The last two months have been a time of uncertainty, and what will happen in the upcoming weeks and months is also unclear. As Iowa starts to re-open little by little, there are a lot of big questions how things will work for Eagle Grove students specifically.
Eagle Grove Area Community School District Superintendent Jess Toliver said, like the rest of the schools in the state and country, they are not 100 percent sure. A lot of it depends on the impact COVID-19 continues to have. However, that doesn’t mean they are sitting back and taking the wait and see approach. On the contrary, they are making plans for a variety of scenarios.
First on the list is the softball and baseball season. When Reynolds announced last week that each school district would be able to decide for themselves whether or not they would play a ball season, it didn’t make things easier for schools. It made them harder because now the responsibility falls on the schools, who in turn, if they decided to play, will turn that choice over to each parent whether or not they will allow their child to play.
“We have looked at it from every angle we can,” said Toliver. “There’s just no easy answer.”
Toliver has been in communication with the coaches as well as the School Board members, and he said those conversations will continue in the coming days.
“Bussing is the biggest problem I have right now,” said Toliver if they decide to play.
It is mandated that there only be one student to a seat, and that they sit every-other-seat. That takes what is normally a 65 passenger transportation vehicle down to less than a dozen kids per bus.
Another question of concern, according to Toliver, is if other schools outside the area will be willing to play Eagle Grove considering COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Wright County? With the way the conference is set up, Eagle Grove would travel to, and have opponents from, smaller counties in Iowa who have a very limited numbers of the disease in their county. They may not want to risk exposure.
Third, will enough Eagle Grove athletes and parents be willing to take the risk and play the game? That is yet to be determined.
Despite all these questions, Toliver said the school is preparing for the safety of the athletes who play the game.
“Unless our school board votes no, we play,” said Toliver.
As precautions, they have ordered thermometers to take the temperature of every student and coach that comes to the ball diamond. They’ve also ordered more face shields and batting helmets (every player must either have their own or there must be enough to sanitize properly before they can be worn by another player). Every player will be encouraged to have as much of their own equipment as possible….bats, gloves, helmets, etc.
If the board does not meet for a special vote whether to play or not to play, the game will go on as planned. Practices will start Monday, June 1, and competitive play will start Monday, June 15. Rules that will be in place include no restrooms or concession stands will be open, the bleachers will be closed (to make room for players to sit distanced apart instead of being close together in the dugout), and spectators will be limited to only parents who will be required to park in the outfield and either stay in their vehicles or be six feet apart from the nearest spectator.
Summer school has also been a question many parents are wondering about. With the kids missing the last two months of school, the tasks of continuing education fell to parents either home schooling or encouraging their students to participate in online learning that was offered through the school district, but was not mandatory because not all students have access to internet.
Toliver said the school district has decided not to have summer school for all students. IF they decide to offer anything, it would look like past years – offering a couple of weeks for elementary students who need a little extra help catching up on the fundamentals for reading which is the whole foundation to successful education. There may also be some additional outreach for students in the special education program.
With that said, Toliver noted that they are not turning a blind eye to the fact that many students could be facing an extended need for refresher learning as well as the need to make up for lost time in what they would have learned were they in school this spring. That’s to be expected, and the administrators and teachers are working on how this will be handled. The Governor has said school districts can open before the August 24 scheduled date, however they see fit – however, it is uncertain how those extra days would be funded for salaries. Toliver said he has talked with the teachers and the teachers association and they agreed to ending this year’s contract four days early (they would have been in school until May 29) in lieu of coming back four days earlier than planned this fall. That means Eagle Grove students will be coming back to school Aug. 17 instead of Aug. 24 – giving them five additional days of class time in the 2020 – 2021 school year – barring any other set backs that might still remain from COVID-19.
“There’s no way we’re going to make up two months of school, so instead we’ll spread that learning out throughout the semester,” stated Toliver.
Should COVID-19 still be an issue and prevent schools from opening in August according to plan, this schedule will be addressed. When school does finally open up again, Toliver said it could look very different for a while – students may be required to wear masks. They may have to rotate the students – educating different grades on different days in the building while the other students study from home until it’s their day to physically sit in the classroom. Buses might only be able to be offered to rural students if the guidelines about every-other-seat stay in place.
“That’s not what we want, and it would be unfortunate…but it’s all things we’re looking at as a possibility for the start of the next school year,” admitted Toliver.
Again, these are not certain actions, just possibilities Eagle Grove administration and staff are making plans for should they happen. This is all a developing story.
“It’s difficult. It’s busy with different things happening. As guidelines change, we have to adapt,” said Toliver.
Watch next week’s Eagle Grove Eagle when Toliver talks about their plans for graduation, prom, and the summer lunch program.
