Greene County school superintendent Tim Christensen’s goal in moving students in all three buildings in the district to remote learning until Thanksgiving is to be able to have in-person instruction for the 3-1/2 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas break.
“The hope is that if we can get the kids out of the buildings we can get this (Covid-19) under control and we can have school from Thanksgiving to Christmas,” Christensen said while briefing the Jefferson Rotary Club on Monday.
Teachers and students switched to remote-only learning this Monday and will continue that way through next Tuesday, the start of the Thanksgiving break. That follows a request by the school board to the Iowa Department of Education for a seven-day waiver of the in-person attendance requirement. Because the waiver ends Tuesday, winter sports teams will be able to practice the day before and the day after Thanksgiving.
According to Christensen, there were 20 elementary staff members, including teachers, associates, and cooks, absent last Thursday and Friday. “We were really scrambling to keep things covered,” he said.
There were 33 or so students absent who tested positive for Covid-19, and another 150 or so who were quarantined due to close contact with someone who tested positive.
The school has implemented the Return to Learn plan prepared during the summer. Mapping out how to provide remote learning for all students was key in the plan. All students have access to a school-owned Chrometab or Chromebook, and those devices are home with the students now. For town-dwelling students without internet access at home, the school has arranged for the Greene County, Scranton, Grand Junction and Rippey community centers to be available weekday mornings. Those buildings all have wireless internet. Buses are running to transport students to and from those locations, and school associates are staffing each location to monitor and assist students.
School associates are also at the Greene County Early Learning Center and Natural Wonders to help students there.
Rural-dwelling students without internet access have school-owned hotspots that are set to work only with the Chrome devices. Students who are quarantined and don’t have internet access at home also have the school-owned hotspots, whether they live in town or in the country.
Participating in remote learning is required, not optional, and work done is all being graded.
Part of Return to Learn planning included providing parents the choice to have their children attend remotely all year. That was important for students with health conditions who would be at risk by going to school. Christensen said between 60 and 70 students started the year as remote learners.
The first positive Covid-19 test in the school district was Sept. 23. Christensen said at that time, parents of another 75-80 students requested remote-only learning for their children. There are now 150 permanent remote learners.
He said it was Nov. 5 when the numbers “exploded.” He credited Greene County public health staff and school nurses Lita Bauer, Jill Wanninger and Ann Hicks for their efforts in contacting parents. “I can’t say enough about the work they’re doing,” he said.
“They’ve had to make those hard calls to tell parents their kids have to be in quarantine for 14 days. That’s not an easy call to make,” he said.
The school board has a regular meeting this evening, Nov. 18. Christensen said the board will discuss next steps in dealing with the pandemic. He said numbers would have to be “extremely high” to continue remote-only learning. “Remote learning is such a challenge for parents that are working. We really hope this 14-day stretch will take care of it… Remote learning is not as positive for kids. Some kids thrive with it, but for most, it just isn’t as good,” he said.
He said he hopes that closing the schools now will create “a valley in numbers,” but he expects to see numbers go up again two weeks after Thanksgiving. At that point there will be one week left of classes before Christmas.
The fall back plan is a hybrid schedule which would have students alternating days of in-person learning and days of remote learning. That would allow for more distancing in the schools.
