Decorah Schools will decide by Friday what kind of educational opportunities they will offer students during the coronavirus shutdown

Posted: Fri, Apr 3, 2020 5:36 PM

Teachers and administrators from the Decorah Community School District received new guidance Friday from State of Iowa officials about the choices available to serving students during the coronavirus shutdown.

The three options are available:

• Keeping schools closed and providing no services

• Providing voluntary educational enrichment opportunities

• Providing required educational services

School districts in Iowa will be required to report to the State of Iowa by April 10th which option, or blend of options, they have selected.

In a letter to parents issued Friday, Decorah School Superintendent Mark Lane wrote, "We feel a responsibility to continue to support the learning and well-being of our students. Therefore, the district will only consider the second and third options."

With voluntary educational enrichment opportunities, activities are provided to students and families while the school district is closed. This may include packets, teleconferencing, online instruction, or other outreach activities. Student participation is voluntary and no grading or credit is given.

The required educational services, academic work is equivalent in effort and rigor to typical classroom work. All students are required to participate, attendance is taken, work is graded, and credit granted. Typically, instruction is provided through some type of online learning.

Hybrid models of learning, involving some online learning and other methodologies like packets, are also available. These services must be approved by the Iowa Department of Education.

If a school district is going to provide required educational services at any grade levels, the district must submit an application and receive approval from the Department of Education. Decorah School District staff members are reviewing the application, and will make a decision early next week whether to make an application.

in his letter to parents, Lane added, "we need to make improvements in our service model, regardless what Iowa Department of Education definition we use." He says, "We understand the confusion multiple forms of communication can cause when families have students in multiple grade levels. We also see that it can be hard to know what to expect when families receive almost daily communication from one building or teacher, and sporadic or inconsistent communication from another." He promises the school district will reduced variation across buildings and teachers and will streamline the point of entry for accessing information and learning opportunities.