Jefferson C-123 using Google services during virus hiatus

2020 In the News

CONCEPTION JCT., Mo. — The Jefferson C-123 school district is adapting to the new virtual reality of education, utilizing Google services to connect teachers with students, turn in assignments and send feedback.

Each student grades 3-12 was sent home with a Chromebook and students grades 1-2 took home iPads preloaded with assignments. Students receive an email to their school email account by 10 a.m. each morning with any supplemental information or materials. Preschool and kindergarten students received paper packets.

“This is kind of an eye-opener about, really, how prepared our kids are, as far as being responsible, and, I think, how prepared our staff is,” said high school principal Charley Burch. “So I mean, it was less than a day when teachers had stuff ready to do that day and sent out. … I think that we do a lot of really good things, we’re on top of it, our technology is second to none … in the state as far as every kid having a laptop, Chromebook, things like that.”

The district opted to use Google Hangouts over Zoom, the popular business-oriented video conferencing platform, because it was free and easy to use alongside the district’s existing Google Classroom apps. Teachers have made themselves available to students for video conferences, and Burch said he held a staff meeting through Hangouts as well.

Every high school student has had access to the internet so far, Burch said, and only one elementary student has not. Superintendent Tim Jermain, who is also the elementary principal, said he brought the family a wi-fi hotspot to use so the student could access the internet.

State of frustration

During the March 18 board meeting, Jermain said a lack of action by Gov. Mike Parson was making school closures less likely to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Although Parson announced last weekend that all school districts in the state had closed independently, he did not order any schools to close and has not ordered any businesses to close.

“Now it’s being touted, if you listened to the governor’s press conference (last week), ‘local control, it’s a local decision,’” Jermain said of Parson’s decision to leave closings up to individuals and local governments. “And that’s all great and well, but they tell us when we’re going to start school, how much to charge for lunch and I could go on and on in a list of everything that’s out of local control.

“But we’re dealing with a national emergency and a pandemic, and it becomes our decision?”

Over the weekend, Parson announced that schools will stay closed until at least April 6. Nodaway County schools had already set that date — the end of the president’s advisory to limit gatherings to 10 people — as the first possible return date. District administrators in the region were set to meet again on April 1 to decide whether their districts will bring students back to school, just as they did on March 16.

“I think if you asked most people that left that meeting, I think they would tell you that they’re not very confident that we’ll be back (on April 6),” Jermain said. “No one politically wants to be the bad guy and make the decision, ‘This is how it’s going to be.’ They’re all tip-toeing around it, but I would think at some point, something’s going to happen.”

Thursday, the Nodaway County Commission took such action as part of a larger ordinance that closed schools and allowed the sheriff’s office to enforce measures to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Jermain cited the briefing the districts received at that March 16 meeting from health care professionals and health department officials as reasoning for more action, pointing to South Korea as an example.

“As soon as it happened, they just shut everything down, and they’re reopening everything (now),” he said. “They’re going to start playing their professional basketball leagues and start back up all this stuff, but, you know, you can’t half-ass it. If we’re going to do it, we’ve got to do it. It does us no good to start school and then there’s every restaurant open and people are going out and doing everything.”

Jermain said the district is ready to continue with virtual education, but preferred getting back to having students in school.

“I will tell you, it sucks to walk in here,” he said. “It sucked yesterday, but it sucked worse today whenever teachers weren’t here. Because, usually, when I get here, even a little before 7:30 there’s already kids here, there’s teachers here — and you walk into an empty building. And that’s not what this is supposed to be.

“I know there’s lots of (great) things going on … educationally, but our seniors aren’t getting their — this is their last quarter, and all of us were seniors at one time and remember our last quarter was probably a little bit of fun. And I joke about, we’re missing prom this weekend, but we are missing prom this weekend for our seniors. And graduation and all those things become — I mean, it just, sucks.”

Bus grant

A state grant paid for by money from a federal lawsuit against Volkswagen for cheating emissions standards has been expanded to allow for a greater percentage of funding for Missouri school districts that want to purchase more energy-efficient school buses.

Last year, the district purchased a lightly used bus through the program, paying about three-quarters of the cost with the grant picking up the remaining 25 percent. This year, the grant has expanded, allowing Jefferson to purchase a brand new bus with the grant footing 80 percent of the bill.

Unlike many school districts, Jefferson operates its own buses and employs the drivers itself. Jermain said he will fill out an application for the grant because the opportunity was far too good to pass up and would keep the district’s bus fleet in great shape for the next decade.

Meals

Jermain said he is looking into whether the state will grant an exception for districts, like Jefferson, whose lunch prices are not high enough to qualify for reimbursement.

During the hiatus, Jefferson is providing meals to students at the same cost as it would cost normally.

Other Jefferson notes

• Superintendent Tim Jermain submitted his retirement letter to the school board at last week’s meeting, effective when his contract expires at the end of June, after 30 years in education.

Editor’s Note

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