Greene County Schools will dismiss at 1:45 Monday afternoons to help teachers who are “hanging by a thread” due to the stress and increased workload of teaching through a pandemic.
The school board made the decision at its regular meeting Oct. 21 at the recommendation of superintendent Tim Christensen. November 2 will be the first early dismissal. To give families adequate time to make childcare arrangements, afterschool supervision will be provided for students in grades K-5 through November. Monday was selected because there are no pre-kindergarten classes that day.
Elementary principal Scott Johnson reported that teachers are doing “a great deal of extra work this year. Many of them are hanging on by a thread right now. It’s a lot of extra work for everybody and they’re doing wonderful things.”
The early dismissals for students will give teachers more time to connect with remote learners and to plan and prepare for remote teaching. “It’s a huge challenge because if you dedicate more time for remote learners you’re taking away time from kids in classrooms. You’re also putting a burden on parents that have to figure out how to take care of their kids. It’s a challenge,” Christensen said.
Board member Steve Karber told of a phone conversation with a middle school teacher. “It sounds like the teachers are hanging on with their fingernails scratching down the blackboard,” he reported.
Middle school teacher Heather Menken, who was a member of the Return to Learn committee, surveyed middle school teachers. She said 16 of 26 teachers said they could use an entire day for remote learning each week.
Schools will dismiss early on Mondays until the winter break. The administration will re-evaluate at that time.
The board opened the regular meeting with a public hearing on the disposition of the 1921 school building and the attached gym, built in 1952.
The board has spent considerable time hearing from Nate Adams of Waukee about his plans to develop the school into apartments. Adams’ plan does not include the gymnasium. The gym is new enough that it would eliminate the possible of historic tax credits for the project. He said he looked at ways other towns have used similar gymnasiums, and doesn’t think it’s workable. He and Christensen have suggested it could cost between $750,000 and $1,000,000 to install new HVAC (it’s now connected to the school building), a new roof, and other work needed on the gym.
There were no written comments submitted to the board. The 17-minute hearing became a discussion of how the Three-Block Project – the property surrounding the school – could benefit the community, adding a tourism draw and possibly attracting residents.
Given the cost to maintain the gym, no board members spoke in favor of leaving it standing. A “possible decision” was listed on the agenda. But, when the hearing was finished, the board decided to delay a decision. Christensen said he’d get firm costs for demolition of the gym for the board..
Adams said he’d spend the next 30 days getting numbers to get the board “clarity in terms of what solves the middle school problem for the school board in getting it off your hands.” He said he’d continue to talk with other parties involved in the potential Three-Block Project, including the Jefferson city council and the board of the Greene County Early Learning Center.
The board approved requests from one senior to graduate at the end of the first trimester and 15 more to graduate at the end of the second trimester. Each student had written a letter to the board justifying their early graduation. The majority of the students wrote that they’re ready to join the workforce, and many of them said they hope to work fulltime and save money for college.
