Dear Parents and Guardians, 

The Aurora R-VIII Board of Education voted last night to dismiss school on Monday, November 23 and Tuesday, November 24 lengthening the Thanksgiving break from Friday, November 20, 2020 until Sunday, November 29, 2020.  School will resume on Monday, November 30, 2020.  

The reasons for this include: allowing students on quarantine to come back to school (many will be eligible by the November 30 date), providing the opportunity to thoroughly clean/sanitize buildings and stabilizing the number of teachers/staff currently out in which we are having difficulty staffing substitutes.  (For more information on the numbers being recorded for the district, please see the Aurora R-VIII website or Facebook page.)

These two days will be taken out of the five built into the schedule for inclement weather.  A total of 1,073 hours of instruction will still be provided to students based on the 148 days of school included for the year.   The district will continue to exceed the required 1,044 hours as outlined by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Many experts indicate a spike may occur after the Holiday, however, if precautions are taken during the break the numbers being documented may not increase as rapidly.  Please make sure to stay safe as you visit with family and friends.

The Board also discussed the Governor's new guidance on masking.  Area schools are meeting with the Lawrence County and Barry County Health Departments today to discuss their recommendations regarding the plan.  After this meeting, the Board will make a decision on the requirements to be implemented going forward.  

Sincerely,

Billy Redus