Thank you to everyone who has submitted a question or concern using our online form. We have read through all of the questions, and addressed each of them here. For some questions, we don't yet have answers, but we are working on developing plans to meet the needs of all of our students and families. More information will be released soon, both here and on our social media pages.
If you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to submit them here.
Are meals available for those students who do not have access?
Yes. All children 18 and younger are eligible to pick up free lunch and breakfast in the River View Middle School drop-off parking lot from 9:00-10:00 a.m. The program will run Monday through Friday each week while our schools are closed. Meals will be served from the Kaukauna Area School District delivery truck. You can read more about this program here.
What dates are Virtual Learning Days?
Virtual Learning Days are held on any date that would have been a normal school day, but on which students can’t meet face-to-face. Friday, May 22 will be a half instructional day. Monday, May 25 will be a full non-instructional day. Additionally, there may be some changes to instructional days for June. More information will be posted as it becomes available.
What will the District’s grading system look like for this school year?
Please know that this is a work in progress - and we are getting closer to a solution. We understand that grading is a concern with the drastic changes in the learning environment that we’ve experienced. We will have more information about what the grading system for the 2019-2020 school year will look like soon. Please know that that information will be different for students at each level, and information will be released both here and by your school's principal to all parents.
Graduation
We are excited to announce that KHS has rescheduled graduation, and will now host the ceremony on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 7:00 p.m., as long as gathers are allowed by the state/federal regulations at that time. The emergency back-up date for the ceremony will be Wednesday, August 5. If we are unable to host our traditional ceremony for any reason, we will host a virtual ceremony on August 5 at 7:00 p.m.
In order to both recognize our seniors and allow for social distancing practices to continue, the ceremony will take place within the Bank of Kaukauna Stadium on the field, with seating for spectators in the bleachers. We will be limiting the number of tickets given for the ceremony to no more than 4 tickets per graduate.
Recently, this Google Form was sent out to families of our seniors for tickets to KHS Graduation on July 29 at 7:00 P.M. We are not able to fulfill any requests for extra tickets. Please know that we will be live-streaming the event as well as looking to hire a videographer to capture the event and be shared with each of our graduates. Because of the uncertainty of what quarantine restrictions may look like we will be planning a virtual graduation ceremony at the same time. Each graduate will also receive a copy of that ceremony.
How will my student’s Section 504 plan be created?
If an evaluation is necessary to develop a Section 504 plan for a student, the evaluation may need to be completed once student contact is again possible. If not, it may be possible for the 504 team to meet virtually to develop the 504 plan for a student. Please contact the school team member coordinating the 504 process or your school building principal for further information.
What do we do for IEP meetings and evaluations that will be due during this time?
If your child has special education needs, his or her case manager will be in contact with you individually to discuss the plan for services during this period of extended school closure. Special education staff are working hard to do the best they can to develop creative solutions to support your child during these unprecedented times! Please continue to read your email and check Infinite Campus for updates.
How are students going to be able to keep up, develop and retain information?
We understand that the changes to our daily learning environments can evoke some anxiety for parents and students. We will continue to work with our students and families to make sure our students’ needs are met. Distance learning is not a replacement for in-class learning, but we want to make sure that students CAN continue their learning and keep up with their skills during the time we’re at home. For that reason, we developed our Flexible Learning Resources page.
High school students will continue their learning using Google Classroom and other resources that they have already used or had in place while they were in school classroom settings. Teachers will continue communicating with students, teaching lessons and helping them through the remainder of the school year. Should you have a class-specific question, please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction permits the use of virtual learning as instructional minutes in these types of situations.
Students in grades 4K-4 will have a list of appropriate learning experiences they can pursue at home. These activities are designed to ensure students both maintain and build their skills, and include, but are not limited to: physical play, the arts, reading, writing, math and more. Some of these may include technology, but they are not dependent upon technology. As a guideline, we recommend students in grades 4K-4 engage in learning opportunities for 60-90 minutes per day. Your child’s teacher will continue to be in contact via email, classroom social media or other platforms.
If you have additional questions about our Flexible Learning environment, please visit our Flexible Learning FAQ.
How will students who are now unable to test be appropriately placed for high school classes? How is the High School going to hold/handle Final Exams? What about those students taking AP Classes?
We are working to come up with appropriate solutions for all of these concerns surrounding testing, and will send out additional information as we have it. Here is what we know right now:
High School Placement - Honors Biology: Because of the school closure, it was not possible to administer the ACT Explore Science Test. To measure the students’ academic science ability, we will instead use the quarter 1 or quarter 3 8th grade science grade. Both grading periods were completed prior to school closure and the content covered was similar so it is a fair comparison. Students had to earn at least a B- in science to qualify. The other criteria remain unchanged. KHS administration will notify parents if they have met criteria via an electronic letter sent through email. Parents of students who qualify have the option of informing administration if they do not wish to be included in Honors Biology, otherwise their course requests will be changed to reflect Honors Biology.
High School Placement - Spanish II/French II: Students were able to complete the course request process. Due to the school closure, the end-of-year assessment will not be administered. Since the third quarter was completed in the traditional format prior to the closure, that grade will be used as the criteria for whether or not the student will remain in the course they requested. Additionally, the 8th-grade teacher will give a recommendation to the high school if the student is being recommended for a different course than the one that was selected. If the student did not meet the criteria for the course for which they registered, the administration will notify the parent and change the course request to the appropriate level.
High School Placement - Honors English: This entire procedure including assessment and parent notification was completed prior to school closure. Families have already been notified if their student was placed in Honors English 9 via email.
Will students have to make up Spring testing?
No. On April 15, 2020, Wisconsin Act 185 was signed into law, suspending state testing requirements for the 2019-2020 school year.
Will Summer School classes still be held?
Kaukauna Area School District has canceled traditional June Summer School classes, but will be holding virtual classes, which will be free and available to all students. Registration for these classes opens Friday, May 15th at 12:00 p.m.
Please refer to our Summer School page, along with your email, for updates and additional information.
How are Volunteer Requirements (National Honor Society, Key Club) for the year going to be handled?
Please connect with the advisor of the organization to find out more about how volunteer requirements will be handled. Each KASD club and organization will be working through this individually.
Do we know what High School Orientation is going to look like?
As of now, we will continue with our traditional high school orientation times, which are scheduled to occur in August. Should those plans change with any changes to the Safer at Home order or social distancing guidelines, more information will be released on our website and social media pages.
Will the District still hold a transition days for students heading to new school buildings in the fall?
We will not be holding the traditional transition days for these students, however, plans are evolving to help these transitioning students, and more information will be released as we have it.
Are any other events for seniors going to be rescheduled? What about prom, awards banquets and scholarship night?
We want to take care of all of our students, and we are very mindful of the events that many of our seniors are missing out on. We have scheduled a new date for graduation, with hopes of being able to celebrate our Class of 2020 students. As we come up with additional ways to plan or reschedule these things, we will be contacting those students, and sending that information out to families on this page and on our social media pages. For now, here is what we know:
Senior Scholarship Night: The KHS Scholarship Night will now be completed virtually, and will be aired on Wednesday, May 27 at 7:00 P.M. Links to view the ceremony will be sent out as the celebration approaches.
KHS Academic Awards Night will now be completed virtually, and will be aired on Wednesday, June 3 at 7:00 p.m. Links to view the ceremony will be sent out as the celebration approaches.
The 2020 KHS Junior/Senior Prom that had been rescheduled for May 16 has now be canceled. We are currently working with student leaders to gauge interest in the possibility of holding some form of dance yet this summer, or making next year's homecoming dance a more formal event.
Is the district going to come up with alternative ways to celebrate our 8th graders and their academic achievements as well?
We will do the best we can to make this change in learning environment as painless as possible for all of our students. River View administrators and teachers are working on ways to celebrate our students moving onto the high school next year as well. As more information is available, we will release it to students and families.
Will school playgrounds be open?
No. All school facilities, even outdoor play equipment and our open areas/practice facilities are closed.
When will parents/students be allowed to retrieve personal items that were left at school?
Each school is in the process of developing and releasing a collection plan, during which families will be able to collect any personal items they left at school. Elementary school item retrieval will likely take place the week of May 18, and information will be released by each school. Middle School item retrieval will likely take place the week of May 26.
The collection plans sent from each school aim to both provide flexibility for families and their schedules, and safe environments for everyone.
When can students Return Library Books?
Library book return falls into the collection plan. More information coming soon!
How and when will yearbooks be distributed?
A schedule for yearbook distribution will be created for each school individually, and your school will communicate with you at that time. As this information becomes available from our schools, it will be posted here as well.
When and how will Chromebooks be returned to school?
Due to our school buildings being closed for the remainder of the school year, we are asking all students in grades 5-12 with a Chromebook at home to keep that Chromebook until next school year. Students in 8th grade will be able to turn their Chromebooks in when they pick up their new Chromebook at registration or the first week of school.
Students in grade 12 will be able to keep their Chromebook after graduation at no cost to them, but we will need to wipe the Chromebook so that it no longer contains District data. Our IT department will email Seniors this summer for more information about that process.
Please remember that District-owned Chromebooks and student Google accounts are monitored by the IT department at all times, and inappropriate use of the device will be reported and, if necessary, accounts or devices will be restricted or locked.
What happens to existing lunch account balances? Are refunds available?
We send lunch account refunds when requested for anyone with a balance of $5.00 or more. Seniors without younger siblings are automatically refunded if balance is over $5.00 and all other fees have been paid. All other amounts will roll over to next year.
To request a refund for a lunch account balance, please email your student’s name and student ID number to mischlerp@kaukaunasd.org.
What about refunds for events, field trips, and co-curricular activities?
Refunds will also be handled at each building level. Many of our elementary schools have already started the process of sending refunds to families, and our schools have already started communicating with families about payment refunds. If you have a specific question, please email your building’s principal.
Spring athletic co-curricular fees will be refunded; checks will be sent in the mail in the coming weeks. If you have a request or question about a co-curricular payment or refund, please contact Mr. McDaniel (mcdanielc@kaukaunasd.org).
|