Return to Learn Plan
July 1, 2020
First, I want to thank the Treynor students, parents, teachers, staff, and community for your patience and understanding during the last four months as we have learned how to adapt to the pandemic and its impact on our school district. Your support during this time has been greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!
The purpose of this communication is to provide an update about our work as we prepare for the reopening of school on August 19, 2020. Treynor Community School and all other Iowa school districts are required to prepare a Return-to-Learn Plan. These plans are designed to help school districts meet the challenges of the pandemic during the 2020-2021 school year. Bottom Line: We need to prepare to educate students in different ways—as determined by the status of the virus and social distancing guidelines.
Therefore, Treynor administrators and the teacher leadership team have been working hard to develop our Return-to-Learn Plan. The first part of the plan is Required Continuous Learning, which means that students would continue their education with required online learning. This would be used in an emergency, such as the resurgence of COVID-19 or under a circumstance in which it is not possible for students to be in the school building. The second part of the plan is a Hybrid Model. This would include a combination of online learning and on-site learning. Students would physically attend school on assigned days and learn remotely from home on the other days. This would be used for a partial reopening of school. The third part of the plan is On-Site Delivery. This means that public health officials consider it safe for all students to attend school, with health and safety measures in place to help prevent the spread of the virus.
As of today, things are progressing in a positive direction! On June 1, the state allowed high school baseball and softball to begin practice, and games began on June 15. On June 25, the Iowa Department of Education issued guidance to begin the process to reopen schools and to begin offering all school activities with health and safety measures in place. We are now preparing to begin summer conditioning workouts for high school students on July 6, followed by other small group workouts for fall athletes. We will also begin individual band lessons and small group work for marching band. If things keep trending in a positive direction, we hope to begin school with all students in August.
However, during the month of July we will finalize all parts of the Return-to-Learn Plan so that we are fully prepared to begin school in the manner dictated by the virus. We will be providing additional information about the Return-to-Learn Plan in the near future. In addition, we will continue to monitor the status of the virus over the next 2-3 weeks. By the end of July, we will try to determine how school will begin in August in order to give everyone time to prepare. If there are major changes or developments before the end of July, we will let you know as soon as possible.
In the meantime, please continue to take the virus seriously—and practice social distancing and other safety precautions. Stay safe, and enjoy the July 4th holiday!
Dr. Mark Hopkins