Schools in Platte County are now closed as of Wednesday, March 18, for at least the next two weeks.
The Park Hill and Platte County school districts closed in the wake of a proclamation issued Monday, March 16 by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. Both are currently on spring break, which will now be extended until at least Friday, April 3.
Park Hill has already been preparing for a closure and has a distance education plan in place. For elementary students, they will complete lessons each day from home, which they will find on the Park Hill website.
Kindergarten through second grade will have low-tech, paper-and-pencil options, so they won’t have to have a computer to complete assignments. Third through fifth grades will have some low-tech options and some options that will require access to the Park Hill portal and Schoology.
For middle and high school students, teachers will post lessons online each day and students must complete and submit them daily.
Grab-and-go meals will also be available at several locations throughout the district during the distance learning days. These meals will be free, reduced-price or paid, depending on the students’ eligibility.
Platte County R-3 was also preparing for a potential closure and administrators have said the district will be in contact with parents and staff in the days ahead.
“We are also working with DESE and the USDA on plans to provide food for students in need,” district officials said in a release issued last week.
The North Platte School District voluntarily closed Monday, and later that day announced a more far-reaching closure until at least April 3.
The district will offer free Chromebook checkouts to students in grades three through 12. Pickups will be from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 18. For more information or to schedule a different pickup time, email ryandavis@nppanthers.org. Teachers are working to create online assignments and will be in touch with students to collect late or missing work.
Teachers will give these assignments on a weekly basis as to not overwhelm students. These assignments are not for a grade at the current time. These assignments will be on Google Classroom, Khan Academy or another online resource. Teachers are also creating paper equivalents for those students who may not be able to complete an online assignment.
“I know there are still unanswered questions,” said assistant principal Ryan Davis. “Please be patient as we diligently work through answering these to the best of our ability. We want to thank parents and the community for your continued support during this uncharted time.”
West Platte was the outlier and stayed in session through Tuesday, March 17. Parents were given the option to keep students home if uncomfortable with the decision to stay in session. West Platte schools are now closed for at least two weeks and district officials say they will soon be in touch with parents about supplemental education in the coming weeks.