West DSM News

West Des Moines Community Schools have delayed beginning the fall term by one day, giving teachers two additional workdays to prepare for this unprecedented semester.

The district has also scheduled two additional workdays Sept. 4 and Sept. 14 so that teachers can evaluate what has worked and what has not gone so well in the new learning model, according to the Des Moines Register.

Students who return to school full-time will be required to wear face shields or masks. Staff must wear face shields.

The board's Return to Learn matrix has been updated. If there is between a 0% and 5% positivity rate in Polk County over the past 14 days, schools will be able to choose from classes both fully in-person and fully online, students attending however parents choose. When the rate advances to between 6% and 10%,  schools will switch to a hybrid model. A greater than 10% positivity rate would move schools to a fully online continuous learning system. If there is a change in the positivity rate, parents will have the option to switch to the online learning method and continue that for the rest of the semester.

Ames and Iowa City have also delayed the start of their academic year. Both are starting classes Tuesday, Sept. 8.

West Des Moines gave parents the opportunity to choose in-person or online classes in mid-July. The district had to make adjustments to those learning plans following Gov. Kim Reynolds' legislation that Return to Learn plans had to presume that in-person instruction would be the primary method. All of Iowa's schools are required to hold at least 50% of their core academic curriculum in person.