Special Meeting  Summary - 7/27/2020

The Camanche School District’s Board of Education held a special meeting on Monday, July 27th to discuss the Camanche School District’s Return To Learn (RTL) Plan.  Please note that these are not the official minutes.  The official Agendas and Minutes from the Camanche Community School District school board are available and posted on our school district website (camanche.k12.ia.us).  The school board discussed the following items:  

The basic Return To Learn Plan summary is located on the school district’s website under the RTL button on the home page.  This plan contains scenarios for three possible educational delivery systems during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Those are an In-Person system; or an Online system; or a Hybrid system.  Regardless of the type of plan followed by Camanche Schools, it is important to note some key items:  

  • Our priority is to provide as safe as an environment as possible for our students and staff, while providing our students with a quality learning experience. 
  • Parents of Camanche students, who wish to have their child use online learning instead of coming to school in-person, can do so while their child remains a Camanche student.  We, along with several other area school districts, have been working with the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency to provide parents with an online learning delivery system for their children that uses an experienced and quality educational program.  Parents who are interested in pursuing this option should contact their child’s principal or can contact the district’s administration center. 
  • As per the Governor’s proclamation, the entire school district would only enact an Online delivery system with permission being granted by the State Department of Health and the State Department of Education. 
  • If we follow the In-Person plan, in which everyone returns to school every day, the school schedule for every student will closely resemble what a normal school day or week typically looks like.  The most noticeable difference will be social distancing with cleaning and disinfecting practices being followed. 
  • At the elementary school level, we believe that it is very important for our elementary students to see their teacher every day during the school week.  If we were to use a Hybrid Plan, we plan to have our elementary school students attend school each day, while we reduce the size of groups of students.  One group of students from each grade level would meet with their classroom teacher in the morning, while the other group of students in that grade level would meet with their other teachers (music, art, physical education) or work on-line with staff providing learning support as needed.  After lunch these two groups would rotate. This may cause us to have elementary students use open space available in the middle school.  If even more space is needed, the high school would potentially have additional space available. 
  • The middle school and high school share the same basic daily schedule and several staff members.  If we need to follow a Hybrid plan, we will rotate student schedules to have smaller groups of students in our buildings at one time.  Grades 5-12 students would follow a two-week rotation with a group of students attending in-person on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and attending online on Thursday and Friday the first week.  The following week this group would have on-line learning on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, with in-person learning on Thursday and Friday.  The other group of grades 5-12 students’ schedule would be coordinated to follow the opposite pattern. 
  • The school board and administration understand the importance of declaring which plan will be followed at the beginning of the school year.  It was decided that a public announcement regarding which plan will be followed will be made no later than August 10, 2020.  This will give families a minimum of two weeks to make necessary arrangements for their children, if needed, as school will begin on Monday, August 24th.  It is important to note that, as has been the case with health-related developments during the COVID-19 Pandemic, this declaration is subject to change if a health-related change is necessary. 
  • The use of face coverings is a developing area regarding best practice and no requirement is currently in place in the school district.  Students or staff who wish to use face coverings will be supported in doing so.  This of course is subject to change based upon directives from the Department of Health, medical authorities, or the Governor’s Office. 

The school board and administration realize that there is no perfect plan out there and that no matter what plan we choose, there are going to be some people unhappy with it.  Understanding that, it is important to remember that our goal is to provide our students and staff with as safe of an environment as possible, while providing our students with a quality learning experience.  Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s principal with questions, comments, or concerns regarding the Return To Learn Plan.