Dear Families and Staff,

This afternoon, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced that Iowa schools will remain closed through the remainder of this 2019-2020 school year. In addition to no school during this time, all sports, activities and events are also cancelled. The district learned of this news today as the Governor announced it during her daily press conference.

To our students, staff and families: Know that we are tremendously grateful for the sacrifices you continue to make during these trying times – not only regarding education, but in so many areas of your daily life. While a closure for the remainder of the school year is most certainly not what any of us hoped for, the past few weeks have shown us that together, we are capable of tremendous things.

Thank you to our amazing students and families who are working hard to continue learning during this trying time. Since last week, almost approximately 4,300 of our secondary students (over 75 percent!) have logged in to Canvas, the district’s learning management system. At the elementary level, the district is averaging 19,266 daily interactions and 7,690 daily parent interactions.

Our students and teachers are amazing!

Through the remainder of the scheduled school year, we will be here to support this continuous learning and we will continue to actively develop our plans for a return to school next year with a focus on addressing any learning gaps that occur as a result of COVID-19.

For the Class of 2020, we can only imagine the heartbreak that comes with this announcement. We are committed to honoring them and, while we know it will be in untraditional ways, it is our hope that we can provide an opportunity for them to celebrate together as soon as we are able.

Be assured that as a district, we are also 100 percent committed to ensuring that all students on track to graduate will do so. We will share more details next week with seniors regarding course grading options and graduation requirements.

During the remainder of the school year, we will also continue our work to remove barriers to student learning:

  • We will continue serving meals each weekday to students who need them, and will continue providing printed elementary educational resources at those sites on Fridays.
  • We will work to expand options for internet connectivity and student devices at the secondary level for students needing them.
  • We will continue providing educational resources and teacher outreach at the elementary level through Seesaw, email and phone.
  • We will regularly reach out to our students and families with special education and English Language Learner needs.
  • We will continue checking on the well-being of our students and families, and offer assistance when possible as well as connecting them to community resources.

We will continue to provide regular updates to families and staff as we move forward – and together, we will overcome the challenges we are facing. We are #DbqSchoolsProud and our commitment to our students and families will remain unwavering.

Stay safe and healthy.

Sincerely,
Stan Rheingans
Superintendent of Schools