Charles City school board approves ‘Return To Learn’ plan, Fisher outlines mask policy

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Community School District Board of Education unanimously approved the school district’s “Return To Learn” plan for the start of the 2020-21 school year at Monday’s meeting, which lasted nearly 2½ hours.

Superintendent Mike Fisher and Marcia DeVore, the Lincoln Elementary School principal who has been chairperson of Charles City’s Return to Learn effort, explained the plan in detail to the board Monday, and Fisher also outlined what will be the school district’s mask policy.

“We want to keep our schools open and have as normal a year as possible,” Fisher said. “We realize that face coverings might be one of the most powerful ways to do that.”

Fisher said he realized that there were strong opinions about face coverings on both sides, but he feels strongly that the medical research leans heavily in favor of requiring face coverings.

“We do need to have students wearing face coverings, especially when in common areas,” Fisher said. “Social distancing is the top priority, but when that can’t happen, we will require the face coverings.”

Face coverings will be required for all staff, and students will be required to wear face coverings any time they are in common areas or aren’t able to social distance.

There will be many opportunities for students to take their face coverings off throughout the day, and Fisher said this was recommended by medical professionals. Generally, the majority of the day, students will not be required to wear face coverings as they will be in their smaller learning teams where they will be properly socially distanced.

Face coverings will not be required in classrooms when students are social distanced, while eating, during PE, recess, or outdoors during athletic participation.

Masking will also not be required for students with a medical or religious waiver. Principals will work with families to schedule alternate passing and restroom times for students with such a waiver.

Face coverings will be required in hallways, office areas, the cafeteria when not eating, buses, classrooms when not socially distanced, and when in the crowd during indoor sporting events.

Fisher said that students can choose their own face coverings, which could be a mask, shield, cloth or gator. They can personalize, as long as the mask isn’t vulgar or inappropriate per the school’s dress code.

The school will provide up to two free cloth face coverings if the family chooses. These would be distributed the first day of school.

Teachers won’t require any close proximity contact in the classrooms. Students can choose to social distance at all times. However, if the students were to choose to do close proximity work that isn’t social distanced they would be expected to put on their face coverings.

Face covering enforcement will be handled by the campus principals. Staff will not be responsible for enforcement. Mask shaming will not be tolerated by any staff, students or others at any time.

“We know there are strong feelings on this both ways, but we also know that we have to do what is safe and what is right,” Fisher said. “We know that we also will have to provide exemptions for certain situations.”

The mask policy was sent out to students and families in detail following the meeting.

The district’s hybrid learning plan includes both on-site and remote learning, and presents families with the option of 100% online learning if that’s what they’re comfortable with.

According to the plan, which DeVore discussed at length, students in preschool through 5th grade will attend school five days a week in person.

Students in grades 6-8 will attend school in person on either Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday, with alternating Wednesday attendance. Students will participate in required remote learning the days not attending in person. Administration will notify families as to which group students will be in.

Students in grades 9-10 will attend school on Monday/Thursday with alternating Wednesdays, and 11-12 grade students will attend school on Tuesday/Friday with alternating Wednesdays. High school students will also participate in required remote learning the days not attending in person.

The district is also creating a “study site” for students who need instruction outside of the days they are able to attend classes. Students will also have the option to take home lunches for the days they are not on campus.

For those families that don’t want their child returning to classes in any form, the district will be offering a “School to You” 100% online option.

DeVore said that will include Charles City teachers teaching lessons, making assignments, giving feedback to students and giving live online small group interaction. She said that families will have access to nursing, counseling and school lunches if they need it.

Classes at Lincoln and Washington elementary schools will start at 9 a.m. and end at 3:25 p.m. High school and middle school classes will start at 8:50 a.m. and end at 3:15 p.m. The high school will have a “zero hour” for band, orchestra and choir starting at 8:05 a.m. Doors at all campuses will open at 7:45 a.m.

DeVore discussed the multitude of health and safety precautions that will be taken, and also discussed mitigation and physical distancing in other locations. All the board members expressed positive feelings toward the work that had been accomplished. The entire plan is available to the public on the school district’s website.

“I have confidence that all our staff will deliver exceptional quality education no matter what form it is,” said director Scott Dight. “I look forward to seeing the success of this plan.”

Director Pat Rottinghaus made an emotional statement regarding the district’s return to school.

“Schools have become the problem-solvers to fix what’s broken in our society, but we can’t solve this virus,” Rottinghaus said. “Since March, our school district has fed kids and taught kids.”

She said that the push to get kids back into school is being looked at as an unfortunate answer to several of society’s ills, such as the economic downturn, child nutrition and child abuse.

Rottinghaus said that she hopes that state and national leaders remember those things in the future when it comes to funding public schools. She said that, were it not for the state law, she would recommend 100% online learning to start the school year, and she said that the governor’s proclamation put school districts in a “precarious position.”

In other action taken on Monday, the board unanimously approved the establishment of a district “COVID leave bank” and donated 500 days to the bank to be used after an employee exhausts all other available leaves for long-term COVID illnesses.

Fisher said the leave bank would be used as the last resort to ensure the school district has an abundance of leave time to protect employees.

The school board also unanimously approved the “Leader in Me” program for Lincoln Elementary. In February, the board approved Washington Elementary as the first “Leader in Me” school in the district. Since then, the Lincoln Elementary staff has requested to implement this signature program at grades 3-4.

In other business on Monday, the board:
— Directed Fisher to research and develop with the equity and achievement committee chair to schedule monthly 10-20 minute learning discussions on “equity.”
— Recommended that the district’s 2021 Iowa Association of School Boards legislative priority items be local accountability and decision-making, school funding policy, supplemental state aid and expanding educational opportunities.
— Unanimously accepted the July 2020 financial reports as presented by business manager Terri O’Brien.
— Approved the appointment of Jessica Moore, school nurse, at a salary of $44,182, effective Aug. 18.
— Approved the appointment of David Voves, School To You coordinator, at a salary of $7,500, effective July 1.
— Approved the appointments of Susan Hoefer and Andie Olson, co-acting head volleyball coaches, at salaries of $3410.50, effective Aug. 10.
— Approved the appointment of Jenae Noonan, 9-12 Spanish teacher, at a salary of $50,709, effective Aug. 18.
— Approved the appointment of Lexis Wiegmann high school math teacher, at a salary of $38,379, effective Aug. 18.
— Approved the transfer of Dana Sullivan, from high school math teacher to 9-12 business teacher, effective immediately.
— Approved Lynch Dallas, PC, Cedar Rapids, as the district’s secondary law firm for 2020-21.