Greene County Schools superintendent released the following statement late Tuesday afternoon:
“Thank you for your patience as we try to gather as much information as we can about how schools should be dealing with the COVID-19 issue and then determine how plans should be implemented by the Greene County Schools. First and foremost, we encourage everyone to continue to follow guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health, Greene County Public Health, and the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Wash your hands frequently, cover your cough and sneeze, stay home if you are not feeling well, and avoid gatherings of 10 or more people. Please be safe.
School related information/announcements:
School/classes:
● Per the Governor’s recommendation related to COVID-19, at this time the Greene County School District will be closed until Monday, April 13.
● The Iowa Legislature worked with Governor Reynolds and reached an agreement that school districts would not need to reschedule school days that were canceled between March 16 and April 12, 2020. Based on that agreement, the remainder of the school calendar will remain the same and the last day of school will continue to be May 29, 2020. At this time, graduation is still May 23. In an effort to provide as much educational time and opportunities for students we will not have early dismissals on Wednesdays when we return from the closure. We will also be modifying summer school and making it available to all students. Further information on summer school will be shared at a later date.
● We will be developing suggested learning activities, resources, and sample learning schedules so students can continue to be engaged with learning during the closure. None of these activities are required. They are just an opportunity for students to stay connected with learning. These will be posted by 5 pm on Monday, March 23, and additional information may be added throughout the time of the closure. They can be accessed at sites.google.com/greenecountycsd.net/gccsdathome
Lunches:
● Schools have been given permission to develop a Summer Lunch type program and provide sack lunches to students. We are continuing to determine details of this program and will share that information when it is developed. We hope to have a “drive up – grab and go – sack lunch” system that we can implement beginning March 23rd.
Activities:
● There will be no activity/athletic practices until April 13. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, the Iowa High School Athletic Association, the Iowa High School Music Association, and the Iowa High School Speech Association have suspended all school activities until April 13.
https://www.iahsaa.org/march-16-2020-school-closures-suspend-iowa-high-school-spring-activities/
● Spring sports and activities FAQ from IGHSAU, IHSAA, IHSMA, and IHSSA.
https://ighsau.org/news/frequently-asked-questions/
● Prom scheduled for April 4 has been postponed to Saturday, May 9. It will be held in the Greene Room at Wild Rose Casino.
● The use of the Greene County Community School facilities by community/outside groups will be suspended until further notice.
● As of noon, Monday (3/23/20) all district buildings will be closed to the general public.
We will continue to update you as we receive information about COVID-19 as it relates to schools.
If you have questions we ask that you send them to this district email account: gccsd@greenecountycsd.net
