Shutdown: Charles City schools closed until April 13

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

What was characterized as an extra week of spring break Sunday night became a month-long shutdown by Monday morning.

The Charles City School District has now canceled classes until April 13 due to COVID-19 concerns.

All school-related events, extracurricular activities, athletic practices, competitions, parent-teacher conferences and performances are suspended during the shutdown, the school district said.

The school board meeting scheduled to take place Monday night was also postponed until next Monday, and there will also be no parent-teacher conferences on March 23.

“All of our campuses are closed,” the district said in a press release Monday. “Custodial staff is on-site cleaning and disinfecting buildings and classrooms.”

In informational releases sent to parents, teachers and staff at about 6 p.m. Sunday, the district stated that it was closing its doors until at least March 24. Then, about two hours later, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that she was recommending all school districts in Iowa close for four weeks after she learned of more cases that indicate the coronavirus is spreading in the state.

“We will comply with the governor’s decision, and at this time we are planning to see students again on April 13,” the school district announced Monday.

Most Iowa school districts followed the governor’s guidance and suspended classes for four weeks to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

Other area school districts closed for 30 days are Central Springs, New Hampton, Osage, and Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock. Nashua-Plainfield’s status is “closed until further notice.” Floyd Lighthouse Academy will be closed through March 27, while North Iowa Area Community College is closed to “face to face classes” at any campus.

Immaculate Conception Elementary School in Charles City announced Sunday that it would be following the public school district’s cancellation plans.

Charles City school offices will be open by appointment only. Central Services will only have one person working per day to reduce social contact. Phone messages, emails, and texts will still be answered, but the district said there might be a delay.

“Our staff is still working,” said Charles City Superintendent of Schools Mike Fisher. “They’re not at school, but we have all our staff working remotely.”

The district stated that alternative learning options are being put into place for students, and more details will be released as plans are finalized.

Meetings are happening virtually through technology, and teachers are working from home. The district said senior leaders and custodians are a few of the people on-site, and no one is meeting in groups of more than 10 people, as per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

“Any essential staff member who traveled outside of the state over spring break is taking their temperature before they come into a building,” the district stated. “Extensive cleaning is happening following any visit to a school by anyone.”

It is anticipated that many board members will join the March 23 board meeting via video conferencing, and the school district will provide a Facebook Live video feed of the meeting. The meeting will still be open to the public for people who want to come in person. It is scheduled to start at 6:15 p.m. at the Charles City High School commons area.

All school activity practices of individual work have been canceled, as have all facilities reservations through April 13. The middle school play scheduled to take place this coming weekend is canceled, as is Trivia Night at Comet Gym, scheduled for April 4.

Those who have already paid for a table for Trivia Night who would like to be reimbursed are asked to email ccriversidetrivia@gmail.com. Donations will carry over to play, should the night be rescheduled.

Also canceled are the “Merge” church youth rally, IHSMA solo and ensemble contests, state FFA officer training and Charles CIty/Nashua-Plainfield joint trapshooting practices.

All AAU practices are canceled, as are all youth sports practices, all open gyms, all Girl Scout meetings, all Charles City Singer practices and all Learning Connection meetings.

Events that are currently listed as postponed, with the intention of rescheduling at a later date, include Jivin’ With Jazz, originally scheduled for March 31, and this week’s scheduled Iowa BIG North Hackathon.

“We will reevaluate events like prom and commencement as we get closer to these events,” the district stated. “We will have commencement exercises, but we don’t know when it will be safe to do so. We will have prom, but that also may look different this year. We will proceed with safety as our top priority.”

Many events that have been canceled are beyond the district’s control, but Fisher insisted that some of the more “sacred” events, such as graduation and prom, will go on in some form.

“We will have commencement. There will be a prom. When? I don’t know,” Fisher said. “Some of these things may get pushed back, at this point, I don’t know how far — that will be the challenging part.

“As a former band director, I can understand people’s frustration and disappointment,” he said. “Our kids have worked very hard, and we want to honor their hard work, so we’ll do the best that we can.”

Charles City Community Schools will continue with daily updates to the community for as long as there is news to share. Look for updates through text and email each day around 6 p.m. Anyone can sign up for the updates on the school district’s website.

With a 30-day pause in the state legislative session looming, Senate and House leaders worked into Monday evening on a package of legislation to help the state deal with the virus and its impact on workers, businesses and schools.

They were expected to approve a package Monday evening or Tuesday that would remove the requirement that students attend 1,080 hours of school in a year, so that districts that close do not have to make up the time.

Fisher said the district was looking at three big things in the legislation — legal requirements for special education students, hours required to be in school, and some state testing guidance, as the required state assessment window is coming up during the shutdown.

“We’re looking for some flexibility,” Fisher said. “The good news is Charles City has eight days of time saved up right now, but obviously that’s not four weeks worth of time. We are looking for some relief from the state government on that.

“My hope is they give us enough flexibility to make it a local decision,” he said. “My belief is Iowa is a local-control state, and the best decisions are made at the local level, with our local boards and local leadership.”