TO: Kirksville R-III School District Community
FROM: Robert. Webb, Superintendent
DATE: March 27, 2020
RE: COVID-19 School Closure Extension
Please let me share part of a quote from Thomas Paine, written December 23, 1776:
“THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. [COVID], like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly…”
Though I am pretty sure Paine never heard of COVID-19, his words have power as we are all being tried to do things differently because of this pandemic.
Hopefully by now you have heard through that the School Board voted to extend the school closure through April 13, 2020. I will try to explain what we are calling a “rolling two-week” closure.
We believe we can be most effective in designing and delivering learning opportunities by planning in two-week chunks of time. To do so the school and district administration meets weekly to review the current Health Department information and whether it feels school closures are still necessary. The “rolling closure” idea means that if closure recommendations change then school administration will be able to then recommend a return to normal school operations date. If school closures are still seen as a way to minimize the spread, then the schools will remain closed for the following two weeks. For example, the current closure is set to last through April 13, 2020. If during our next meeting (April 2nd or 3rd) the Health Department has not changed its guidance, the schools will add an additional week of closure, which would move the closure through April 19, 2020. We will of course keep you informed through all the normal media.
On behalf of the school district staff thank you. Thank you for your patience, care for the health of the community, and for any suggestions you have that will make our process better in this time of anxiety and frustration.
