Coronavirus - Iredell-Statesville School District

COVID-19 Updates Coronavirus (COVID-19) District Updates and Information

The well-being, health and safety of our students and staff is, and always will be, our top priority. The Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation is constantly evolving. Iredell-Statesville Schools continues to work closely with local, state, and national organizations to monitor the coronavirus situation. We will continue to post any information and updates on this site.

As always, we will communicate directly to our staff, parents, and students via mass notification, here on the website, on our social media channels, and through our local media outlets. It is the desire of district administration to keep you informed about the coronavirus. We have convened a COVID-19 Task Force to meet regularly to discuss the fluid and ever-changing situation. Should further precautions need to be taken, we will report them to you immediately. Until that time, please feel free to use the resources and links here on this page to help you stay informed and learn more on this topic.

A Message from Superintendent Johnson

District Communications

Monday, March 30, 2020 at 3:12 p.m.

Iredell-Statesville Schools and the Stay-At-Home Order

With NC Governor Roy Cooper’s statewide Stay at Home Order beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 30, 2020, we would like to encourage our parents and students to stay at home. This order directs people to stay at home except to visit “essential businesses, to exercise outdoors, or to help a family member.” The district will still fulfill the three orders from the state by continuing to operate our 15 meal pick-up sites, 6 essential employee childcare sites, and support the remote learning of our students.

Our sites will be open on a limited basis to solely conduct essential business. Please call or email the location prior to going to the building. Schools and offices will continue to take care of anything that is possible, remotely. All employees will remain on call and will be available by email. You may find contact information located on any of our websites under the Faculty & Staff Directory.

Below you will find the answers to some frequently asked questions we have received:

Can I still pick-up meals at one of the 15 meal pick-up locations?
Absolutely. Meals will continue to be served at each of our 15 meal pick-up sites. The only thing we ask of you is to complete this Meal Request Form each week so that we can properly prepare enough meals for each of our locations.

What are my options if I do not have Internet access or have issues with my device?
You can find information regarding support, tips, and internet access by viewing the Remote Learning Support for Students/Parents document.

Will students still take an end-of-grade or end-of-course exam?
No, we have recently learned that there will not be standardized testing for this school year. You can read more about the approved state waiver by reading this press release.

Will students receive Report Cards?
Students will receive their third 9-weeks Report Cards. Staff members will be printing and mailing them out by April 10, 2020.

Will our high schools and early colleges still hold proms?
At this time, all proms have been postponed. We will continue to monitor the situation and reconsider after more time has passed based on the advice from the CDC and orders from our national, state, and local government.

Will we still hold graduations?
We know that the current events have our Class of 2020 asking some specific questions about their senior year. The order made by NC Governor Roy Cooper extends only through April 29, 2020 at this time. AS we continue to evaluate this fluid situation, we will update you with more information as it becomes available. The safety of our students and their families is our top priority.

Will the district continue to hold their 2020 Summer Session?
The district will continue to evaluate the current COVID-19 situation. At this time, we plan on holding those courses during our 2020 Summer Session; however, we have delayed the registration of all Enrichment Courses hosted by the Academically and Intellectually Gifted Department to April 15th to give us more time to decide if we will be holding the 2020 Summer Session.

Can I still register my child for kindergarten?
Yes. While we would love to meet our future I-SS graduates in-person, our elementary schools will be continuing to register children online. If you have a rising kindergartener, please reach out to the school to find out more information.

Friday, March 27, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.

Superintendent Message and Meal Request Form Update

We have completed week 2 of our response to COVID-19. We want to thank you for your continued patience and understanding as we have all worked to address this challenge. We also want to compliment everyone’s willingness to be flexible and generous. We are extremely appreciative of everyone’s positive attitude and willingness to go beyond the call to serve our students in very difficult times. NC Governor Roy Cooper held a press conference this afternoon announcing that NC will be placed under a “Stay-At-Home” order at 5 p.m. on Monday, March 30, 2020.

District leaders will be meeting Monday morning to process this order and issue details of our response. In the interim, our plan to engage our students with remote learning, feed the children of the community, and provide emergency childcare remains in place. In addition, the district is committed to keeping all staff members fully employed. We will continue to provide as many options as possible to our staff as we assist them with individual challenges that may impact their ability to report to work. Our goal now is to identify our essential employees and publish a detailed plan of our response of complying with Governor Coopers’ order.

As we launch a new week, we would like to ask that you complete a new Meal Request Form. This will help us prepare the number of meals needed for each of our Meal Pick-Up Sites.

Monday, March 23, 2020 at 3:12 p.m.

Monday, March 23, 2020 at 3:12 p.m.

School closure Extended Through May 15, 2020

Today, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued an extension to the mandatory school closure for students as a result of the Coronavirus. Iredell-Statesville Schools will be closed for in-person instruction to student through Friday, May 15, 2020. The Governor stated that this date may be extended again based on advice from public health officials.

State leaders will be providing additional guidance and support to local leaders as they navigate this new order. It is a consensus with our state leaders as well as in Iredell-Statesville Schools to continue to put our students first and mitigate the impact that htis prolonged closure may have on our students.

Parents and guardians are reminded that our digital learning format remains in place for all students in grades 6th through 12th. Our elementary students in grades kindergarten through 5th-grade should have learning modules that have been sent either electronically or available for pick-up at your school. Please encourage your children to access this material. Contact your school principal or a teacher by email for assistance. In the days ahead, the district will be deploying additional remote learning strategies and lessons to comply with Governor Cooper's order.

We will continue to keep you informed as soon as we are able. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this quickly changing situation.

Friday, March 20, 2020 at 4:00 p.m.

Friday, March 20, 2020 at 4:00 p.m.

Iredell-statesville Schools prepare for shut down of all but essential staff

We continue to monitor and manage a very fluid coronavirus crisis. Our public health officials and professionals from the medical community advise that community transmission of the virus is taking place across the state. This fact warrants an enhanced response from the school district. To further promote social distancing, I-SS is prepared to begin to close all our campuses during the week of March 23, 2020 and allow the majority of our staff to work remotely from home.

I-SS will begin the process of closing our school campuses to limit personnel to only essential staff beginning next week. That means that employees whose work can be successfully performed in a remote setting (off-campus) will work remotely.

Essential staff specifically includes the following individuals:

Individuals preparing meals for pick-up and daily delivery
Bus drivers that deliver meals to students in need
Childcare workers who are supervising the children of essential emergency care workers in our community
Central Support staff members on rotating schedule from the following departments:
- Human Resources
- Finance
- Maintenance (as scheduled)
- Technology (as needed)
- Transportation
One building level administrator per campus at sites where there is remote feeding and childcare (rotation schedule to be developed)

To view the complete release, please click here,

Monday, March 16, 2020 at 12:50 p.m.

Today, Iredell-Statesville Schools is focused on three major areas, as mandated by NC Governor Cooper:

Remote Learning for I-SS students
Remote learning for all I-SS students will be available beginning Monday, March 23. Parents and students should review this letter for more information.

Satellite Locations for Meal Pick-Up
There will be 12 nutrition hubs to pick up bagged meals beginning tomorrow. In order to pick up a meal at one of the nutrition hubs, please fill out this Request for Meals form.

Emergency K-5 Childcare Opportunities for Essential Community Staff
I-SS will open 6 emergency K-5 childcare sites for essential professionals in Iredell County. If you work in the medical profession or emergency management, you may be eligible to receive K-5 childcare at one of our 6 locations. These locations include: Celeste Henkel, Central, Cloverleaf, Lakeshore Elementary, Troutman Elementary, and Woodland Heights from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Registration will be $25 and it is $15 a day. Please call or email Grover Linebarger at 704-832-2514 or by email at grover_linebarger@iss.k12.nc.us if you think you may be eligible for K-5 childcare through the Iredell-Statesville Schools.

Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 5:30 p.m.

NC School Closure: March 16-27

NC Governor Roy Cooper has issued a mandatory two-week school closure for students as a result of the Coronavirus. Iredell-Statesville Schools will be closed to students from Monday, March 16- Friday, March 27,2020.

Superintendent Brady Johnson will join a conference call tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. with the NC State Superintendent. We are hopeful that we will have answers tomorrow regarding faculty and staff attendance, as well as further information about remote learning for students.

We will keep you informed as soon as we are able. Thank you for your patience as we navigate this quickly changing situation.

Friday, March 13, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

Friday, March 13, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

Spring Break Extended For Students Through March 20, 2020

Iredell-Statesville Schools have just completed a week of spring break, with hundreds of students and adults traveling across the country and the world. Out of an abundance of caution, Iredell-Statesville Schools will extend Spring Break for all students through March 20, 2020.

The district will hold Optional Teacher Workdays on March 16th-20th. During that week, staff will prepare for a possible prolonged period of remote learning, social distancing strategies, community based meal delivery for qualified students, and further deep cleaning protocol.

Depending on your travel history, you are asked to consider self-quarantine for a period of 14 days. Please visit www.cdc.gov for a complete list of countries that currently have widespread, ongoing transmission of COVID-19.

As always we will communicate directly to our staff, parents, and students via mass notification, on the I-SS Website, and on our social media channels and through our local media outlets. You may view additional updates by visiting www.issnc.org/coronavirus

It is the desire of district administration to keep you informed about the coronavirus. We have convened a COVID-19 Task Force to meet regularly to discuss this fluid and ever-changing situation. Should further precautions need to be taken, we will report them to you immediately. Until that time, please feel free to visit the following websites to learn more on this topic.

www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/diseases/2019nCoV.html

If you have questions or concerns, call the COVID-19 Helpline toll free at 1-866-462-3821. To submit questions online, go to www.ncpoisoncontrol.org and select “chat.”

Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 12, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.

Athletic Events suspended in Iredell-Statesville Schools

In conjunction with the decision made by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and Iredell County, Iredell-Statesville Schools administration has suspended all interscholastic athletics. This includes all middle and high school workouts, skill development, practices, and contests as well as all recreation-based athletic sporting events on school properties as of 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 13, 2020. Our district will continue to monitor the federal, state, and local health guidance regarding COVID-19 and keep you updated with any further decisions that will be made.

For more additional information, please view this release from Iredell-Statesville Schools, Iredell County Parks and Recreation Department and Iredell County Health Department.