MO State HS Sports

CPS board talks in-person learning, Rock Bridge field Thursday

(For updated stories on the return-to-learn plan and the Sells Field controversy click here and here.)

We could see Columbia Public Schools students return to some in-person learning by mid-October.

That is the timeline Superintendent Peter Stiepleman planned to suggest to the board of education during Thursday morning’s work session. Stiepleman says it will take time to get staff that are not teachers hired and trained.

“We intentionally didn’t hire open positions because we wanted to be good stewards of taxpayer money and not hire individuals and then immediately either furlough them or pay individuals who wouldn’t have the opportunity to work.”

The return to in-person learning will probably happen in phases, with the youngest students going first for two days a week.

Stiepleman says the other phases could return fairly quickly if things go well. He says he will be monitoring daily coronavirus cases in Columbia, and how many staffers are out because of the pandemic. As of Wednesday morning, he says 60 staffers, mostly teachers, either had the virus or were in quarantine as a close contact.

“We know families are very anxious to have their children back in-person, and the best way for us to start doing that appears to be a hybrid model so we can build on those successes, have children in-person, and be able to move forward.”

The CPS board on Thursday was also scheduled to look at a possible name change for Rock Bridge High School’s football field.

The field is named after Wayne Sells right now. But the superintendent and school board president are among those criticizing a Facebook post last week by the local developer. He blasted NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.

Sells has apologized for the post, and suggested renaming it “Veterans Memorial Field.” The CPS board met with legal counsel in closed session about a possible name change last Friday, but took no action.

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