Dear Richland R-IV Patrons,
This has been a much quieter week for us on the COVID front. We have had a few more students with a positive diagnosis, but they were already on quarantine and off campus. We have also had some staff members test positive, but some of them were also already in quarantine. Some staff members are also in quarantine due to contacts, just as some of our students were. Because of this, we only had to quarantine a handful of students this week. We are getting to the point where we are starting to get people and back and hopefully we are past the worst part of this wave.
I know there were some questions about whether or not a building, or the school as a whole, should close. We felt that we needed to do everything that we can to keep the doors open as I think there is incredible value in our students being here on campus. We have been in contact with the health department and following their guidelines to make our campus as safe as possible. Please continue to do all that you can at home to keep everyone as safe as possible.
We are currently preparing for our Richland virtual students to return to campus with the start of the second quarter on October 26. We feel that the quality of education is much higher for our students when they are on campus as opposed to a remote location. In addition, the demands on the faculty to create both online and in person learning were causing both methods of instruction to be less than optimal. Families concerned about being on campus can still select any of the MOCAP approved vendors for online options.
We have currently purchased a large number of Chromebooks and Ipads for our students should the need arise to send an entire building, or the district, home as we did last summer. We are also fitting some of our buses with remote internet hot spots so that we can park them in locations around the distinct to increase internet capabilities for our students. This equipment is currently arriving and we are working to prepare it for district use. CARES Act funds were used for these purchases.
I continue to appreciate your understanding as we deal with education in a pandemic. We will continue to strive to provide the best possible education for our students no matter what is thrown our way. I also want to express how proud of our faculty and staff I am for all of their efforts to meet the needs of the students in our district.
Sincerely,
Brian Lee
Richland R-IV Superintendent