Last week, Gov. Kim Reynolds extended the closure of all Iowa K-12 schools to April 30. A deadline was set for this Friday for schools to report to the Iowa Department of Education their plans for those additional two weeks. Administrators were given the option of providing off-site educational opportunities that are considered either required or voluntary. President of the Kuemper Catholic School System, John Steffes, says they have filed their plan and begun notifying parents.
Under this model, the state’s time requirements will be met and they will not need to do any extensions to the school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As Steffes points out, elementary and middle school students will not be graded during those two weeks, but high school students will.
The curriculum will be comprised of a combination of online lessons and packet materials distributed to students. Steffes says the instructors have been meeting in teams and with the administrators and had been planning for this eventuality already. Steffes predicts they could see some hurdles to the implementation of this approach.
As far as the possible impact the pandemic could have on the graduation ceremony, Steffes says that decision has not yet been made. However, he adds, they want to ensure that this milestone in their students’ lives is celebrated. Those with questions on the new learning model are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher or the administration.
