August 14, 2020

Concordia R-II Community:

Thank you very much for your input and patience as the district has continued to prepare a back to school plan.  We do have a Board approved plan ready to view on our school website and it will be made available on other social media outlets as well.  Our intention is to start school on August 25^th, face to face, five days a week, as originally scheduled.  We have obviously added many protocols and safeguards to our daily routine to help ensure the safety and well-being of our students and staff, which the plan outlines in more detail.  We value greatly the feedback we received from all entities involved and want to specifically thank the Board of Education for not only their input and approval of this plan, but for all of their hard work and extra hours they have put in to help keep our district running smoothly.

Our staff is extremely excited about getting this school year started, and having the opportunity to share their enhanced skills and techniques with our students that they have acquired over the last several months to help provide a quality education no matter the circumstance.  As educators, we obviously believe that one of the most important components in having a happy, successful life is education.  We cherish the opportunity to again share that philosophy with our students and aspire to make a profound difference in their lives.  After reading through this plan, we collectively hope that you will entrust our staff to provide your children with a quality education while taking every reasonable step to keep them in a healthy environment.  Welcome back orange and black!

[Click here for the Concordia R-II Reopening Plan]

Sincerely,

Brent Cooper
Superintendent of Schools

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July 30, 2020

Concordia R-II Community:

Thank you so much for your participation in our returning to school surveys and all of your valued input.  We believe we received a survey from nearly every family in the district, which is a tremendous help in our planning efforts.   After analyzing those responses we anticipate approximately 90% of parents/guardians are planning on sending their children back to school this fall for face to face instruction and 100% of our staff.  Obviously we want to provide a quality education for all of our students, and we are working diligently with our staff on possible alternative methods of educating the 10% that are considering not returning or are still undecided at this point.  The majority of our staff was on campus this week to receive google classroom training which presented an opportunity to discuss survey results, re-entry plans, requisition needs, and address questions/concerns with them as a group.  Our food service staff met this week as well with the administration team to finalize protocols and procedures to ensure a safe smooth start and we met with Fowler Bus Service today to finalize a transportation plan as well.

The district intends to have in place a re-entry plan to present to the board on August 13th for approval based on information provided by the community, staff, board of education and the information we have acquired regarding area schools that participated in summer school and extra-curricular activities.  We will give our staff and board the opportunity to look the document over and provide additional comment and suggestions before releasing a final document publicly on the anticipated date of August 14th.  We previously released some intentions concerning practices/protocols in the parent/guardian survey that is still accessible on our website if you did not get a chance to view them.

It is the intention of the district for our re-entry plan to meet the needs of our students, staff, and community while considering guidelines set by local, county, state agencies, and the CDC.  We will continue to collaborate with the Lafayette County Health Department and the aforementioned entities along with area school educators and officials to ensure our plan is reasonable and easily communicated, yet expresses the significant changes to practices and protocols we are implementing to ensure the safety of our students and staff members.  

The guidelines and protocols outlined in this document are subject to revision as needed to reflect local, state, and federal guidance and the current city and county conditions, as evidenced by the Lafayette County Health Department resolution for schools and public health alert released yesterday.  The resolution recommends that the school start date be postpone until September 14th and all sports be discontinued for the fall semester/term.  The health alert recommends that county residents age two or above wear a cloth face covering when in a public setting where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.  The superintendents of the Lafayette County schools are attempting to meet this week or next to discuss the resolution and alert in detail.  I have hesitated to release a public plan previously to minimize the number of changes necessary due to possible local, state, or federal guidelines, mandates, or recommendations anticipated as we near the start of the new school year. 

Thank you again for your patience and understanding as we prepare to provide our students with a quality education while meeting the needs of our staff and community.  We realize there are still many unknowns and unanswerable questions at this time that can be very frustrating for all involved.  We will continue to communicate any changes to the final approved plan and protocols as they are presented.  Please keep checking the website and social media for updates and notifications.  We will keep the utmost regard for the health of our students, staff, and community while making all decisions.

Sincerely,

Brent Cooper

Superintendent of Schools

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