Columbia Public Schools pauses classes for three days

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Columbia Public Schools announced Wednesday morning it will put a three-day pause on classes effective immediately.

The district made the announcement in an email to staff Wednesday morning.

“We are pausing deadlines, we are pausing turning in assignments, we are pausing assessments, there will still be learning taking place there will still be students connecting with teachers all of that continues," said CPS spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark.

Baumstark said the pause is intended to give teachers and district leaders a chance to evaluate how alternative learning will look on a more long term basis.

“This includes everything from how assignments will be delivered what assessments may look like, how we will assign grades and credits," she said. "There’s just there's a lot of elements when you're talking about a district as diverse and as large as us."

Baumstark added that one of the goals of this pause is to help decide how to keep alternative learning from being an added stress while the community adjusts to the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic.