The CDC has identified 28 additional countries with a Level 3 Travel Notice, meaning avoid all non-essential travel due to widespread or ongoing transmission of COVID-19. The full list of countries identified with a Level 3 Travel Warning can be found here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices​. The Iowa Department of Public Health recommends that anyone who visits these countries voluntarily self-isolates for 14 days upon their return.

The CDC has identified 28 additional countries with a Level 3 Travel Notice, meaning avoid all non-essential travel due to widespread or ongoing transmission of COVID-19. The full list of countries identified with a Level 3 Travel Warning can be found here: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices​. The Iowa Department of Public Health recommends that anyone who visits these countries voluntarily self-isolates for 14 days upon their return.

Employees unable to return to the country due to voluntary travel to a country that is part of the European travel ban will need to use available leave for the days they are excluded from returning to the U.S. Sick leave is only available if the employee is required to observe a COVID-19 self-isolation period or other CDC / IDPH recommendation, and will require a physician clearance to return to work.

If you plan to travel out of the US, please email the school nurse at tfryauf@west-branch.k12.ia.us​ for future tracking purposes if needed.

The District is suspending all future out of state professional development registration and travel requests until further notice.

Yes, any COVID-19 related absences will be excused.

There is no plan to close school at this time. The District is following its current practices regarding make-up work and missed assignments when a family chooses to keep their child(ren) at home.

There is currently no plan to close WBCSD. The District is reviewing the situation on a daily basis. Any decision to close school following spring break will be made following recommendations by the Iowa Department of Public Health, Cedar County Public Health and the CDC.

Beginning March 23 through at least April 10, Kirkwood Regional Center will not have students attend any of their regularly scheduled classes. Both Arts and Science and Career and Technical Education (CTE) instructors will be delivering course content and material through an online format. Instructors will be reaching out to their students with instructions and expectations on how to access course material. It is imperative that your students check and review their Kirkwood email during this time frame. This is Kirkwood’s official method of communication to students. Students are still expected to attend their classes at the home high school.

As of now, the District is holding school as scheduled. The District continues to work with the Iowa Department of Education around the potential for online learning and missed instructional time. If the District does need to cancel school, there is currently no indication from the State that online learning days can count for missed days of school. Therefore, these would not count as student instructional days and could be made up at the end of the school year. The best option right now is exploring enrichment opportunities that could be made available to students or ways students could voluntarily continue their learning at home.

If the state mandates school closure AND the state says online educational days count as actual instructional days, students will be considered truant if they are not completing our designated expectation of daily hours on iXL.

As of now, we are not closing schools. However if schools would need to be closed and the District moves to State-approved online learning (as opposed to voluntary education enrichment opportunities), the District will provide special education and related services to students with IEPs. If parents choose to keep their students home, the District will continue to work to determine how this impacts the student’s instructional needs as outlined in their IEP.

Currently plans to have a “grab and go” lunch available​. ​We know that many of our students

depend on the meals they receive at school. It is our goal to continue to provide food should the school close. Additional information would be shared at that time.

Yes, the District has a regular cleaning schedule for all buildings. In addition to the measures already in place, the District will conduct cleaning procedures – as recommended by the CDC – over spring break. Additionally, all buses will be virus fumigated.

• Return-to-Learn 2020-21

• Cedar County Public Health

• Iowa Department of Public Health

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Iowa Department of Education and IDPH Guidance to K-12 Schools (3/12/20)

• CDC Considerations for School Closures

• CDC Travel Warnings