Dear Scott School Families,

In partnership with Clinton County RESA, DeWitt Public Schools and other local school districts are discussing ways to support consistent student attendance in school because local, county, and state data reflects that student absenteeism is significantly higher than pre-COVID.  The article, "Michigan chronic absenteeism inches down but remains higher than pre-pandemic", sheds some light on this challenge that is impacting student performance and overall school success including social/emotional connections and development.  Please review these Absenteeim & Metrics Slides and Statewide, County, and District-level Attendance Slides which both contain information and facts about absenteeism, metric information and DPS attendance data.

We understand there are times students miss school due to illness and other important matters.  Chronic absenteeism is what we are hoping to band together with families to prevent, reduce, and hopefully eliminate.  Family support and partnership is also a critical component in doing this.  Thank you for being mindful about scheduling appointments outside of school hours whenever possible, taking vacations during time school is on recess break, having your child attend school on days even when your student may not want to, and other variables that may impact your child's school attendance.  Also, thank you for recognizing when your child is ill and needs at-home time to recover and being responsive to mitigating the spread of contagious illnesses when your child has a fever and/or other significant symptoms that warrant time out of school.  Considering printing and using this DPS Illness Chart to help make decisions about when to send or keep your child home when they are not feeling well.  There is certainly a delicate balance that we understand our families juggle.  Thank you for understanding that we share your child's educational success goals with you, and want to extinguish chronic absenteeism as a barrier to reaching them.  As an effort to encourage student attendance our teachers were provided time called Genius Hour to produce a video that positively promotes student attendance.  Videos were voted on and this attendance video was the winner.  Although we haven't decided how or when to use this video, I thought I would share it with you to provide insight that our entire school-wide team is aware of how important student attendance is, and students are greatly missed by peers and staff alike when they are not here.  I hope this video makes you smile and also reflects that we are striving to find fun and engagement ways to address absenteeism when it becomes a barrier to school success.

Sincerely,

Linda Reha

Scott School Principal

Thank you, PTA and families, for generously providing us with dinner on both Parent/Teacher Conference nights last week.  Pizza and salad and subs with chips were just right choices for a quick bite to eat before each busy evening that was set aside for us to brag about student learning with families.  We are grateful for the support you provide us - thank you!

Below is a message from our DeWitt PTA.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first-ever Pasta for the Panthers event! We loved seeing so many families come together to share a meal and support our schools. A huge thank-you also goes out to our amazing volunteers and everyone participating in our online auction—your generosity helps make all that we do possible!  

Ms. Brya was on cloud nine when she learned that she won the One Class At A Time grant from Grubaugh Orthdontics worth a $1000.  Her goal is to generate enough funds to purchase and install a rock wall and monkey bars in the gym to use as part of P.E. class.  

Below is a communication from Kevin Robydek that will be going out to all DPS families this afternoon regarding free school meals for the current school year.  

Dear DPS Families,

We’re excited to share some wonderful news! The Michigan Legislature has approved the 2025–2026 state budget, which includes continued funding for the Michigan School Meals Program. This means that all DeWitt Public Schools students will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch this school year, regardless of household income.

While this funding remains in place, the State of Michigan now requires every family to complete the Education Benefits Form each year. This form is quick and easy to fill out, and it plays a crucial role in helping our district qualify for important state and federal funding. These funds support classroom instruction, technology, student support services, staffing, and our school meal programs.

You can now easily complete the Education Benefits Form online at dewitt.familyportal.cloud simply click “Apply for Benefits” to get started. Please complete the form as soon as possible to help us secure essential funding that supports classroom instruction, technology, student services, and more. Even though all students receive free meals, submitting this form is important for maintaining these valuable programs.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please feel free to reach out to our Food Service Director, Megan Haase, at meganhaase@dewittschools.net.

Thank you for partnering with us to maintain these valuable programs and ensure that every student has access to healthy meals and strong educational support.

Sincerely,
Kevin Robydek, Ed.S., Superintendent

DeWitt Public Schools will continue to offer free breakfast and lunch to students this year.  Although this is a cut that legislators are considering within the education budget that has not yet been approved, DPS is committed to offering this important food program to students with hopes this continues to be funded by our state.  Menus can be found here and will be updated soon.

We are grateful to families and our community members who donate healthy, no nut snacks to classrooms and our snack pantry which also provides our students brain and body fuel throughout the day.  Your partnership in removing hunger as a barrier to learning and child development makes a lifelong impact.  Thank you!

Student safety is a priority.  Please bring proper identification each time your child is picked up from school.  Here are some ways adults picking up students can be identified:

• Physical ID (ie. driver's license)

• Personal ID by office staff

• Other identification proof such as utility bills or other statements, credit card, etc., AND answer personal information that we have in Infinite Campus (ie. phone number, child's birthdate, etc.)

There are some Scott students who have health-threatening nut allergies in our building.  Scott School is a 'No Nut' building.  Pack items that do not contain nuts for your child's lunch and snack.  It is critically important that we provide a safe learning environment for all students, and your help with this is needed and appreciated.  Please always contact your child's teacher if you have a concern about an allergy or other health condition related to your child that they should be aware of.  Also, if your child has a medical need, including food or other allergies, don't forget to update your child's Medical Management Plan by completing and submitting the district forms to the office before school starts so we can follow protocols to keep your child safe.

In order for Scott School personnel to administer medication (including cough drops) to your child, a parent guardian must:

• Submit a completed district medication form to our office. 

• Be sure all medications are brought to and stored in our office. 

• Be sure prescription medication is in its original container accompanied with a physician’s signature. 

• Be sure non-prescription medication is in its original container accompanied by a parent’s signature. 

• Please communicate with your child's teacher if he/she takes medication daily at school. 

• If your child has a medical condition, please be sure to complete a Medical Management Plan for your child and turn it in at the office.

Medication and other medical forms can be found on our DeWitt Public Schools website.

Our school social worker, Mrs. Schwarz, is always willing to assist students and families in any way possible.  In addition to working closely with your child's teacher, consider reaching out to her if you have questions or need support.  She is truly amazing at what she does!  She can be reached at 517-668-3446 or schwarzdea@dewittschools.net.