Procedures for the End of the School Year

Elementary traffic pattern
for student checkout

We are now preparing for the final days of the 2019-2020 school year and have outlined the following procedures for collecting personal items from the school and returning district property. As a start, no students or parents will be permitted in the building at this time. District personnel will collect and bag student possessions from their lockers and classrooms. Parents and students will have it available for pickup curbside according to the schedule outlined below. All district employees who help with this evolution will be required to wear facemasks.

We are also pleased to announce that our food service program will continue to operate through June 30th per the procedures that have been in place since the onset of this emergency. As a reminder, this meal service is available to any child in the district age 18 and under. Please visit our website for additional details on meal service.

Grades 

PK-6: Due to the disruption of the end of the 2019-20 school year, we will not be sending out end of the year report cards at the elementary level (PK-6).

For questions about grades at the P-6 level, contact Mr. Schlatter

7-8: Our goal is to be very flexible as we make these decisions to benefit students where we can. Students will receive quarter 3 grades as their final second semester grade at the time of closure. Any students with failing grades for quarter 3 will be assigned remediation. All students will receive a Pass for 4th quarter.  You can expect to get a copy of your grades around June 1st.  We will be flexible with honor roll expectations.

9-12: We are looking at combinations of “pass” and/or letter grades. Our goal is to be very flexible as we make these decisions to benefit students where we can. For each class in which the student had a passing grade, we asked “does this grade raise the student’s cumulative GPA?” If yes, the grade stood. Otherwise, the grade was converted to a Pass that does not factor into the student’s GPA. If a student prefers the alternative, they may request the change via email to Mrs. Koop. If you have questions about “pass” grades for your college entrance or major requirements, you should contact the college you plan to attend and ask your admissions officer. You can expect to get a copy of your grades and/or transcripts around June 1st. ​If you are enrolled in a class through Hawkeye Community College, those grades will be communicated on your transcript, and your GPA will be updated accordingly. Any students with failing grades will be assigned remediation.

For questions about grades at the 7-12 level, contact Mr. Dieken

Collecting Personal Belongings and Checking Out for the Summer

May 25: At 8:00 a.m. on May 25th, all district owned student computers and devices will be locked remotely. These must be turned in during check out (see below).  Students in grades 7-12 should have school work completed prior to this date.  All files should be backed-up to a student’s google drive.

May 26-27: Grades PK-6 checkout will be on the southeast corner of the elementary building next to the playground. Enter the facility from the north end of campus on 1st street and proceed behind the football stadium. You will first need to drop off any district owned property such as library books, computers, school owned musical instruments, and textbooks. Following that dropoff, proceed to the next stop where you will give your name and grade level and a school employee will retrieve your belongings. Do not leave your car. 

Schedule for Elementary Students:Southeast corner of the elementary

Grades 7-12 Traffic Pattern for student checkout

PK-6th grade Pick-up from 12:00PM until 6:00PM Tuesday 5/26, Wednesday 5/27 

May 26-27: Grades 7-12 checkout will be behind the high school. Enter the high school parking lot via Hudson Road, and exit by the greenhouse onto Wood Street. You will need to bring your computer, textbooks, and any other district owned material. Following that drop off, proceed to the next stop where you will give your name and locker number and a school employee will retrieve your belongings. Do not leave your car. 

Schedule for Secondary Students: Behind the high school

7-12th grade Pick-up from 12:00PM until 6:00PM Tuesday 5/26, Wednesday 5/27 

Voluntary or Required? How About Emergency!

During this teacher appreciation week I wanted to take a few minutes of reflection, some deep cleansing breaths, and extend a huge thank you and shout out to our teaching staff! Suffice to say we are having quite the second semester. In my mind I am now viewing these times as BC/AC. [B]efore COVID-19 and [A]fter COVID-19. Right before spring break I recall a conversation in the high school office with staff who were sharing their plans for spring break. Although coronavirus was on all our minds and part of our conversation, we assumed all would be just fine in Iowa. (Although they had just fielded a phone call from someone in the state of Washington who was trying to get to the bottom of a rumor that we had a case of coronavirus in our school. Why on earth someone from Washington state was concerning themselves with a school roughly some 1700 miles away was beyond me.) Prior to all of this our primary focus was on hiring new staff for next year (luckily we now have that done), finalizing the teacher contract, and keeping up with policy discussions that were ongoing in the state legislature. We were also ramping up preparations for the administration of our spring battery of state testing, finalizing plans to replace our fleet of computers, and reviewing rubrics that would be used in assessment. These were all the normal, run of the mill things we would typically doing during this time of year.

Meanwhile, our teachers were carrying out the primary mission of our school, and really of schools everywhere: they were teaching students. That week they had just finished up their final round of parent teacher conferences and they too were looking forward to spring break. It had been a long winter, and while I typically refer to the period of time from the holiday break to spring break as 'the long stretch', it was particularly long this year. During a normal winter we generally have a snow day or two to break up this long period, to at least provide a brief respite from the intensity and daily grind of classroom teaching. But this year it was not to be. We had enjoyed a relatively minor winter with few interruptions. In fact, up to that point we had missed only one day of school for weather, and had not even had a late start yet. In all, the school year was progressing nicely. Our very highly trained teaching force was operating like a well oiled machine and we were hitting all our targets. With statewide testing right around the corner, it appeared that all systems were go for a smooth glide path into the final weeks of the school year. They were certainly deserving of a few days off!

Then of course it wasn't. All of a sudden everything changed when the lights on the instrumentation panel started blinking red. That smooth glide path for a soft landing was no longer a viable option because the wings started coming off the airplane. The metaphor of 'building an airplane while flying it' doesn't seem to accurately portray what we are experiencing right now. Oh no, quite the contrary. We still have a plane, now our goal is just trying to keep it from coming apart any further. Continuous learning models were quickly developed and put into practice and school districts were now forced to choose whether or not they would offer voluntary learning options or required learning options. Choose wisely we were told, because the distinction is critical. Except that it really isn't. At least from my seat on the plane. As I look around the state and compare what we are doing with what our colleagues around the state and Cedar Valley are doing, I really see very little difference. We aren't providing voluntary education or required education. We are providing emergency education!

A highly trained and well oiled machine indeed! Except that everything our teaching force knew about teaching and learning, particularly as it relates to this new methodology is no longer relevant. Instructional strategies that work well in the classroom don't necessarily translate well to online or remote learning. Lessons in math that utilize small group instruction with manipulatives aren't possible from a distance. Classroom management and maintaining focus and structure is a challenge even during regular in classroom instruction. Imagine the challenge now when the teacher is unable to redirect or refocus the students, especially when they are separated by a screen miles apart! 

Yet in spite of all those challenges and unknowns, our teachers have risen to the challenge. Every single thing that we have asked our teachers to do, they have stepped up to the plate and exceeded our expectations. The challenges, and even fears they had about our continuous learning model are now distant memories. All of this, everything they have done has been accomplished as a team in the spirit of cooperation and sharing. Additionally, all of this has been done without an ounce of formalized professional development. Talk about on the job training! Each week they add a new component to their lesson plans and their instruction gets stronger and better. 

But they also realize that what they are doing right now is no substitute for the classroom. They miss their students terribly and want so bad to see them return to their classrooms. Thank you to our teachers, and teachers everywhere for what you are doing right now. Keep generating that spark, and before you know it, the kids will be back with you in your classrooms, right where they belong.