Vote for early dismissal for JC Schools delayed until April board meeting
JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KMIZ)
The Jefferson City Public Schools Board of Education met Monday at 6:00 p.m. at the Miller Performing Arts Center in Jefferson City.
The meeting was originally set to take place on March 8 but was rescheduled due to a scheduling conflict at the performing arts center.
Many were anticipating the possibility of the school board voting on early dismissal on Mondays as apart of the 2021-22 school schedule.
Superintendent Larry Linthacum, says leaders will provide recommendations at the next meeting, as the board did not vote on the issue Monday.
Linthacum says the board is not saying "no" to the proposed schedule, but it needs more time to evaluate, as there are many questions that still remain.
“If we did the weekly early outs that it could inconvenience our families and we recognize that and we need to work through that bottom line, the question I think that the board has is a valid question that we need to be able to answer is how will this, what will this look like and how will we know that this works at the end of the day how will this improve student achievement,", said Linthacum.
Educators say the early dismissal would allow them more time for the development of lesson plans and preparations for the week.
“And the teachers said we need more time we need more time to collaborate we need more time for professional development,", said board member, Lorelei Riley Schwartz.
The Jefferson City area Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCAs will provide after-school care on early dismissal days so that parents aren't inconvenienced by the modified schedule.
“I’ve heard from several teachers how disappointed that they were at our last board meeting that they felt that the administration finally listened to what they needed and came up with solutions for and we shot it down,". said Schwartz.
Today the district announced registration for returning students for the upcoming school year was now open. Grade levels K-12 can now register for the upcoming school year online.
JC Schools will release early on Friday, March 19 for school staff members to attend Cole County's mass vaccination clinic in partnership with the Missouri National Guard. Cole County R-V District has moved classes virtually on Friday in order for staff to attend the clinic.
The clinic will take place at The Linc in Jefferson City from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The clinic will prioritize Cole County school staff members to receive a vaccine first, other eligible residents will be able to receive a vaccine once school staff is complete.
As of Monday Cole County has administered 26,726 vaccine doses of that 10,603 residents have received complete vaccination according to the state's dashboard. 21.3% of Cole County's population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.
