Hampton-Dumont looks towards the future of distance learning

The Hampton-Dumont Community School Board discussed tech upgrades, building improvements, virtual learning, and calendar changes during their regular board meeting on Monday, April 12.

Setting the calendar for next year, the board scheduled a public hearing to approve the 2021-22 school year. The proposed school year would begin on Tuesday, August 24 with the end of the semester on Friday, January 14. The second semester would begin on Tuesday, January 18 with the tentative final day of school scheduled for May 27.

Winter Break will begin on Thursday, December 23 and students will return to school on Monday, January 3.

Because of the possibility that distance learning could negate the impact of snow days, a Spring Break has been added into the calendar following the end of the third quarter. Spring Break, bookended by weekends, will take place over March 14-18.

For the current school year, the board scheduled a public hearing to amend the 2020-21 calendar, moving the last day of school to May 26.

Because May 27 would be a professional development day, the shortened day would amount to about three hours for a last day of school. Instead, it was proposed to have the last day on Tuesday, May 26.

The public hearing for both calendars were scheduled for the May 17 board meeting.

In budget matters, the board held a public hearing for the 2021/22 fiscal year budget. The proposed property tax rate for next year's budget will be set at $14.70 per thousand in valuation. With no comments, the hearing was closed and the budget approved.

The board also scheduled a public hearing to amend the current fiscal year's budget to accommodate COVID-19 spending.

In technology, Technology Coordinator Teresa Peterson presented the board with her request for tech upgrades for the next school year. Peterson recommended rotating out staff laptops and tablets, along with purchasing new projectors and smart displays for the middle school and South Side buildings.

One of the more interesting new tech upgrades is the purchase of a LU-UNO projector, which will be utilized in the middle school gym. The LU-UNO is an interactive projector, similar to the technology used in virtual golf, that can support interactive programs that can be displayed on the gymnasium wall. The technology can also be used for presentation purposes, such as playing video during school dances.

The technological updates will also factor in to potential plans for the school continue offering distance learning as an option, even after the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a concern.

In a recent survey among parents, roughly 60 families indicated interest in continuing with distance next school year if COVID-19 is still an issue and roughly 40 families have expressed interest in utilizing it for non-COVID reasons.

Interest in continuing remote learning will inform how the school district staffs for the future, planning for dedicated staff to teach online classes. Depending on reception to the program and what the state allows, Superintendent Todd Lettow sees the potential to expanding distance learning to eventually be used as an option for home schooled students, open enrollments for students outside the district, and even an alternate to the proposed charter school program.

"In think there are some exciting things that could happen," said Lettow.

Also for next year, the district is looking at converting to a block scheduling system. Currently, the district has adopted a semi-block scheduling of having four classes of longer lesson times per quarter. For next year, the school is considering shifting back to eight classes per semester, but keeping the longer times and spreading the classes over two days.

For other building improvements, the board met with Ed Wineinger of S&A Architects to discuss the renovation of the cafeteria area in the South Side building. The renovations will bring in more outside light, create areas for storage space, update the fire alarm system, and include ventilation improvements for the building.

The estimated cost of the project is $420,000. Because of the ventilation improvements, the school will be able to use federal CARES Act funds to pay for the project.

Meanwhile, for a more immediate matter, the board discussed an issue with the water quality at the South Side building. An issue with the school's water softener has resulted in salty water at one end of the building. It's not yet known whether this is a temporary problem or something that will require a major repair or replacement. In the meantime, the school will be offering bottled water to thirsty students.