June 24, 2020

North Linn Parents,

This will be my final update for the 19 – 20 school year.  As we continue down our path to a normal routine, I wanted to provide one last update of how the relaxing of restrictions has affected our district as we modify and then offer a portion of our activities for the remainder of the summer and how we are preparing for this fall.

·Summer Sports Programs – As you are aware, high school baseball and softball began practice on June 1st and game competition began on the 15th.  Coaches continue to work with Mr. Hilmer for temperature taking, social distancing, proper hygiene etiquette during practice and games, and sanitizing equipment on a regular basis.   With social distancing guidelines for our student-athletes, we implemented the use of our bleachers for our student-athletes during games and practices. We continue to ask that if anyone is feeling ill or has a temperature, to please stay away from the ball diamonds.  We are also politely reminding that parents refrain from attending practices.  Please know that we appreciate those that continue to support the protocols that we have implemented.

·Graduation – Graduation is scheduled for July 12th at 2:00 p.m. and will be held at our football stadium.  Due to Linn County Public Health gathering limitation recommendations, at this time we are politely asking that only up to 10 families members of the graduating senior attend the ceremony on the 12th.  Parents and family members of the graduates will be seated in “pods” on our football field.  4 chairs will be placed in each pod area and families can bring an additional 6 chairs for seating.  Graduating Seniors will be spaced out in our home bleachers and a stage for the students’ to walk across and receive their diploma.  Parents are more than welcome to come to the stage and actually present the NL diploma to their graduating senior.  Mr. Schaffer will be in attendance to take pictures of this event.  For those family members that would like to view the ceremony but are uncomfortable with the larger gathering, parking is available on the north side of the track so those family members can watch from their vehicles.  If weather is an issue, Mr. Beaty will notify everyone by July 10th that the ceremony will be moved inside to the gymnasium.  If this occurs we will have to limit the number of family members that are able to attend in order to meet Linn County Public Health recommendations.  Mr. Beaty will be sending out detailed information later in the week.

·Open Gyms, Music Lessons and Weight Training – Open gyms are also allowed by the Athletic Associations as long as County Public Health recommendations are being followed.  At this time we have decided not to open our gyms.  Individual or small group music lessons also have the option of allowing our students to participate if we chose to do so.  At this time we are not offering individual or small group lessons.  On July 1st weight room guidelines will be released.  Once those guidelines are released the district will develop protocols so we can have our students return to their training regiments as soon as we possibly can.

·Prom – Even with recent Public Health recommendations, we are still hoping that this event can be held on July 16th.  As that date approaches Mr. Beaty will let students and parents know if we are able to hold the event.

·Summer Food Service Program – Our food distribution will discontinue after June 29th.  A huge shout out goes to Kim Fiala, Norma Pillard, Kathy Snitkey, Sheri Letts, Judy Rechkemmer and Pat Kelly for the work they have done since March to help keep a large number of our kids feed.

·Summer School – Elementary Summer School will begin on July 13th. The program will run Monday through Thursday for 3 weeks. Following County Public Health’s recommendations, we will be implementing temperature checks before students enter school and will be taking time to re-teach our students how to wash hands effectively, how to use proper sneezing and coughing etiquette and how we will need to practice physical distancing.  We will also be sanitizing desks, tables, sinks, and restrooms frequently. As the July 13th date approaches Mrs. Graven will be providing additional information.

·Return to Learn – The district has finalized our Return to Learn plan for this fall.  As you are aware, we created 3 different plans to address possible scenarios for our students’ return this fall.  This includes an online platform, a hybrid delivery if only a portion of our students are able to access our buildings due to social distancing requirements and if we are able to return with all students.  As we developed our possible delivery plans we used data from the survey that we administered earlier in the summer.  For our online model, we will use the online platform that your child was previously using.  We would make all of the links available for you in one location on our website for easier access.  Based on your input we will tighten up our communication and send one update per week from the school as a whole so parents are not overwhelmed with updates from multiple school personnel.  In our online model, our instructors will be teaching their online classes from the school.  We will be crafting individual plans to meet the learning needs for those students that need additional support.  

If we are forced into a hybrid model due to physical distancing requirements our plan is to bring all of our K – 8thgrade students to school on an every other day rotation.  On those days that the student is not in school they will be given some work to complete while at home. Realizing the demands that additional “homework” places on parents, tasks sent home or available online will not be overwhelming.  This will be supplemental work with a focus on practicing essential learning skills and concepts. In our hybrid model, due to classroom schedules at our high school level, students would have to continue their learning with our online platform. The exception to this would be for those smaller specialized classes. These classes may be held on campus. Students with individual learning plans and specialized needs may also be asked to attend school. 

Transportation is still an unknown.  If we have to adhere to physical distancing requirements on our buses, it will be difficult for us to have a normal day when we are only able to transport 11 to 13 students on a bus.  Later in July the district may send out to our parents whose children use district transportation a survey to help us determine which parents could possibly find a way to get their children to and from school.  We realize that not all parents would have this ability but if enough parents are able to transport their children, this would hopefully allow us to use our available buses to transport those students that are unable to be transported by their parents. By reducing bussing numbers, we may be able to transport those in need and still start classes at 8:00 a.m. for all of our students.  Obviously our hope is that we will be able to begin this August with all of our students. 

As a part of our Return to Learn plan we had to sign off on a number of assurances.  If you are curious, our Return to Learn assurances will be posted on our district webpage sometime in the very near future. Please know that all of this may change but this is the world that we are living in at this time.  I can assure you that we will keep you up to date regarding our plans as the school start date draws near.

·2020 – 2021 School Calendar –  Our school calendar for this fall has been approved.  We will begin classes with our students on August 17th.  Our faculty and staff understand the extreme importance for our students to return back into our building as soon as we could possibly do so.  I believe this speaks volumes about our staff’s commitment to our kids.

·Blood Drive – Nurse Julie has scheduled a blood drive for Tuesday July 21st to be held in our school parking lot with the mobile blood drive truck.  As the date approaches information will be sent out with the times the mobile blood drive truck will be available for a donation.

·Thank You – Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU for allowing me to be a part of this great district.  Without question, our school community should be extremely proud of the work that our staff does day in and day out for our kids.  I realize that the last 4 months has tested our patience, but I can assure you that our district has done a wonderful job of reasonably meeting our students' learning needs while facing some difficult circumstances.  I do know that we are a resilient bunch, and in the end we will be stronger because of this.  So again, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this district.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Dave Hoeger.  He will begin at NL on July 1st.

Thanks,

Doug