excellacademy.org. There will also be time to ask questions at your designated grade level orientation meeting.
More Important Information
As you know, Monday, January 18th is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Holiday, and Tuesday, January 19th is a regularly scheduled professional development day per the school calendar. Please know there will be NO school for ALL students in prek-8th grade and NO Community Heroes program on these two days. In addition, there will be No school / No distance learning classes for all PK-5th graders for the remainder of the week, as the governor has approved Excell Academy to use the remainder of the Holiday week to prepare staff to come back on site. Please note, middle school students/6th-8th grade, will continue their regular distance learning schedule for the remainder of the week (Wednesday, Jan 20th-22nd).
As always, the health and safety of our students and staff continues to be our top priority and we are incredibly grateful to have such amazingly supportive Excell families to make this transition smooth and safe for all. We are looking forward to working together to do whatever it takes to Change Tomorrows for our students Today!
Sincerely,
Sabrina Williams, Executive Director
Wednesday, May 20
Hello Excell Families,
We hope this letter finds you all happy and healthy and looking forward to the last few weeks of the school year. As the end of the school year approaches, we want to share some important information with you. Please see the updates below and feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions.
On Thursday, June 4th Excell Academy will be having modified graduation ceremonies to celebrate with all of our Pre-K, Kindergarten, and 8th grade students. We will be having “drive through” graduations for Pre-K and Kindergarten in the morning and will be visiting the homes of our 8th graders in the afternoon. The Pre-K graduation will occur in our front parking lot from 10:00am-11:00am and the Kindergarten graduation from 11:00am-12:00pm. Details surrounding the “drive through” graduations will be sent directly to families as there are several social distancing policies that must be followed. Families will be asked to form a line of cars and drive through the front parking lot where staff will be waiting there to cheer for our students. Students (and family members) will not be allowed to get out of their cars. The process will be very similar to our meal pickup service that has been running each week. For our 8th grade graduation, we will be forming a caravan that will visit the homes of each student between 12:30-3:30, a detailed schedule will be sent out to students in the coming days. Our 8th grade students will be asked to meet the caravan outside for some pictures and a goodbye from the staff. Again, a series of social distancing policies will be followed.
Additionally, we want to let you know what to expect for the last week of school. We have decided to show off our school pride and are officially inviting all Excell families to participate in “spirit week”! Each day of the last week of school will have a different theme and we are asking families to participate as much as possible to help us all end the year on a positive note. More details will be coming out soon.
For the last trimester of the school year, Excell Academy has created a modified grading process to better meet the needs of our students and families. Our elementary students will receive a grade of “NG”, which simply stands for “not graded”. Our 5th – 8th grade students will receive a “pass” grade. These updates were made based on feedback from stakeholders and also to stay aligned with local school district policies. We also want to let families know Excell Academy will not be retaining any students. We don’t feel that it would be appropriate to recommend retention in light of the disruption that has occurred to the day-to-day lives of our students. However, we will notify parents if we were planning to recommend retention for your child before school was transitioned to distance learning. If you would like to discuss retention please notify your child’s teacher and the Academic Dean will contact you.
Excell Academy will continue to do “Whatever it Takes” to best meet the needs of our students and families. If you have any questions regarding this information, please reach out to your child’s teacher and someone will contact you ASAP.
Sincerely,
Excell Academy Admin Team
Friday, April 24, 2020
Distance Learning Update
Greetings Excell Academy Families:
As you are aware Governor Walz and Commissioner Ricker have announced that the “Distance Learning Period will extend for the rest of the 2019-20 school year. As previously planned, student instruction will not be held on May 1 and May 4. These days will remain as planning days to prepare for the remainder of the school calendar year in a distance learning environment. School-age care for children of critical workers will still operate on those days…,” student meals will also continue to be distributed.
I, along with Excell Academy’s school administration will give you more information regarding Excell Academy’s operations and planning for the remainder of this school year as Excell Academy continues its commitment to our students and families to provide extensive support including student and family health & wellness check-ins, childcare for children of essential workers, distribution of student meals, and high quality distance teaching and learning.
Parents / Guardians, please be sure to join us every Wednesday at 2pm for Excell Parent Talks; and encourage your children to join us every Friday for Excell Student Talks, as this is a place especially for you and your student to personally “check in” and for us to support the health and wellness of YOU – our Excell families! Please use this same phone line for parents and students to call in on their assigned day (Wednesdays for parents and Fridays for students). The Parent Talks will be hosted by Mrs. Sabrina Williams, Excell Academy’s Founder and Executive Director, along with Excell Academy’s Administrative Team. The Friday Student Talks will be hosted by Mrs. Williams and Mr. Balvin, Academic Dean. For easy access to the Excell Talks phone line, call in at (351) 999-4818 a few minutes before 2pm, mute your phone, and wait for the host.
Once again, I want to remind everyone to take care of yourselves and know that your family’s health, wellness, and safety are of utmost importance to me and Excell’s administration. We are here for you and we WILL continue to get through this pandemic together.
Please continue to practice social / physical distancing and hygiene measures as recommended by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/.
Finally, let’s continue to pull together and “Do Whatever it Takes” to slow and prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and other viruses at Excell Academy and in our community.
Sincerely,
Sabrina Williams,
Founder, Executive Director
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Excell Talks
The event will be hosted by Mrs. Sabrina Williams, Excell Academy’s Founder and Executive Director, along with Excell Academy’s Administrative Team – Every Wednesday at 2pm – beginning this Wednesday, April 22nd. The purpose of the Excell Parent / Guardian Talks is to provide a platform / space for Excell Academy’s administration to check in on parents and caregivers of our students and provide updates on COVID-19 school information and operations during distance learning. Parents / guardians can ask questions and give comments.
Parent / Guardians can easily access the Excell Talks phone line by calling (351) 999-4818 a few minutes before 2pm and muting their phones.
Friday, April 16, 2020
Meal Updates:
Meal Bundles can be picked up every Monday between 10 am and 1 pm, also between 3 pm and 5 pm. If you signed up for food delivery, your meal bundles will be delivered on Friday, at your designated drop off location and time.
Friday, April 3, 2020
Join us Live on Facebook today at 1pm, as our Executive Director and Founder, Sabrina Williams, addresses our Distance Learning Plan that will begin next week.
Also, don’t forget to complete the Meal Distribution Preference Form before Monday, April 6. Please choose only one preference, to pick up, or have meal bundles delivered to a bus stop near your home.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Excell Academy Families,
Please join us live on Facebook at 2pm as our Executive Director and Founder, Sabrina Williams addresses the current state of Excell Academy regarding CoViD-19.
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Greetings Excell Families
It’s been a very busy eight days since we’ve last seen our Excell students and families. My prayers are that you are all doing well, have your needs met, and are staying safe.
We received the information we’ve been waiting for from Governor Walz and Commissioner Ricker. Here are the important points for Excell Academy and schools in the state of Minnesota from the Governor’s most updated order and from the Commissioner of the MN Department of Education (MDE):
- The Governor’s “stay at home” order goes into effect this Friday night. Per the Governor, only essential staff will work on site.
- Distance Learning (DL) for students in MN schools will begin on Monday, March 30th through April 30th. Schools will not provide DL during their spring break. As Excell Academy’s spring break is next week, we will begin DL on Monday, April 6th.
- I will soon provide an overview of Excell Academy‘s distance learning plan and what parents, guardians and students should expect after spring break when distance learning education begins for Excell’s students.
Next week (spring break):
- Excell will continue its Community Heroes child care services for emergency and healthcare workers, per the Governor’s request (Please refer to www.excellacademy.org for more information);
- This Friday Excell Academy will deliver work packets to families who have not picked up their student work packets. Please look out for a delivery schedule
- On Monday, March 30th, Excell will distribute meals to our students and community children. Families may pick up 5-day student meal packs on Monday, March 30th. Please look out for a text or email blast with times and information for meals pick up.
Thank you Excell families for your cooperation, partnership and positive spirits while Excell has been working hard to meet the Governor’s mandate to support our students and their families, emergency and healthcare workers, and staff.
Excell Academy’s Executive Leadership Team and Admin staff want you to know that there is nothing more important than the safety of our students, their families, and staff.
Please take care of yourselves and continue to practice social distancing and hygiene measures as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/ . Working together we can “Do Whatever it Takes” to slow and prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and other viruses at Excell Academy & in our communities.
Sincerely,
Sabrina Williams, Executive Director
and Executive Leadership Team
Friday, March 20, 2020
Excell Community,
On Monday, March 23rd, from 11:30 am to 5pm, we will be distributing meal bundles for the week of March 23 – March 27. These bundles will cover the 2 meals children would normally receive at school each day, over the 5 day week. Any remaining meal bundles will be distributed on Tuesday, March 24, from 8:45am to 4pm to families who were not able to get a meal bundle on Monday. To pick up your meal bundles, please pay attention to any cones or signs placed at the school. Meals will be delivered to cars directly in front of the school. Please remember, one bundle can be requested for each child in your home.
Thank you for helping us keep our children heathy during this time time.
Childcare Update:
The list of workers eligible for childcare during this closure period has expanded, for the full list, click the link below.
Care for Children of Families of Emergency Workers – full list 03.17.20.pdf
If you are eligible under the new guidelines, and would like to request childcare, please fill out the form below. Childcare will be available from Thursday, March 19, to Friday, March, 27 during this two week closure. There will be no child care during our regularly scheduled Spring Break, from March 30 to April 3.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
Excell Families,
Thank you to all who came out today! We were so happy to see you all. All meal bundles for this week have been distributed. Distribution of meals on Thursday, March 19, has been cancelled. Meals will be distributed again next week.
You are still encouraged to stop by to pick up your child’s school work package tomorrow from 10am to 4pm.
Hello Excell Academy families,
Per the Governor’s request, Excell Academy will provide childcare for the students of Excell whose parents are Health Care workers or Emergency Responders. Childcare will begin midweek through March 27th. More details will be available this evening. For questions or concerns please contact lgarcia@excellacademy.org. We appreciate your patience during this time.
Childcare Update:
The list of workers eligible for childcare during this two week period has expanded, for the full list, click the link below.
Care for Children of Families of Emergency Workers – full list 03.17.20.pdf
If you are eligible under the new guidelines, and would like to request childcare, please fill out the form below. Childcare will be available from Thursday, March 19, to Friday, March, 27 during this two week closure. There will be no child care during our regularly scheduled Spring Break, from March 30 to April 3.
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
Excell Academy will be providing meal bundles for our students and community during this time of closure.
Bundles will include a weeks worth of Breakfasts and Lunches for your children. This week will provide 3 meals per child, next week will provide 7 meals for the week per child.
You and/or your child/children will be able to come and pick up a meal bundle for this week beginning tomorrow Wednesday March 18th between the hours of 11:30 and 6:00 pm. If you are unable to come tomorrow you may come Thursday between the hours of 8am to 4pm. Distribution will take place at the front of the school.
If you come Thursday please do not come Friday. Meals are limited and we want to be sure we are able to serve everyone in need.
Information for next week pick up day and time will be communicated at a later date.
Information for next week pick up day and time will be communicated at a later date.
Hello Excell Families,
As you are aware, Excell Academy will be closed for the next two weeks, followed by our regularly scheduled Spring Break, March 30 – April 3. During this two week closure, we have been asked to continue to provide childcare service for our parents who work as Emergency Responders and Health Care Providers. Please Click on the link below for more details and to register. Families must register by Today, March 17.
Childcare for Emergency and Healthcare
Monday, March 16, 2020
Good Evening Excell Families,
We greatly appreciate your patience as we continue to receive updates from state authorities during this unprecedented time surrounding the rapidly evolving CoViD-19 pandemic. Join us tomorrow, live on Facebook, at 1pm as our Executive Director and Founder, Sabrina Williams, Addresses the current state of Excell Academy regarding CoViD-19.
For Viewing make sure to follow us on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ExcellAcademyEagles/
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Excell Families,
In response to the looming CoViD-19 threat, Governor Tim Walz has asked that schools close for a 2 week period beginning this week, and going through March 27th. Per the request, Excell Academy will not be open for students starting immediately. Following the 2 week closure, Excell has our regularly scheduled Spring Break from March 30 through April 3rd. During the 2 week closure, there will be no meal service, and no school services available to students. This 2 week period will be used for planning to allow our school to serve the students and families if a longer school closure is announced in the near future. Please take this time to calm any fears about the virus by explaining prevention methods, such as hand washing, and social distancing to your family. More information can be found on our website, excellacademy.org, and social media, @ea4hl, as it becomes available.
Sincerely,
Sabrina Williams, Executive Director
Friday, March 13, 2020
Greetings Excell Families
Excell Academy’s Executive Leadership Team and school administrative staff participated in the Minnesota Department of Education’s and Minnesota Department of Health’s most updated COVID-19 (coronavirus) collaborative webinar in order to stay current of this extremely fluid situation.
With cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) being confirmed in the state of Minnesota, we know our Excell community may have a lot of concerns and / or questions.
First, we want you to know we are monitoring updates and recommendations from the U.S.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), as well as the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) daily. Please understand, this is flu season and there are several flu strains that are currently active. The COVID-19 / coronavirus is mainly a respiratory virus, which we understand to be the main difference from normal flu. Thankfully at Excell this year we have had fewer cases of the flu than the past two years. Our main goal is to continue to minimize and prevent the spread of all viruses at Excell Academy.
According to the CDC and the MDH, the most effective thing we can do right now is to continue to strongly encourage students, teachers, staff, visitors and families to wash their hands frequently and rigorously, and stay home if they’re symptomatic.
We have placed an increased emphasis on cleaning and sanitation for the past few weeks. As mentioned in previous emails, it has been recommended by school health officials for teachers to wipe all desks, chairs, and door handles (and office staff to do the same), as well as all other surfaces in and around classrooms and offices daily until further notice.
Second, and very important to note, state officials at the Minnesota Department of Health are NOT recommending Minnesota schools to close at this point. There are a plethora of factors that go into the decision of closing schools which could have even greater risks for families, students and possibly staff to come into contact with COVID-19. However, the most reasonable and reliable recommendation from MDH and CDC at this time is for schools to implement social distancing measures, which we will be starting to implement immediately. The goal of social distancing is to reduce the frequency of large gatherings.
- This means that all before and after school programming, (excluding the paid before and after school program), and all field trips have been cancelled. Also, this will result in some changes to our lunch service program. Starting Monday, Pre-K and Kindergarten students will eat in the main cafeteria at their scheduled time. All other students will be eating lunch in their classrooms to avoid having a cafeteria full of students. We understand that this is a change from our normal schedule but we think this is best for the safety of our students and staff.
- We are asking families and visitors to Excell to use sanitizer upon entry of the building. Hand sanitizer will be readily available at the front office.
- Staff members have been asked to wash hands and use hand sanitizer frequently; students will be asked to to do the same during the school day.
- Use silent waves or other “non contact” ways to greet each other in place of shaking hands.
Your understanding and cooperation as we implement these social distancing procedures is greatly appreciated.
We are proud that Excell Academy has been proactive and has already done more to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and other viruses than most of our larger surrounding districts.The presence of coronavirus in Minnesota is certainly cause for apprehensions and / or concerns, but we don’t want to panic. We encourage our Excell families not to act in fear or panic but to be well informed and take time to increase your knowledge and awareness by viewing the following links regularly and to cooperate in implementing the action plans as outlined above.
Our Executive Leadership Team and administrative staff will continue to do our part in staying well informed and following the recommendations of the CDC, MDH, and MDE as it relates to Minnesota Public Schools and our communities. Working together we can Do Whatever it Takes to prevent the spread of coronavirus and other viruses at Excell Academy!
Sincerely,
Sabrina Williams, Executive Director
and Executive Leadership Team
Links for information and updates regarding (COVID-19):
Resources from the Minnesota Department of Health
- Distance learning: Clean devices (iPads, laptops) that you touch frequently like you do for all high use areas in homes
- Social distancing practices still apply (avoid large gatherings of 250+, if under 250 participants maintain 6 feet of distance)
- Discourage from gathering in other public places while school is dismissed.
- Resources to help understand COVID-19 and steps you can take to protect yourself and your family:
- CDC’s health communication resources
- CDC information on stigma and COVID-19
- CDC information on COVID-19 and children
- CDC offers several free handwashing resources that include health promotion materials, information on proper handwashing technique, and tips for families to help children develop good handwashing habits.
- Other health and education professional organizations may also have helpful resources your school can use or share, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics
- CDC’s information on helping children cope with emergencies
- Stigma prevention and facts about COVID-19
- Minnesota Department of Health COVID-19 website
Contact Information
- For general questions about COVID-19, please email the Minnesota Department of Health or call their hotline at 651-201-3920.
- For general education questions, use MDEs COVID-19 general email: COVID-19.Questions.MDE@state.mn.us
- For specific questions about online and distance learning, please contact jeff.plaman@state.mn.us
- For specific questions about school meal programs, please contact monica.herrera@state.mn.us
- For specific questions about special education, please contact robyn.widley@state.mn.us
- For specific questions about civil rights compliance, please contact marikay.litzau@state.mn.us
- For relevant guidance regarding how schools can protect civil rights during an outbreak, see the U.S. DoE Office for Civil Rights Fact Sheet released during the 2014 Ebola outbreak.
- For specific questions about state assessments, please contact mde.testing@state.mn.us