R-1 suspends district classes March 18 through April 3

By Laura Schiermeier, Staff Writer
Posted 3/18/20

VIENNA — Maries R-1 Superintendent Mark Parke,r while talking to the Maries County Commission and the Director of the Phelps/Maries Health Department, called the current coronavirus situation …

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R-1 suspends district classes March 18 through April 3

Posted

VIENNA — Maries R-1 Superintendent Mark Parke,r while talking to the Maries County Commission and the Director of the Phelps/Maries Health Department, called the current coronavirus situation “liquid” as things were changing by the moment. That moment happened late in the day on Tuesday, March 17, when he made the tough decision to close the school at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18 through April 3 with school anticipated to this time to open again on Monday, April 6.

When Parker spoke with the commissioners and Ashley Wann of the health department on Monday, he said Maries County continues to have no reports of suspicions of COVID-19. Wann said there was no immediate threat or reason to mandate school closures at the time although schools in the area began announcing they were closing.

Parker said the decision was “up in the air” on Monday. Dixon, Richland, Crocker, Rolla, St. James and later other districts announced they would be closing and Parker said this put pressure on the Vienna school district. The Jefferson City Diocese closed Visitation Inter-Parish School along with all the other Catholic schools in the diocese, also putting pressure on the Maries R-1 administration to make a different decision about continuing to stay open.

President Donald Trump urged Americans to take the pandemic seriously and asked for 15 days of closure to slow the infection rate and to save lives. Parker said he received push back from parents wondering why Maries R-1 was staying open when the president asked for closure and because all the other schools around it were closing. He spoke with board members and they decided to close school for the safety of the students and the community.

However, teachers and staff will be working at the school and can be contacted by parents for parent teacher-conferences from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. from Thursday, March 18 until April 3. All parent-teacher conferences will be done via electronic means—email, phone or dojo app.

Parker said the staff will work in small groups speaking with parents, checking on students, cleaning, and bringing meals to the students who responded to the survey asking for the meals, or for those who sign up by calling the high school or elementary school this week.