INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — The Independence School District will welcome students back to their classrooms on Monday for the new school year.
The district tweeted early Monday morning saying they were "excited to welcome our students back to school in the ISD!"
We are excited to welcome our students back to school in the ISD! Whether your student is joining us for in-person or virtual learning, please share back-to-school photos with us on our Facebook page or on Twitter using #isdstrong. Have a great first day! pic.twitter.com/qX5A1dUyYR
— Independence School District (@ISDSchools) August 24, 2020
The district's reopening comes after guidance issued by the Jackson County Health Department recommending schools "delay the start of classes until Sept. 8 and resume with remote learning."
The Jackson County Health Department strongly recommends schools delay the start of classes until September 8 and resume with remote learning. These recommendations are based on three criteria: new cases per 100,000 people, percentage of persons testing positive, [1/4] pic.twitter.com/bEUOCQR377
— Jackson County Health Department (@JacksonCountyHD) August 21, 2020
"We’re going to start in our hybrid model, so our hybrid model is our elementary students come every day, we have much smaller class sizes than normal, then our middle schools and high schools will be on an A/B schedule, so they will be one week fully on, and then an off week learning virtually," Superintendent Dr. Dale Herl explained.
The middle and high school student populations are divided into two by last name (A-K names in Group A, L-Z names in Group B).
The hybrid model is one of three plans the district has in place. Plan A calls for all in-person learning, Plan B is the hybrid plan listed above and Plan C calls for all virtual learning if COVID-19 cases increase.
Teachers have been preparing for both in-person and virtual learning.
The district is using Canvas, a learning management system for at-home learning online.
Megan McMurray, a fourth grade teacher at Cassell Park Elementary, said her students were raised with the technology, so they can adapt easily.
"So another thing I liked about summer school, I kept telling my kids, that we’re at summer school, you get the first eyes on Canvas, you get to be the pro that when we start school, you get to teach," she said. "Any time you allow a kid to become an expert or really feel like they have something to give someone else, they will run with it. They were in my pocket from the first day of school wanting to learn Canvas and become an expert."
