Following the governor’s recommendation, area schools are closing for the foreseeable future.

On Tuesday morning, Mid-Prairie Superintendent Mark Schneider sent a message to district parents announcing that schools will be closed until April 13.

Schneider cited the Legislature’s passage of a measure Monday giving the governor the authority to waive the time requirement for instructional time.

“Based on last night’s legislative action, school at Mid-Prairie will be canceled from Monday, March 23 up to and including Monday, April 13,” Schneider wrote. “Even though there will be no school on Monday, April 13, teachers and other staff members will be at school on that day, making preparations for the students return on Tuesday, April 14. 

“I will recommend to the school board that April 13 not be made up at the end of the current school year. We have abundant instructional hours built into our current school calendar for this unusual, non-weather circumstance.”

Schneider added that all school activities and practices are canceled through April 12, including “use of school facilities by outside groups.”

He said that barring any further cancellations, the last day of the school year will be June 1.

Schneider said he is working with district Nutrition Director Amber Kempf to find ways to provide meals to students while school is closed.

He is also working with teachers and administrators “to explore possible strategies to provide optional learning opportunities for our students while school is closed.”

Nothing would be set in place until next week at the earliest.

At Highland Community School District Superintendent Ken Crawford, in a letter to parents, said that the district’s three schools will be closed until April 13 at the earliest.

In announcing the closure on Twitter Sunday, Crawford said the schools will be closed “until further notice.”

The superintendent said the district administrative team was prepared for such a situation and is preparing steps “to ensure some continuity of education while we are off.”

In his letter, Crawford said, “Every decision made by a Highland CSD employee concerning the COVID-19 outbreak has been about the safety of the children in this district and for our community members.”

“What we are experiencing is hopefully a once in a lifetime event,” he said. “We felt 12 snow days last year was a once- in-a-lifetime event. And now we have another challenge.”

Elementary Principal Jane O’Leary said that beginning Wednesday students will receive assignments in reading, math and writing from their teachers, who will explain how they want work returned and questions asked.

Classroom teachers will expect two communications per week from families regarding each student.

“We do know Highland students deserve an education, even during this time of uncertainty,” O’Leary said.

Students at the middle school and high school will be working on lessons from home.

Teachers will be available from 9-11 a.m. daily to answer questions via email and Google classroom.

Students will work on assignments throughout the day and file the assignments for their teachers’ review. Students can email school administrators if they need to get materials from classrooms or lockers.

“We would like to maintain some academic progress while we are out of school,” Principal Angela Hazelett said in a letter to parents and students. “You will get out of this time what you put into it.”

While Highland students are working from home, custodians will be busy cleaning and disinfecting the school buildings.

In Lone Tree, where Crawford is also superintendent, teachers will be reaching out to families to provide lessons while the students are out of school.

“We have made great gains in reading and math this year, and we would hate to lose any of those gains over these next few weeks,” Crawford said in a letter to parents.

At the middle school and high school, Principal Regan Stone is working on providing access to lessons online. After a system is set up, teachers will provide specific instructions for their classes.

“While online learning has benefits and drawbacks, we are hoping to supplement the learning so we can hit the ground running when school resumes,” Crawford said.

The Lone Tree school administrators are working with the local food pantry to ensure families needing assistance will have it.

Crawford said both Highland and Lone Tree districts have applied for waivers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to offer lunches to students who need them.

He said that both school districts fall under the threshold of having 40% of families qualifying for free and reduced meals. Schools above that level automatically received waivers.

Custodians in Lone Tree have been tasked with thoroughly cleaning the school twice “from top to bottom” while students are on break.

The Wellness Center, which is managed by the school district, will remain open “as long as it is deemed appropriate.” There are no group activities, just individual workouts. Staff is cleaning the Wellness Center almost hourly.

Hillcrest Academy, which had already made the decision to close this week, is also shutting down operations until mid-April.

“We’re following the governor’s recommendation,” Principal Dwight Gingerich said on Tuesday morning. “We plan to be closed through April 10.”

Gingerich said he was working on a statement Tuesday to send out to Hillcrest families with details of the closure.

Pathway Christian School in Kalona, which has a smaller student population than other area schools, is continuing to have classes. The school’s chicken dinner fundraiser scheduled for Friday has been postponed until further notice.