Governor: All schools to remain closed until May 1

Thursday, March 19, 2020 ~ Updated 2:42 PM

In a recent discussion of the school response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a local school official indicated the decisions for the remainder of the school year would not come from local leaders.

“My thinking is, whatever we do from here on is not going to be our decision,” Greencastle School Board President Mike White said Monday. “It’s going to be made for us.”

On Thursday, the prediction came true, as Gov. Eric Holcomb directed all schools in the state to keep their buildings closed through May 1.

Additionally, Holcomb and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick announced that all state-required tests such as IREAD, ILEARN and ISTEP have been waived for the 2019-20 school year.

While extended closures were foreseen by many, the announcement now makes it formal on the statewide level, while also allowing that schools may not be back in session for the remainder of the academic year.

On more than one occasion during the press conference, the governor used the phrase “if by some miracle” in referring to the possibility of schools returning.

On the local level, Cloverdale, Greencastle, North Putnam and South Putnam all made the decision last Friday to close schools for the current week, with spring break following for the week of March 23-27.

Greencastle Community Schools also took the extra step of announcing a closure for March 30-April 3.

The question now, though, is how schools utilize the weeks to come between e-learning days and state-approved 20 waiver days.

The waiver days, granted by Holcomb, reduce the number of required days of instruction for the academic year from 180 for 160.

Greencastle is already using waiver days, with Monday through Wednesday designated as e-learning days and Thursday and Friday as days off through the waiver days.

While this plan was only formally put in place for the current week and the week of March 30, on Monday, GCSC Supt. Jeff Hubble said the plan could be maintained through the scheduled end of the school year, with waiver days to spare.

The other three schools utilized e-learning for the entirety of this week. Their plans for the weeks following spring break remained unclear as of Thursday afternoon.

The North Putnam board discussed some possibilities during an emergency meeting last week, but were set to meet for their regular meeting again Thursday, with specific plans possibly unveiled at that time.

For now, the state leaders are echoing the comments of local education leaders, thanking educators, parents and students for doing their part in trying times.

McCormick had a specific message for students: “Be positive. Make good choices. Stay on the work you have at home. It’s extremely important that you are a good partner in this.”

The state superintendent also addressed other issues regarding the extended closure of schools.

One of these is taking steps to ensure that current senior graduate high school.

“Our goal is to make sure we graduate seniors,” McCormick said.

While some have the credits necessary to graduate already, McCormick said attention will be given to assisting those seniors who still have credits to complete.

She also briefly alluded to the problem of physical, in-person graduations, should the ban on large gatherings extend another two months or longer.

These potential problems will continue to be explored.

McCormick also pointed out that 94 percent of school districts in the state are doing something to provide access to food for students who normally rely on schools for one or two meals a day.

This is a step that has been taken by all four Putnam County districts.

“To our local partners who are making that happen, thank you,” McCormick said. “Our schools are not just taking care of our students, they’re taking care of families.”

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