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"Major Upgrades" Coming to the Rock Island School District

Rock Island School District

Students in the Rock Island schools could return to the classroom as early as Oct. 2, depending on the number of COVID-19 cases in the county. Roughly two-thirds of families surveyed are planning to send their kids back to school, at least a couple days a week, with one-third opting to continue remote learning. 

During his annual State of the Schools address today, Superintendent Reginald Lawrence said that social distancing has forced the school district to improvise. But that's not always a bad thing. 

"The only positive part is it has forced us to use technology more, it has forced us to be more resourceful, and trying to ensure that we've honed our skills." 

Lawrence also says new software has helped more group work-oriented classes transition to online. For example, the orchestra is able to practice individually and then blend their solo performances together. 
And when students do return to campus, they may notice some key differences. 

"We had a chance to do some major upgrades. When you get to our stadium, with new turf, track resurfacing, and, yes, the biggest improvement of all; we did some stadium restroom renovations. So, we've got some new restrooms there. We hope to use those in the spring when football kicks off." 

Mid-term reports for Rock Island students will be mailed out this week.  

Lawrence gave his State of the Schools address to a joint meeting of the Rock Island Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs. 

Marianna Bacallao is WVIK Quad Cities NPR's 2020-2021 Fellowship Host/Reporter. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mercer University's Center for Collaborative Journalism and served as Editor-in-Chief for the student newspaper, The Cluster.
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