MHS Communication Update 4-22-2020; Looking Ahead
by Muscatine Community School District
April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Muskie Students and Families,

As always, I hope and wish all of you good health and safety during this time of social distancing and restrictions. To that end, I hope that all of you are doing well. 

As each day goes by, our path to the end of the school year becomes more clear. I’m sure that many of you have questions that you want to be answered. Our goal is to answer these questions and concerns to the best of our ability. To make this document easier to read, I will be addressing the following topics in the following order:

  1. Grading for All Grade Levels
  2. AP Assessments
  3. Collecting Student and School Property
  4. Scholarships
  5. Graduation
  6. Prom

1. Grading: Three options

  1. Accept the current grade: Students will have the opportunity to accept the grade that they would have received on March 12th. Students still have the opportunity to improve this grade by reassessment or completing work that was left incomplete or never turned in by Friday, May 22nd.
    1. How to accept the current grade: Log into PowerSchool by the deadline date of May 22nd and indicate that you accept the current grade. 
  2. Pass/Fail option: Students may take the class as Pass/Fail. Students that may be receiving a D grade may find this option beneficial.
    1. The Regent Schools (Iowa, Iowa State, UNI) have agreed not to hold “Pass” grades against students in any capacity, BUT students in certain programs at the university level may be required to take a class over if there isn’t a grade associated with it at the HS level. 
    2. A “Pass” Grade won’t impact a student’s GPA.
    3. Traditionally, the NCAA Clearinghouse views “Pass” as a D in their equation. Due to the pandemic and unique situation that all high school students find themselves, this may be altered. 
    4. How to accept the pass/fail option: Log into PowerSchool by the deadline date of May 22nd and indicate that you would like the pass/fail option.  
  3. Grade of “Incomplete”: Students may request that an “I” or Incomplete grade be given to them. If this option is taken, students will have until June 30th to complete the work, or it will turn into an F. 
      1. It should be noted that if an “I” grade turns into F students will become academically ineligible for their next upcoming sport or activity.

SPECIAL NOTES: 

  1. Students may only improve grades from the winter/spring semester. As the pandemic didn’t exist prior to this grading period, it doesn’t apply to previous grading periods. A student needs to acquire 25 credits to graduate high school. If a student can’t acquire these 25 credits, even by passing all of their subjects this semester, they WILL NOT be able to graduate. 
    1. There is a belief that all students will graduate due to the pandemic and this IS NOT true. Only students that have enough credits to pass will graduate.
    2. Students that are taking ALC classes and haven’t caught up on credits, WILL NOT be eligible to graduate. ALC classes need to be completed by June 25th in order to count towards graduation.
    3. We suggest that students that find themselves in this situation should contact their counselor for guidance.
  2. Students taking MCC Concurrent Courses need to complete work according to the college’s guidelines. If you are taking a concurrent class, please contact your instructor for details and options, as they are somewhat different than the high school’s grading process.

2. AP Assessments

    1. AP Assessments will be given online to students in their homes.
    2. While it’s not a requirement to take the assessment, it is strongly encouraged.
    3. Taking the test can only benefit the student, as there isn’t a requirement to report the scores or include them in grades.
    4. We recommend that students use the resources that are provided by AP to prepare for their assessment.

3. Collecting Student and School Property

  1. This was discussed in great detail and it was decided that due to the fact that school is officially shut down per state mandate and that our goal remains to keep a sanitized environment, the school won’t be allowing students to pick up personal items until social restrictions have been reduced. (This includes band/orchestra instruments, laptops, books, and heart-rate monitors.)
  2. Personal items of significance, such as eyeglasses, will be returned on a student by student basis. If you want to make such a request, please email one of the building administrators and they will make a determination on its return. 

4. Scholarships

  1. Scholarships are being reviewed and we plan on acknowledging scholarship winners through the newspaper, social media, our website, and streaming on local TV outlets. As the dates and times of these postings become available, we will be sending out information to our families.

5. Graduation

  1. After a significant amount of discussion and deliberation, it was decided that graduation will be postponed until the end of June or the very beginning of July. This offers the students the opportunity to go through an actual graduation ceremony with their peers.
  2. We are looking at a Thursday evening ceremony on the football field, in an open-air setting. We will simply have to hope for good weather! 
  3. More than likely attendance will be restricted to immediate families.
  4. More information will be forthcoming, as the details become more refined.

Special Note: It should be understood that the graduation ceremony that we are planning is contingent on the state allowing gatherings of individuals in large groups. While the state may allow smaller groups to meet, allowing a gathering in excess of 1500 may not be allowed.

6. Prom

  1. At the present time, MHS Prom has been rescheduled to June 20th. This is tentative, also, as we may not be in a position to have a gathering of several hundred students by this date. Our goal is to confirm if prom is officially a “go” by mid-May.  

I’m sure that this is a lot of information to process, so I will end with good wishes and hope that social restriction will soon be lifted so that we can meet face to face, smile, and once again shake someone’s hand.

Stay safe! Stay encouraged! Believe in better days!

Go Muskies!!

Mr. Hogenson
MHS Principal

This content has been provided by the Muscatine Community School District and is distributed by Discover Muscatine.

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