Atlantic School District Superintendent Steve Barber, today (Wednesday) sent out a notification to parents about the District’s plan to resume classes. Barber said “Obviously the current COVID-19 crisis is changing hourly for Iowa and our Country.  On a daily basis, I gather the most up to date information from a variety of agencies and reliable sources to navigate Atlantic Schools through these unprecedented times.  Until conditions change, the plan is still to resume classes on April 13, 2020.”

According to Mr. Barber, “In the meantime, we are trying to determine the number of households that have accessibility to the internet.” A short Google Survey is being sent out, asking parents to answer a couple of questions designed to help adminstrators identify creative ways the school can move forward and how to broaden the access to the internet.

Barber said also, “Recently the Iowa Department of Public Health issued a document titled Advice for Talking to Children about COVID-19 and during this time feel it is valuable to share all of the steps children can take to be a part of limiting the spread of the virus.”

On Friday morning (March 27) from 9:00-11:00am, school staff will be handing out backpacks for students that include a number of non-perishable items.  This “grab and go” option is taking place underneath the catwalk between the Middle School and Schuler building. Next week, they will continue handing out breakfasts and lunches in the back of Schuler on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9:00-11:00am.  All students under the age of 18 are eligible.

“There continues to be a lot of questions that do not have definitive answers,” Barber said.  “As these answers become available, I will be communicating them out to the stakeholders.  Many questions have been asked in regards to online learning. Currently, Atlantic CSD does not have approval for online learning from the State of Iowa. In fact only three schools in the State have been granted these waivers.  Right now the priority is to continue to keep students and staff safe!”