The Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 school board voted to push back the school start date to Aug 26.
The vote came during a special meeting due to the state school board’s rejection of the governor’s school delay order. The original calendar approved by the board in March had a start date of Aug 12.
Superintendent Dr. Marvin Wade says they haven’t yet made a commitment to how they will reopen as to give the public enough time to see the detailed plan. The reason is that he and the reopening teams will bring draft number two of the reopening plan to the board during their Aug 5 meeting. Online registration has also been extended to Aug 12 to collect data on which option students will choose for learning; on site or online.
“For us to start Aug 12, was not gonna allow enough time for us to get the training done we needed to do,” says Wade.
As of Friday afternoon, 80% of students registered for the 2020-21 school year have opted for in class teaching, while 20% have chose online.
Wade says staff felt anxiety towards the Aug 12 start date, believing it was too soon to start. They didn’t know exactly how much time would be needed, but knew this wasn’t enough. Then came the Gov Laura Kelly’s executive order to delay the start of school till after Labor Day. However, that decision was struck down by the state school board.
During a previous meeting, Teaching and Learning Executive Director Dr Paula Hough was in favor of the governor’s delayed start to give teachers time to adjust. With the new start, she says they will still make it happen.
“Those additional two weeks will really provide that time and for staff to get comfortable with Canvas,” says Hough. “It will also maintain that sense of urgency and put us in a good place on instruction.”
The extra time will also allow staff to prepare for the contingency plans, if needed. Hough says she has heard from both teachers and community members of their worries going back too early.
“I think we can do it, but I am also doing it from my office, not from a classroom, not from that lens. I do think we need to listen to those voices and hear them,” says Hough.
Board Member Darell Edie says this date is great compromise between the governor’s delay order and the original start date. He was worried of the original date because it was too soon, but also for the Labor Day date because of families going on vacation.
Board Member Curt Herrman says the extra training will allow them to respond to contingencies rather than react. However, he stressed that this is also for the safety of staff and students, which is their number one priority.
Teachers will still report on Aug 6 as planned. The last day of school has also been pushed back by two days, from May 14 to May 16. The first and last days of school will not be half days.
