Book dropoff days at schools gives Weiser teachers a chance to wish students a happy summer

By: 
Steve Lyon

Parents and students returned books, electronic devices and other items to Weiser schools last week and picked up personal belongings and report cards, closing out a school year that was disrupted at the end by the coronavirus pandemic.
 Teachers at Park Intermediate School greeted a steady stream of parents at a drive-thru book dropoff on Wednesday and Thursday.
 The driveway to the school, which has  an enrollment of about 200 students, was lined with colorful balloons and a sign that said, “Have a great summer.”
 The three other schools in the district also held similar drop-off days to allow parents to return school books and also pick up belongings.
 “It’s been a great way for teachers to say goodbye for the summer,” fourth-grade teacher Kathy Cahill said.
 Weiser students have not been in the classrooms since spring break started in late March. While on break, the Idaho State Board of Education on March 23 ordered a four-week “soft closure” of public schools due to the coronavirus. That was extended to the end of the school year.
 Weiser School District administrators and trustees met several times to put together a plan to deliver education to students at home during what all agree were unprecedented circumstances brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
 On April 1, teachers in the Weiser School District started assigning students schoolwork for each course by remote learning.
 Weiser schools were able to complete the third quarter of the school year by spring break and the state-ordered closure of schools. Other schools in the state were still trying to wrap up the third quarter when they had to switch to remote learning.
 COVID-19 will change when the school district is able to offer summer school, and the details are still being worked out, superintendent Wade Wilson said.
 He said administrators are still working on summer school options. The district will not be holding the traditional secondary summer school that usually begins about June 1.
 Instead, the district is looking at holding a shortened session that would start later in June. 
 Students will not be able to take the three courses that are typically offered during summer school. They would be limited to a maximum of two courses. District officials are still trying to find out if the plan is feasible, Wilson said.
 The district also has moved the traditional elementary summer school that covers grades second through sixth from June to August.
 It’s not clear yet what the next school year will look like when summer vacation ends, whether kids will be back in the classroom or continue with remote learning.
 One Park Intermediate School teacher said the district will offer professional development programs this summer that will focus on Google Classroom and Zoom videoconferencing and how to use those tools most effectively.
 “We need to be prepared for whatever it looks like,” she said.
 

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