JCSD School Year to Start the Week of Aug. 31

The derecho storm that hit Iowa last week has had some longer-term impacts on the school district.

While we did not lose power or sustain any damage to our technology facilities, our primary Internet connection was lost in the storm. The storm damage caused major power outages and utility damage thus taking our primary Internet connection down. Our primary Internet provider services are down throughout the Midwest, impacting their clients far beyond Johnston Schools. They have assured us they are working on restoring power and utility facilities as fast as they can but cannot provide an estimated time for it to be restored.

This has delayed our work significantly, especially as we ramp up the launch of Edmentum and Calvert Learning. Due to this unforeseen situation that is out of our hands, we will be delaying the start of school.

The first day of the 2020-21 school year for all students grades PreK-12 will be Monday, August 31, 2020. This will start our hybrid schedule, with the Purple group going Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday (Wed. dismiss 3 hours early). The Gold group will have their “first day” on Thursday, Sept. 3 and Friday, Sept. 4

Monday, Sept.7 is the planned Labor Day holiday and no school day for staff and students. Tuesday, Sept. 8 will be a purple day. Wednesday, Sept. 9 – Friday, Sept. 11 are Gold days.

The software that normally creates the calendar is also down. Once available, parents and staff will receive an updated calendar for the first quarter of the 2020-21 school year. The week of Aug. 24-28 will be used for staff professional learning and training.