Fort Dodge School District Statement Following Closure Announcement

Orange School bus parked

The Fort Dodge Community School District the following statement Friday after Governor Reynolds announced the closure of schools around the state.

Today Governor Reynolds extended the closure of all Iowa schools for the remainder of the school year. While this news was anticipated, it does not make it any easier to end the school year this way.

What does this mean for us?

Students and staff will continue remote learning through voluntary continuous learning opportunities through the end of the school year.
The District will end student instruction for the 19-20 school year on May 29 as originally planned.
Information will be forthcoming regarding what this means for high school grades and credits.
Information will be sent to students and staff on how and when personal items may be picked up at schools and when items can be returned.

We know this raises questions about graduation. We know this is not how the members of the Class of 2020 envisioned their senior year ending. No one understands and empathizes with your disappointment more than your teachers and staff. We have watched you take your first steps into our classrooms, grow to find your purpose, and work hard to pursue your dreams. We are proud of each and every one of you. We do not see a path to having a face to face graduation on May 31. We are working on plans for holding a graduation ceremony in some format at a date yet to be determined. Our hope is to be able to have some type of face to face graduation before the end of the summer.

We are sad our school year is ending this way. We do believe, however, this is the right decision given the information we have received from health experts and state officials as the health and safety of our students, staff and community continues to be a top priority for us. We believe finishing the school year through remote learning is one of the most effective ways in which we can do our part to help keep everyone safe and healthy.