Coronavirus: Health Information for Families & Staff

This web page will be updated as new information or guidelines are provided by public health officials.

On Friday, April 17, Governor Reynolds announced that all schools would be closed through the remainder of the academic 2019 – 2020 school year. This expands the recommendation she made on Sunday, March 15 where she recommended Iowa school districts to close for four weeks to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This recommendation comes from guidance from the Iowa Department of Public Health and based on CDC guidelines. We will provide updates as they are available to us regarding school closure and other pertinent information.

Thank you for your support and partnership as we work together to maintain a healthy learning environment.

Quick Links
Iowa Department of Public Health
Polk County Health Department 
US Centers for Disease Control 
Iowa Department of Public Health

 

COVID-19 Communications
Continuous Learning Plan
DC-G Home Enrichment and IXL

Below is a recap of the communication sent to parents and families from the district:
District Communication May 19

District Communication May 6

District Communication April 30

District Communication April 16

District Communication April 2

District Communication March 23

District Communication March 20

District Communication March 16

Districts were provided additional, updated guidance from the Iowa Department of Education (IDOE), including: outlining options for continuous learning as well as the expectation of a plan for implementation to the IDOE by Friday, April 10.
The three options available for districts are to provide:

  1. No continuous learning (the time would need to be made up once school re-opens and under current Iowa Code, would have to be complete by June 30th);
  2. Voluntary Educational Enrichment Opportunities; and/or
  3. Required Educational Services.

These are dynamic times. If you were to look at our original communication, which was aligned with the guidance and thinking of that time, compared to where we are now, you will notice substantive changes. This evolution not only impacts our thinking and actions, it places additional expectations on our teachers, counselors, building leaders, and others. They are working hard to pivot to this type of instructional model. It will be important that you communicate the needs of your child to our teachers as this unfolds.

DC-G Plan

Administrators collaborated with staff and choose to follow the Voluntary Educational Enrichment Opportunity (VEEO) option. VEEO will allow us to provide academic resources for our students and families during this extended school closure. We want to be respectful of the time commitment to families through this opportunity. I know during this unique time we are experiencing new challenges of juggling working from home, school work, and numerous other variables.

Through this process, we will share teacher-guided learning specific to grade levels, content areas and courses. Teachers can be in contact with students and families about these learning opportunities.

Home Enrichment Site

The DC-G Home enrichment site is a place to explore and grow skills through several different websites chosen by our teachers. Several of these sites students already use in the classroom! Please explore by clicking the link below.

DC-G Home Enrichment Site

Getting Started with IXL  

IXL is a platform for personalized learning for students built on the Common Core State Standards and will now be our priority online resource. We have selected IXL due to:

  • the ease of use, 
  • clear connections for practice opportunities that are aligned to core standards,  
  • the ability to use with multiple core subject areas,
  • the ability to connect with Google Classroom, and
  • consistency for our students and families.

 

How to Access IXL

1. Log-in by going to https://www.ixl.com/signin/dallascentercsd.  Enter the username and password.

    1. The student username is the last two digits of the graduation year, first name, and last name  (ex: 21mackenziegroenenboom).
    2. The student password is dcg followed by the student lunch number (ex: dcg12345).

*** If you are using the IXL app on your phone, you will need to add @dallascentercsd after the login name.


2. Choose a skill to practice in the Learning tab.  This can be done in four different ways.

    1. If the teacher assigned a skill to practice, a link will appear on the right.  Click on it to practice those skills.
    2. Teachers may send out a search code.  Enter the 3-digit code in the search bar on the top of the page.
    3. Click on the Recommendations page and choose a recommended skill.
    4. Click on a subject.  Select the appropriate grade level.  Pick a topic and then click on the skill to begin practicing.

3. Read and answer the question.  Click submit.

    1. Use “Learn with an example” to learn about the skill before practicing (found above the question).
    2. Click on the links below the question for additional help if the student is not feeling ready yet.

4. Review the answer.  Correct answers will increase the SmartScore for the skill.

    1. If an answer is incorrect, the correct answer along with an explanation will appear.  Review the explanation and then click “got it” to continue.

5. Continue practicing to reach the SmartScore goal.  Students may leave a skill and return later without losing their progress.  

    1. Students earn an award for each mastered skill.  Click on the Awards page to view prizes.


6. Use the Analytics tab to see progress made.  There is information about usage, scores, trouble spots, and a question log to view previously answered questions.

7. For more information, watch this quick start video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PsuD8X3YOY&feature=emb_logo