Iowa school districts that are starting the school year with a mix of in-person and online learning have found a couple different ways to meet the governor’s order to provide at least 50 percent in-person instruction.
The Sioux City Community School District will start the year with half of the students in class on Mondays and Thursdays (students with last names that start with A-M) and the other half on Tuesdays and Fridays (students with last names N-Z). When students are not in a school building, they'll complete assignments from home. On Wednesdays, the district will deep clean the buildings. The first day of school is Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Since students are learning in person only two days a week, that would conflict with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ requirement to spend half of the learning time in person. But Superintendent Paul Gausman said students can meet with teachers in person at school during scheduled times on Wednesdays, which meets the 50 percent in-person requirement.
“The reason we created a schedule was so that we wouldn’t have a rush of students coming in the building all in the morning or all in the afternoon,” Gausman said.
Gausman said meals will be provided in the buildings on Wednesday. He acknowledged that not every student will be able to get to a school on the first two Wednesdays, but said there will still be options for additional support.
“Families who can’t get their child or can’t themselves come to the school to receive the supports and interventions can work out a separate plan individually with their building principal or that teacher themselves,” Gausman said, “whether that be a phone call, communication that’s digital in some form or another.”
Teachers will give students assignments to complete during the two Wednesdays they're not in school, Gausman said.
The Iowa Department of Education approved the Sioux City plan – which is only for at least the first two weeks of school, though the school district and the state gave different explanations for why it was approved.
Mandie Mayo, a spokeswoman for the school district wrote in an email to IPR that because students will receive face-to-face instructional contact on Wednesdays, the instructional contact “will place the SCCSD Hybrid Plan over the required 50% in-person contact.”
Iowa Department of Education spokeswoman Heather Doe said in an email the department determined Sioux City’s hybrid plan “meets the requirements outlined in law and the Governor’s proclamation because half the instruction is provided in person and the district has enough time in its school calendar to meet instructional requirements” and minimum school day requirements written in state code.
“In this case, Wednesday is not considered an instructional day and the 50 percent is based on a four-day school week,” Doe wrote.
Sioux City’s hybrid plan is different from hybrid plans approved at other schools, including Southeast Polk Community School District and Ankeny Community School District which will alternate Wednesdays in person. Southeast Polk will be in a hybrid model for at least the first two weeks of school. Ankeny will use a hybrid mode for the first six weeks. Both districts said their plans meet the 50 percent in-person requirement.
