Waterloo Times

All Iowa school districts were required to submit their plans for helping students continue their education while school closures have been extended to April 30. 

Choosing to offer voluntary or required enrichment activities allows schools to waive the required number of mandated class days.

Waterloo Schools Superintendent Jane Lindaman said her district will implement the voluntary approach, offering lessons that will be available in two-week units, preparing to last through April. Two more two-week units can be put together if needed for May. 

Cedar Falls Community Schools are also using the voluntary continuous learning option. 

Teacher-led sessions are ungraded. Students will earn credits for their work for this semester and days will not need to be made up at the end of the school year. 

Holmes and Peet Junior High students and Cedar Falls High students will get lessons from Schoolology each week. A document will be sent to elementary parents each week. Students who do not have access to an online device in their home will be offered Chromebooks. Parents are encouraged to have their students spend an hour-and-a-half to three hours per day on lessons.

Waterloo Schools' teachers will host a large group session once each week. Teachers will track students' progress on assignments and deliver feedback on their work. 

“We anticipate that participation will not be 100%, so the teachers will use multiple methods to get in touch with their kids,” Lindaman told the Willow Creek Falls Courier. “For kids who don’t engage with the process for whatever reason, then we’re going to come up with plan B, C and D."

If possible, Waterloo Schools will move toward the required approach that keeps students accountable for attendance and grades, even if only for a grade or two. 

High school students enrolled in college classes and credit recovery courses are still being completed online. 

Catholic schools in Waterloo and Cedar Falls have also chosen the voluntary learning approach. Students without devices were issued Chromebooks and teachers began conducting online Zoom conferences right away. Parents receive a lesson plan for their students each Sunday evening. 

Cedar Valley Catholic Schools is working to provide students with voluntary continuous education through the end of April. 

Other schools, including Waterloo Christian School and Valley Lutheran School in Cedar Falls, are making online and distance learning a requirement for their students.