Charles City chooses voluntary option for continuous learning, Fisher explains

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

When Gov. Kim Reynolds decided to extend school closure in the state until at least April 30, the Iowa Department of Education gave each school district three options as to how to proceed.

At a meeting Monday evening, Charles City Superintendent of Schools Mike Fisher explained to the Board of Education why Charles City chose option two.

“The need of our community is very differentiated — it’s a large gap,” Fisher said. “There are some who absolutely could be at home learning all day, and then we have families where kids are babysitting brothers and sisters or high school kids who are working right now. We wanted to be cognizant of that.”

Charles City chose to pursue the voluntary option for continuous learning, Fisher said. The first option was to close the district completely and provide no support or resources to students and families. That option would also require a district to make up hours and days missed.

The third option was to have the school district provide full virtual lessons and assessments to students that are required and will result in final grades and awarding credits.

Fisher said a teaching and learning task force led by high school Principal Bryan Jurrens and middle school Principal Joe Taylor, along with senior leadership, reviewed the three options presented by the state.

“We wanted to ensure that any potential long-term effects of the shutdown were minimized,” Fisher said.

That task force decided that having to drastically shift the school year into the summer months to make up hours missed could have unintended consequences with graduating seniors, summer sports, employment opportunities for students, day care, family vacations, etc.

The task force also knew that some students do not have the time or capacity to complete graded work, and requiring this would add more stress to an already stressful situation.

“There was a concern if we could ensure equitable access to virtual instruction in an effective way,” Fisher said. “We know all of our students do not have access to the necessary technology to complete virtual tasks.”

To ensure that the district is meeting the state’s requirements for the voluntary learning option, the district is committed to some broad expectations of the staff, Fisher said.

“We are uploading new content weekly to our kids, reaching out, and any kid or parent who reaches out with questions or concerns gets an answer within a day,” Fisher said, adding that the district also communicates with each student at least once a week through phone calls, email or other technology.

Fisher said the district will continue to discuss any future guidance to ensure that Charles City is doing what is best for all of its students and families.

“We understand that each family has unique needs,” he said. “We strongly encourage families to reach out to their individual teachers if their needs are not being met.”

In other business on Monday, the board unanimously approved COVID-19 Pandemic Temporary Supplemental Policy Provisions.

Law firm Ahlers & Cooney, out of Des Moines, sent a COVID-19 provisions template to assist schools in navigating the new landscape to carry out responsibilities under the Families First Coronavirus Response Acct (FFCRA). The purpose of the policy is to protect students, employees and community members; to establish a consistent approach to the quality and timeliness of services provided by the district; and to provide a way to disseminate information to employees and answer questions or concerns.

This is a working document that may be updated as information is released, or if additional legislation is passed by the federal and state government. The district will strive to follow guidelines put in place by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), and the County Department of Public Health.

The board also approved a reimbursement agreement with the city of Charles City Monday regarding property the district is seeking to purchase from the city for the new athletic complex.

Fisher told the board that the district was looking at the property for possible future expansion of baseball and softball practice fields and to add to ground lost to the track and field events area with the building of the complex.

The city must apply to HUD to obtain approval to sell the property to the district. The agreement states the school district will reimburse certain expenses which the city has incurred, or will incur, in order to dispose of the property if the HUD approval is not given.

In other business Monday, the board:

— Approved the 2020-21 certified budget as recommended, at a 6% income surtax rate, and $12.75336 property tax rate, rates unchanged from last year. There were no public comments regarding the budget.
— Heard a brief presentation from Matt O’Brien, regional planner, North Iowa Area Council of Governments, regarding the school district’s hazard mitigation process.
— Approved an Essential Services Vacation Resolution providing for two additional weeks paid vacation for essential services personnel, as well as a paragraph added to the Pandemic Pay Resolution granting a waiver of instructional time requirements.
— Approved a Skott-Anderson Architects contract revision for the baseball and softball field improvement project. The proposed contract revision changed the construction administration fee for the project from $30,000 to $70,800.
— Accepted the March 2020 financial report after a brief summary from board Treasurer Terri O’Brien.
— Approved the resignations of Hannah Kemp, assistant varsity tennis coach, effective April 13; and Phillip Frenchick, K-6 art teacher and assistant middle school drama, effective at the end of the school year.
— Approved the appointments of Sam Naumann, 5-12 orchestra teacher, effective Aug. 13; Ray Cole, middle school counselor; and Noah Dettmer, special education teacher, effective Aug. 13.
— Approved the appointments of Cady Mead, assistant varsity volleyball coach; Wendy LaBarge, volleyball mentor; and Shari Stoll, 7th-grade volleyball coach, effective Aug. 1.
— Approved the employee transfer of Tabitha Barnish, para-educator, from part time to full time, effective April 13.