WCSD looking at changes for upcoming year

July 16, 2020

While the main point to come out of Monday’s Warren County School District Board of Directors meeting was the adoption of the Health and Safety Plan for Phased Reopening, there were a number of other small changes discussed as well.

A minor change to the school calendar was approved. Basically the district moved a professional development day from the spring semester to the beginning of the year to allow teachers to prep for distance learning as well as their traditional classroom.

“Right now, this is what we need to get out of the gate,” WCSD Superintendent Amy Stewart said. “It gives them a ‘tech day.'”

Another potential modification was shelved for the time being. There had been some preliminary discussions with kindergarten through third grade teachers about possibly starting the school year early for those grade levels. The consensus among was to take a different approach.

“They would like to get started then look at interventions once they get with the kids,” Stewart said.

Another issue the district must deal with as it proceeds with the return to school is staffing.

“Staffing, in general, is on our minds,” Stewart said.

In addition to finding the necessary teachers, aides, custodial staff and substitutes, the board passed a motion to allow more than the typical 220 working days for administrators to get ready for the coming year.

“Our 220 works the month of June, off in July and come back in August for a little bit,” Stewart said. “Right now, they’re concerned, they’re nervous that they won’t get their prep work done. I want to make sure they have what they need. It won’t be mandated (they work extra days), but a lot of them want to be working and I want to make sure I’m able to do that.”

The board also passed a motion to allow Kelly Services to hire retired administrators to help the district get ready for the coming year.

Stewart said the district would typically be looking at beginning preparation for the All-County Musical at this time of year. Since the Junior All-County Musical was canceled in the spring, she said there’s a possibility the All-County Musical will be “put on pause,” to allow the Junior All-County Musical a chance to proceed.

         

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