With local COVID-19 positivity rates falling and vaccines becoming available, Dubuque Community Schools leaders are hopeful they soon can bring students back to the classroom full time.
Since the start of the school year, Dubuqueâs public school students who attend classes on campus have been alternating between remote and in-person learning days. But recent trends have Superintendent Stan Rheingans optimistic that will change sooner rather than later.
âWeâre going to see that day not too far on the horizon,â he said.
Area school leaders said that, given the unknowns that they faced going into a fall marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the year so far has gone better than expected. However, it has not come without challenges.
Dubuque Community Schools leaders have finalized the calendars for the next two academic years.
School board members on Monday night approved the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 calendars. In creating them, district leaders sought to be consistent with the schedules of recent years.
âIt replicates the calendar that weâve had for the past couple of years,â said school board President Tami Ryan after the meeting. âHaving the two-year calendar, I think, really helps in consistency, and people know itâs not going to change from year to year.â
The first day of school will be Aug. 23 for both school years. The last scheduled day of classes will be May 27 for the 2021-2022 school year and May 30 for the 2022-2023 school year. Both calendars include Thanksgiving, winter and spring breaks.