With two weeks having passed since the decision to cancel classes, county schools have worked tirelessly to address a myriad of dilemmas for which they had no previous template.

While students have settled into a new format for receiving education, staff and administrators are learning right alongside them.

Education plans have changed multiple times, as new information is released about COVID-19 and its ability to spread or survive on surfaces. Officials have also been in constant communication with families to address any concerns related to technology barriers or survival needs.

“We were surprised to learn that fewer than 100 of our families are without reliable internet service,” said Wright City R-II Superintendent Dr. David Buck. “For those students, we’re going to mail the homework to them. We ask that they don’t mail it back but instead take a picture and send it in.”

This is part of Wright City’s efforts to forge on with its learning through what’s been tagged as Alternate Method of Instruction (AMI).

“When we first started AMI, we thought about sending packets home by buses,” said Buck. “But we have since learned that the virus could live on cardboard and paper for a while.”

Warren County R-III has chosen to take an optional learning route, providing non-mandatory curriculum to help students prevent any deficits before heading into the next grade level.

“One thing we’re trying not to do is bombard parents with a lot of extra responsibility,” said R-III Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith. “We know everybody has a lot going on right now. We do want to have information for those who want to continue the learning process at home.”

He says many families have done their best to create an ongoing learning environment, but the district is leaving it up to each household to decide what works best.

“We have a lot of faith in our community to do the right thing,” said Klinginsmith. “Our goal is to continue to give them resources they need to move forward.”

While R-II classrooms have been empty, there has been a steady flow of parents and students coming to retrieve items that were left in lockers and cubbies.

“We’ve been working on reunifying kids with their property and medications,” said Buck. “We went through lockers and rooms collecting items. We put it in bags, let it sit in the gym for several days to ensure safety and placed it on sidewalks as families came through.”

This Thursday the Wright City Class of 2020 will come through the high school’s parking lot to pick up their graduation announcements, caps and gowns. It wasn’t how the year was supposed to play out, but it’s all part of a monumental effort to provide as much normalcy as possible for students.

Klinginsmith says may seniors from R-III have found ways to contribute in the community during unexpected free time.

“I’ve seen a lot of our kids take on jobs in the community to provide temporary help,” said Klinginsmith. “I’m happy to see our high school kids doing those sort of things as well.”

R-III is handling student property distribution on a more individual basis. Klinginsmith encourages families to email building principals to arrange for pickup of personal items.

“Most people have gotten their essential items,” said Klinginsmith. “Now it’s just some of those personal items in lockers. We’re hoping to have an opportunity at the end of May to allow people to come back in and retrieve any other belongings.”

Technology instructors have been busy educating staff on how to use tools such as Zoom and Flip Grid to continue engaging with their students online. Meanwhile, the Wright City district purchased around 600 Chromebook cords and distributed laptops to students in third through sixth grades. This ensures every student from the third grade up has a computer for educational use at home.

“We have quite a bit of online and community building that can happen, because they have reliable devices and internet,” said Buck. “It’s been inspirational, innovative and creative. I’ve seen actual classroom meetings live, with kids there with teachers and principals.”

R-III has set its focus on using summer school as a means to help bridge any gaps between the missed fourth quarter and next school year. Although it’s not a requirement, Klinginsmith says he encourages signing up to take advantage of the extra learning.

“This could be particularly helpful for our elementary students to catch up on a lot of curriculum they might have missed during these final two months,” said Klingsinsmith. “We could potentially start summer school after Fourth of July if we have to and still get it in.”