Local School Options

If all goes well, school in Iowa Park will kick off Thursday, Aug. 20 with students having two options for instruction – virtually or in-person.

In an email Monday to IPCISD faculty and staff, Superintendent Steve Moody said “What we know at this time is parents will be given two options this school year.

“Option 1 will be in-person on campus learning.

“Option 2 will be remote learning. Remote learning will be more robust than this Spring. Students will be expected to check in daily and complete assignments as if they were on campus. Assignments will be graded as if they are on campus and there will be no pass/fail grades. Parents will not be required to choose their option until two weeks prior to the start of school.”

Moody noted that Iowa Park will be following guidelines for reopening released last week by the TEA, plus following safety guidelines from the state, TEA and CDC for students and employees.

“We will also follow the Governor’s guidelines for face coverings for any person on campus aged 10 and over,” Moody continued. “We are committed to providing a safe environment for all persons who enter our buildings.”

Moody will lay out the reopening plans to school trustees during tonight’s special called meeting at 7 p.m. in the IPHS library (masks required).

Other items to be discussed to night and with the administrative team over the next few weeks include:

• Who will deliver online teaching at each campus;

• What social distancing will look like in the classroom and in the hallways;

• Transportation safety;

• School lunch plans; and • Extra-curricular activities.

With the state currently grappling with surges in active COVID-19 cases, a number of school districts are already calling for variables to the TEA guidelines for reopening their campuses, some by online-only instruction for a limited period, and others calling for delaying start of school until September.

Moody on Tuesday acknowledged the changing landscape, and said “One thing we hope everybody understands and is patient with, is that this can change this week or the next week or the next.”

For now, Moody noted, the school district’s intentions are for employees to report to school Aug. 13, followed by students on Aug. 20.

“We will be sending a survey out in the next two days to parents. It is a preliminary survey to just give us some guidance moving forward,” said Moody. “We are going to ask parents in this survey, at this point, are they planning on sending their kids to school in person, or are they going to do online. This does not commit them. We will be sending out another survey on Aug. 6, and that’s when they will tell us for sure whether they want to be online or in-person.

“At least right now, it will give us some planning direction.”

Renovations are currently underway on all four of the campuses, primarily at the high school. Moody said construction at IPHS should be complete by Aug. 20, “... I think the reality is there will still be some construction that will need to be finished by the time school starts. If that’s the case then we would start school and they would work in the evenings.”

ONLINE OPTION

During the final stages of last year’s school, students were provided a pass/fail grade while being taught remotely. That will change this fall,

That will change this fall, when students will be required to check in daily, and complete assignments as if they were in the classroom.

Yet to be determined is who will be teaching those students remotely.

“That’s one of the reasons we are trying to get some information ahead of time,” Moody said. “Ideally, if you have enough students that do the online, you can designate a teacher to do the online.

“We may have one teacher designated per grade level or per subject area, or there could be two teachers designated and they would share the work,” he continued. “And then there is the possibility that a teacher could do some in-person during the day, and also prepare some online materials.”

Jodi Schlaud, Curriculum and Instructional Technology Coordinator, elaborated “In regards to that, it is hard to say throughout the district that this is what we are going to do. Because things just look different on an elementary campus than it does on a secondary campus.

“It really is going to depend on what is best for that specific campus,” she continued. “Schedules are different. Obviously, how you run an elementary school is different with it’s schedule than at the high school.

“What we are trying to do is keep the extra workload at a minimum of extra that the teachers have to do. We want to do what’s right by them, and also do what’s best for the kids. It may look different at each campus.”

Schlaud added that teachers gained experience this past spring with the learning management system. “For grades 4-12, we use Schoology. We use that everyday whether it is remote or not,” she said. “So the teachers and kids already know how to use that. Now online learning will be different. There will be no pass/fail. They are going to have to learn new things. They are in new classes, so they will be held accountable for turning in their assignments and being given real grades just as they would if they were in the classrooms.

“They will still be held accountable for attendance. They will have to do a daily check-in with their teachers for each class, so attendance rules are going to apply whether they are at home or here.”

Asked if Iowa Park schools could resort to online-only study if the pandemic conditions worsen and campuses are once again closed, Schlaud replied “Yes.”

“We’ve had one-to-one devices for grades 3 through 12 for a few years,” she noted. “We just purchased enough iPads so that Kidwell will also have one-to-one (devices). “We are lucky enough

“We are lucky enough to already have systems in place that we’ve been utilizing in the past years. We are blessed to have that now. Our teachers rose to the occasion in the spring, and they can do it again.”

Moody further added that parents choosing to have their students taught online will be committ for at least a grading period (sixweeks) before being given an opportunity to swap to another learning format.

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ELIGIBILITY

The UIL has recently released guidelines allowing students being taught online to remain eligible for extra-curricular activities, but giving that final authority to each school district.

Moody said the board will discuss that subject along with others during tonight’s meeting.

MONITORING

Moody said teachers and parents of students will be tasked with “self-monitoring” each day, including checks for symptoms of COVID-related illness.

PPE & SANITATION

Moody said the state is sending a month’s worth of personal protective equipment to the school for use by students and staff.

As for sanitizing the school, the superintendent said the district has purchased four cleaning machines. “I call them backpack fogging machines,” he said. Each day every class on all campuses will be fogged.

“During the course of the day, we will be sanitizing,” he said. “There will be hand sanitizer in each class. Between periods, we’ll have a spray bottle with possibly an alcohol/water mix or something where every desk will be sprayed down and wiped down.”

The Iowa Park Athletic Booster Club is offering masks for sale with the Hawk logo, and an option for either green or black. If interested, go to https://ipmasks.itemorder.com/sale.

DOING IT SAFELY

“As of now, our plan is that students will start school on Aug. 20,” Moody reiterated. “We are going to follow TEA, state and CDC guidelines for the safety of the students. It is the most important thing for us. It is paramount for us to make sure that our students are in a safe environment, as safe as we can provide.

“We have great teachers that are committed to excellence, and we will provide a great education for our students.”

“One thing we hope every understands and is patient with, is that this can change this week or the next week or the next.”

– IPHS Supt. Steve Moody