Halfway through its four-week schedule, the Warren County R-III School District is using summer school as a litmus test for how to approach the upcoming fall semester.
Students returned to the …
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Halfway through its four-week schedule, the Warren County R-III School District is using summer school as a litmus test for how to approach the upcoming fall semester.
Students returned to the classroom on June 15, attending two four-day weeks in a modified setting to provide safety precautions for COVID-19. Classes will now cease for two weeks and resume on July 13 to provide time for cleaning and an assessment of the first session.
“I think summer school is going really well,” said Superintendent Dr. Gregg Klinginsmith. “We’ve not had any issue with COVID at all. That’s been very positive. It doesn’t appear having school here is a major factor.”
Klinginsmith said the district is taking this planned two-week break to identify any changes in COVID-19 cases that potentially correlate with the return to school.
Summer school is allowing the district to test several modified practices for safely delivering curriculum within its buildings. With 800 of the approximately 3,000 students enrolled in R-III attending, it has provided a smaller model through which to practice. Students are dispersed among three buildings, at Warrior Ridge Elementary, Black Hawk Middle School and Warrenton High School.
“With this particular approach, students are staying in the classroom and teachers are coming to them,” said Klinginsmith. “They are also having breakfast and lunch brought to them.”
This model limits mingling of cohorts and may continue into the fall. Klinginsmith said the district’s collaboration with the Warren County Health Department has pointed in the direction of having students eat meals in the classroom through the 2020-2021 school year.
“We are able to identify those type of modifications so we can plan for things like buying extra trash cans for the rooms,” said Klinginsmith. “Summer school is definitely giving us a good example of how to operate.”
Buses have also been running at half capacity to provide for social distancing.
Klinginsmith said the district plans to seek community feedback in regard to what the fall semester should look like.
“We’ll survey parents after the Fourth of July and ask them what they’re looking for in a return to the school,” said Klinginsmith. “With summer school under our belt, we’ll have an idea of how school could run. We know for sure we’ll have to avoid large group gatherings.”
The fall semester is slated to start on Aug. 25. In the weeks between now and then, R-III plans to continue working closely with the health department.
“We would hope to have a tentative plan by Aug. 1,” said Klinginsmith. “We know that could change at any moment leading all the way up to the start date. Part of being prepared will be knowing how to pivot quickly to plan B or C, if needed.”
