ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — The Kirkwood School District welcomed students back for the first day of classes Tuesday morning.
This year, the district is relaxing its COVID rules and how it reports cases. Masks are optional for students, staff and visitors.
The district is not publishing data on student and staff COVID cases this year so parents will no longer be able to find a COVID dashboard online.
Officials encourage parents to use the St. Louis County COVID dashboard to monitor cases in the area.
The district will be using attendance as an indicator of whether there’s a potential risk at any given school.
If a daily attendance rate drops below 90% for a single day in a specific school, parents of students in that building will be notified immediately. Those parents may want to consider sending their student to school with a mask after receiving that notification.
The Kirkwood School District will no longer send out notifications to the families of an entire classroom if an individual tests positive for COVID.
Though masks aren’t required currently, the Kirkwood Board of Education wants parents to know it has the ability to issue health-related mandates, like requiring masks, if it’s deemed necessary.
There are some new construction projects underway at certain Kirkwood schools.
Our 5 On Your Side crew observed a new ADA compliant ramp added at Robinson Elementary to ensure all students and staff can make it to class safely and efficiently on the first day of school.
District officials said these small changes have a big impact.
It’s made possible by funding from Proposition R, which passed in April 2021.
Over the summer, the Kirkwood School District was set to complete indoor renovations at Robinson Elementary, Keysor, North Glendale Elementary and Kirkwood Early Childhood Center.
Kirkwood Superintendent Dr. David Ulrich said there are several other ADA improvements scheduled to take place at high schools in the district this school year.
The construction has not delayed the first day of classes for any Kirkwood school.
Proposition R funding was deemed necessary by the district because some schools had issues with overcrowding.
The funding will help build additional classrooms, update old infrastructure, enhance safety and security and ensure district buildings are more accessible for everyone.
Dr. Ulrich said the district is not severely impacted by bus driver shortage but is experiencing some staffing shortages.
The district has 29 open positions posted online. To apply, click here.