Back

News

News

Dewey Public Schools

Posted: Apr 15, 2021 10:15 AMUpdated: Apr 15, 2021 11:51 AM

Dewey Schools Confident as School Year Nears a Close

Share on RSS

 

Garrett Giles

Dewey Public Schools anticipates no school closures will occur as the current school year draws closer to the end.

Superintendent Vince Vincent said several variables play into this hopeful outlook with the biggest being the number of staff that have been inoculated for the coronavirus. He said over 60-percent of staff members have been vaccinated for COVID-19.

Throughout the pandemic, Vincent said the biggest factor that played into whether or not classes could be held was whether or not they had enough staff to carry out the daily job as necessary. Vincent said they feel confident with the number of staff members that have been fully vaccinated that they won't experience those kinds of losses in the school day if another coronavirus outbreak occurs again.

Looking ahead to the rest of the semester, Vincent said they look forward to holding the typical events that they would have in a regular year such as prom. Vincent said 2020 was an unfortunate year for these types of activities because of the pandemic. He said they felt as if it were important to carry out these special moments while managing them in the best ways that they can to keep everyone safe.

Prom will take place this weekend for Dewey High School. Vincent said the festivities will take place on Saturday and they'll do as much as they can outside. He said they have secured facilities at Prairie Song for the occasion.

Prairie Song boasts a covered area where Dewey Public Schools will be able to host the event. Vincent said there will be plenty of air flow since it'll be a semi-outdoor event, which will with mitigation measure associated with the coronavirus. He said ventilation is extremely important when limiting the transmission of the virus from person to person.

Masks will not be required for staff and students when it comes to outdoor events.

Vincent said Dewey Public Schools feels as if outdoor events will be very tactful for them to conduct as many of these activities as they possibly can. Obviously they'll still need to hold some indoor activities (i.e. band, choir and orchestra), but Vincent said they'll follow the same policies they had during the winter sports months that have come and gone. He said they'll still require masks to be worn and social distancing to take place.

The only difference is that they won't limit attendance because they're in a different position than they were in the winter. Vincent said the rate of transmission for COVID-19 in the community has changed drastically. He said the community is trending in the right direction as these cases are on the decline, which bodes well for Dewey Schools and its in-person activities.

Conversations are still being had about Dewey's graduation, which is typically held at the football stadium. Vincent said he doesn't anticipate anything will change for graduation this year as it has been in years passed since it will be outside. He said last year was an anomaly where they had to scramble to put on a unique graduation for unique circumstances.

Going into this year's graduation, Vincent said he believes they'll be able to conduct a normal ceremony at their football stadium. Vincent said the hope is that the graduation will add a bit of normalcy that they typically haven't had this year.

Vincent still wants to encourage the public to monitor their health and stay home if they're feeling sick. He said it's still important for student, parents, staff and the entire community to be as safe as possible as we continue to transition away from the darker days of the coronavirus pandemic.


« Back to News