In collaboration with our local health authorities, the District has decided to again pause our return to full in-person learning at the secondary level. We will delay the January 11, 2021 return to full in-person plans in grades 6-12 until February 1. In-person learners in these grades will continue with their current alternating schedule learning scenario. See January's Alternating Schedule Calendar linked here. In collaboration with the Platte County Health Department (PCHD), recognizing that community spread is the main concern and our health department is anticipating a spike in cases following winter break, we do not feel it is the right time to bring everyone back following an extended holiday. Workforce availability is also a significant concern. We will analyze the impact of winter break and the implementation of a shorter quarantine period starting January 4, to make a decision for February 1. Our goal is to return to full in-person learning, when we have the support of our local health authorities, and we have the available workforce. We will continue to plan for such a return, but will also continue to monitor data and information in collaboration with the Platte County Health Department to make difficult decisions.

Persons wishing to file as candidates for election to the Board of Education of the Platte County R-3 School District must file (in accordance with Board Policy BBB) at the District Education Center located at 998 Platte Falls Road, Platte City, Missouri, 64079. Filing opens on December 22 and will be open for all candidates at 8:00 am and will close at 9:00 am on that day. Candidate filing will continue until its conclusion on January 19, 2021 at 5:00 pm via scheduled appointments. Due to the nature of the pandemic, including COVID-19 restrictions, all candidate filing will be scheduled by appointment only by contacting Vicki Diggs at diggsv@platteco.k12.mo.us or 816-665-6976.

There are two, 3-year terms to be elected at the General Municipal Election on April 6, 2021. Seats currently held by the following board members (in alphabetical order) are up for election: Doug Doll and Amy MacCuish. Click here for more information about serving on the board, as well as dates and times for filing as a candidate.

PCHS is planning two 8th grade parent nights on January 26 and 27, 2021, for parents only. Starting time will be 6:30pm in the Wilson Auditorium at Platte County High School. To meet COVID safety expectations on attendance, a link will be sent out closer to the date to accept attendance that allows us to stay within capacity guidelines. Plans are to have the event live-streamed as well, for students and parents who aren't able to, or choose not to attend in person. All plans for this event are tentative pending COVID safety guidelines.

In the event of school cancellation, PCR-3 will get that information out as early as possible through automated phone calls and texts, the District website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, the District Hotline (816-858-2752), and local media. If snow, ice, or extreme cold make conditions unsafe, we now have options to 1) make those days up per our academic calendar or 2) implement our Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Days or AMI (Alternative Methods of Instruction). Click here for details on our Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Days.

Please visit the Winter Weather Information page on the Parents Tab of the District website for information regarding recess and clothing considerations (there will be no outdoor recess when the wind chill is at 20 degrees or below), cancellations, notification, and Y-Club info.

Parents: If you haven't yet opted in to receive texts and wish to, text the word "YES" to 67587.

Based on the December 2020 CDC quarantine guidance update, close contacts may end quarantine after 10 days IF DISPLAYING NO SYMPTOMS. These individuals must continue to wear masks and monitor for symptoms daily for the full 14-day time period following exposure.

When classes resume on January 4, we will send one district-wide email weekly on Mondays to all families and staff which will include the number of positive cases by building for the previous week, and will link to our District COVID-19 Statistics. This page will be updated each Monday with information from the previous week (cases and quarantine numbers) and total cases since the start of school.

If you or your student tests positive over winter break (or anytime outside of school hours), we ask that you call 816-858-5420 x. 2199 and leave a message or send an email to beutelj@platteco.k12.mo.us. This contact information can be used for any COVID-related questions as well. We will continue to contact trace and personally notify via a phone call all close contacts to positive cases who need to quarantine during winter break. However, we will not send daily schoolwide emails regarding positive cases. We will send an email at the end of break with a summary of positive cases across the District.

For the Pirate Pride portion of the December meeting, the Board of Education recognized PCHS Senior Chris Ruhnke, PCHS’s first Simone finalist, an honor for Kansas City Metro’s most outstanding high school football player! Congrats Chris!

Each month, PCR-3 recognizes staff members who are living our vision, mission, and values, by presenting the "SCHIVIR Me Timbers" award. SCHIVIR is an acronym for our values:

At the December board meeting, Kareno Moreno, Special Education Teacher at Siegrist Elementary, was recognized for her student focus, for establishing and running a satellite tutoring program (Beyond the Bell), collaborating with a local church in Ferrelview to host the program.

At the December meeting, Dr. Brown, Assistant Superintendent of Academic Services, shared secondary grade comparison data from the 2019-20 to 2020-21 school year, as well as comparison data for this year's secondary remote and in-person (alternating schedule) learners. In responding to students who are struggling in the different learning modalities, building principals and remote administrators are leading several interventions to support our students. These interventions range from parent-student-teacher conferences, using Flex and Pirate Learning Time for academic support for students, and after school tutoring. In addition, the District will be starting its summer school planning that will include innovative ways to support students who may have struggled over the past year and/or need credit recovery.

Each year, an outside auditor reviews the District's finances to review internal controls and ensure compliance with regulation. Clark Hanner, Marr and Company, P.C. reported that his team found Platte County School District's financial records to be in order. The auditors issued an unmodified opinion and found no material weaknesses or significant deficiencies. View the audit report here.

The District was awarded $407,000 through the Platte County CARES Political Subdivision Grant Program. These funds will be used to reimburse the District for unbudgeted expenses incurred due to the public health emergency with respect to COVID-19 made from the period March 1, 2020, through December 30, 2020.

Dr. Jennifer Beutel, Executive Director of Pupil Services, shared with the Board an update of the District's Tiered Support Services, which includes special education, reading improvement, school counseling, school social work, early childhood education, English language learning, and gifted education.

Specific focus on the following areas were included:

December 23-January 1: No School, Winter Break

January 4: Classes resume

January 11: Second Semester begins

January 13: PLC Day, 2-hour early dismissal

January 18: No School, Martin Luther King Day

January 19: Report Cards go home

January 21: Board of Education Meeting, 6:30pm, (reconvene from closed session which begins at 5:30pm)

Thank you to all our Pirates ROCK Star business partners who support character education in our schools! And thank you to our District-wide Pirates ROCK Star partner, Tradition Home Group.

Vision: Building Learners of Tomorrow...

Mission: To prepare individual learners for success in life, 

Values: Student Focus, Collaboration, High Expectations, Integrity, Visionary Leadership, Innovation, Results Orientation