The Wentzville School District Board of Education held a work session at Frontier Middle School on June 2, in which many announcements about plans for the 2021-2022 school year were made.

The main takeaway from the open discussion was information presented by Superintendent Dr. Cain, in which he detailed the objectives and plans for the next school year in regards to COVID-19. Overall, the district will be moving in a direction that hopes to resume all normalcy in how schooling will work. 

“Our plan… is to develop several strategic (bullet) points and not (create) a comprehensive plan for the next school year,” Cain said during the meeting.

Below are the plans that were outlined:

Objective:

• To resume normal school operation for the 2021-2022 school year, here in the Wentzville School District.

Goals:

• Provide an in-person, 5-day-a-week, high-quality education for all students.
• Prepare for a return to school with optional mask-wearing for the 2021-2022 school year.
• Effectively address school needs as they present themselves.

Timeline: A more comprehensive plan on the procedure is said to be released on July 13, 2021. The board plans to “share programming updates once in the summer, versus multiple updates.” It seems important to Cain and the board that they “make (a) clean announcement,” instead of multiple updates throughout the summer, which might result in the plan changing a few times.

This extended time period will also allow for the decision-makers to listen to what the County and CDC recommend in regards to safety within schools.

Levels of Learning: For the time being, the district will not be using the “Levels of Learning” model next year, in which the district could move between virtual, hybrid, and in-person learning. 

“There is no conversation about blended,” Cain said.

Mask Wearing: In addition to this decision, it was also announced that the plan is to make mask-wearing optional for all, unless a higher authority says otherwise.

Quarantining and Vaccinations: No decisions have been made on the procedure for quarantining or if vaccinations will have an effect on any of the factors of this COVID-19 school lifestyle.

Summer School: For the Wentzville School District’s summer school program, masks will remain as a requirement for indoor instruction, but will be optional when outdoors.

Even with these new regulations, Cain reminded the board and district on why all families in the district must remain flexible.

“There has to be some flexibility if in fact, something causes us to need to quickly pivot or toggle,” he said. “If for whatever reason something needs to happen in a building for a week or two weeks, we would address the need in that building for that (time period) and then move forward.”

Watch the Board Meeting below:

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