(Atlantic) Iowa School Districts are waiting for the Governor to release return-to-learn plans. Those instructions could come out as early as Thursday. The Atlantic School Board spent a considerable amount of time on Wednesday, talking about in-person learning, and what the model might look like when classes begin in August.
Atlantic Schools Superintendent Steve Barber says numerous proclamations are set to expire at Midnight on Thursday. “It is my educated guess on Thursday we’re going to hear a little about reopening guidelines either through the Governor’s proclamation or the Iowa Department of Education,” said Barber.
There is a consensus among the legislature, Iowa Department of Education, the people in public education, school boards, parents, and students. They want on-site instruction as soon as possible.
“This is the most effective way to educate our students and ultimately how can we best serve our students, and what guidelines in regards to COVID-19 we have to follow,” said Barber. “Health and safety is the number one priority for us.
“The effectiveness of education we provided to our students this past spring has created some challenges as we look at our mission of educating our kids.”
Barber says the new guidelines, apparently won’t be the same as the ones in effect for baseball and softball. Two of the significant issues are how many can gather and social distancing. Barber says the wildcard is how the state defines social distancing moving forward.
“Representatives from Cass County Public Health talk about keeping students in a bubble,” said Barber. “If that’s the case and we don’t have to honor that six-feet of social distancing for that group of kids, then obviously we can serve more students in the square footage we have.”
Atlantic Schools Superintendent Steve Barber said that a total of 550 parents responded to the recent school survey. Of these respondents, 92.7 percent of the parents indicated they were confident or likely to send their children to school when the classes begin on August 24.
“This is encouraging data that suggests that the need for in-person instruction is a priority for our parents,” said Barber. “Our job is safety, and we will have health and safety measures in place. Also, we are aware of some students who are at risk and will probably require distance learning.”
Atlantic Middle School Principal Josh Rasmussen addressed the issue of equity. The committee has recognized a procedure to help identify and develop plans for these students that may not be able to return to the classroom. The committee has identified a delivery plan for the students.
