Decorah School Board votes unanimously in favor of adapted remote learning model

At Monday's special meeting, the Decorah School Board voted unanimously in favor of the administration's proposed remote learning plan.

Because of this, Lane and the administration proposed adjustments to the district's learning model between Thanksgiving and winter breaks. Lane said, "Our community numbers continue to increase, and we feel it is wise to take a preemptive approach." One of his biggest considerations is giving families time to plan for the changes.

With full support of the Board, DCSD will transition to remote learning for all students the week of Monday, November 30th through Friday, December 4th. It will then transition back to full on-site learning for the weeks of Monday, December 7th through Friday, December 11th, and Monday, December 14th through Friday, December 18th. Schools will finish their last two days of learning in December as remote learning days on Monday, December 21st and Tuesday, December 22nd. Intentions are to return to full on-site learning when students return from winter break on Monday, January 4th, 2021.

This proactive strategy allows Decorah schools to continue some of its extra-curriculars and activities, as outlined in Governor Reynold's latest proclamation. If the district would wait and fall into a reactive position, it is more likely they would need to submit a waiver request to the Iowa Department of Education to move to remote learning for two weeks. If that occurred, it would also be required to suspend all athletic and extracurricular activities for the period in which the district is in remote learning. A one-week period of remote learning does not require approval from the state, and, therefore, DCSD is not required to suspend all athletic and extracurricular activities.

Food Service Director Chad Elliott is teaming up with Transportation Director Jim Samuelson to offer district families shelf-stable meals for the days of remote learning. A shelf-stable meal does not require refrigeration or heating before consumption. These meals will vary based on the availability of the product.

Families who would like for a meal to be delivered to your home each day for school-aged child(ren) can use this link to complete a short meal request Google form.  Once the district knows the number of meals requested, they will develop delivery routes. Meals will be delivered daily between mid-morning and shortly after noon.

Decorah schools will continue to monitor student health and complete any necessary contact tracing during remote learning. If your child experiences COVID-19 related symptoms or is possibly exposed to a COVID-19 positive person, please contact the school nurse at your child's building. The district appreciates your communication and cooperation in monitoring the health of its students.