Concerned about the Stewartville School District's staff, school leaders are considering making Friday an early-release planning day to give teachers more time to prepare their lessons. The School Board, at its regular meeting last week, discussed the proposed change, which would mean that beginning on Friday, Nov. 13, the district's sixth through 12th graders would no longer be at school in person on Fridays, but would attend in person only on Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays. Belinda Selfors, superintendent, said that if the School Board approves the plan on Monday, Oct. 26, students in grades 6-12 will learn remotely from home on Fridays, with classes ending at 1:15 p.m. so teachers can begin their planning sessions. Students in grades K-5 would start Fridays on campus and be released at 12:30 p.m., she said. Selfors said Stewartville United Educators (SUE), the district's teachers union, sought the change because teachers are stressed from having to work in three learning settings simultaneously. On any given day, High School and Middle School teachers are teaching almost half of their students in person, nearly the other half virtually and the rest according to the district's Flex Learning plan... For more on this story pick up your copy of the Oct. 20 Stewartville STAR.
