St. Paul’s Lutheran School offers education in face of closure

When Gov. Reynolds initially requested that schools close for four weeks, the Board of Education and teachers at St. Paul’s Lutheran School agreed to comply with the directive, but they also didn’t want the students to settle for just reviewing material that had been taught so far during the year. A plan was immediately put into place so that there would not be an interruption to the learning.

“We had already scheduled March 16-17 as in-service days,” Principal Steven Stortz said. “We used the 18-19 to prepare lessons for the upcoming week. Parents picked up books and lessons on Friday, March 20 and lessons began Monday, March 23.”

Learning looks different at the various grade levels. Students in grades 5-6, have class from 1 to 2 hours online each day with direct instruction from the teachers. The majority of work for the upper grade students is completed online through the use of the school’s Chromebooks or student owned devices.

Mrs. Vanness’s third and fourth graders meet online for about 90 minutes a day and have packet work to complete.

Kindergarten through second grade students in Mrs. Colangelo’s classroom have packets designed with new concepts to be worked on throughout the week. Part of the learning involves students reading books online or having them read to the students. Students also enjoy reading books online.

Younger students have the option of having the books read to them through the online website. The teachers call each family to check on how things are going and to answer any questions about the work.

At the end of each week, parents stop in to drop off completed work and pick up the next week’s assignments. This gives another opportunity for teachers and parents to discuss this new way of learning.

On April 2, the Iowa Department of Education laid out three options from which schools can choose to follow effective April 13.

Option 1: No continuous learning. Under this option, no work is sent home and days missed between April 13 and the end of the year must be made up.

Option 2: Voluntary educational enrichment opportunities. If a school chooses this option, teachers can send work home, but it cannot be graded nor can credit be awarded. Days missed do not have to be made up.

Option 3: Required educational services. Schools that choose this option require attendance to be taken and grades to be recorded. Credit is awarded and days missed do not have to be made up.

From the start, St. Paul’s Lutheran School has been following what the Department of Education is now calling Option 3. By the time the rest of the state is required to be enrolled in one of these options, we will have completed almost one month of “new schooling.”

St. Paul’s is dedicated to seeing each child as a unique gift from God. We have an opportunity to assist parents in the strengthening of their child’s faith in Jesus Christ in a safe and loving environment. That partnership occurs through teaching the Word of God and preparing students through strong academics so that they can be of service to God and others. We are open to students of any faith who want to grow spiritually and academically.

Stortz said the parents have been very appreciative of the efforts by the teachers. They know that their child is still learning and is on their way to being fully prepared for the start of school next fall. Additional online resources are continually being added.

With the school closures continuing through the end of April and possibly for the rest of the semester, we are prepared to do what is best for students – continuing to instruct them in the faith, helping them to understand that God is in control, and helping them to learn about the world He created.