We are excited for the 2021-2022 school year and look forward to a great year. As COVID-19 and variant cases continue, we wanted to share with you the mitigation strategies and plans for the 2021-2022 school year.
Face Masks
- We encourage mask wearing by all in accordance with CDC public health guidance. However, we cannot mandate employees, students, or members of the public to wear a facial covering for any purpose while in a school building.
- As of today, a federal executive order remains in place that requires masks on public transportation and, accordingly, the district asks students to comply with this federal requirement while on school busses until further guidance is received.
Additional Mitigation Strategies
- Frequent hand washing is encouraged and multiple hand washing/sanitizing stations are available throughout all buildings.
- Cough/sneeze etiquette will be reviewed and reminders shared as needed.
- Daily sanitizing of all areas with UV lights and cleaning high touch areas multiple times throughout the day.
- We will limit interactions/contact when possible, rotation of lunch rooms to limit interaction/contact at the elementary level.
- Social distancing and spacing as much as possible.
- Plexiglass separations in some locations.
- Continued use of MERV filters for removal of virus particles.
- At the start of the school year we will limit parents and volunteers into building.
We will also continue to use our student screening tool. The tool requires a staff or student to stay home (or go home after seeing the nurse) with one high risk symptom: cough, shortness of breath or loss of taste or smell OR two low risk symptoms: sore throat, fatigue, body aches, headache, runny nose, nausea, diarrhea, or vomiting. A student or staff must have an alternative diagnosis, wait ten days, or have a negative test after 5 days to return to school/work after symptoms. Please have your student stay home when feeling ill and work with your school nurse on next steps.
The Iowa Department of Public Health in conjunction with the Iowa Department of Human Services announced updated isolation and quarantine guidelines for students including:
- Exposed students should no longer be required to stay home, regardless of mask usage when not exhibiting symptoms.
- Parents/guardians of exposed students will be given information around exposure to COVID-19 in order to make their own informed decisions regarding risk.
- COVID-19 positive and symptomatic students will still be excluded from school for the duration of their isolation period (10 days from symptom onset or 10 days from test collection if asymptomatic).
As the health and safety for all students and staff remains a priority, we will continue to monitor the local health situation and communicate any updates or modifications as necessary.
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The first day of school is Monday, August 23.
The first week of school schedules are below:
Elementary
All elementary buildings start school at 8:45 a.m. Individual buildings will communicate regarding specific morning procedures. All elementary buildings will dismiss at 1:50 p.m. the first week of school; Monday, August 23 - Friday, August 27.
Normal Schedule Begins
Monday, August 30
M, T, Th, F 8:45 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
Wednesdays 8:45 a.m. - 1:50 p.m.
Junior Highs
First Day
8-9:30 a.m. all 7th graders and new 8th and 9th grade students
9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. all students, students will be allowed in the hallway at 9:15 a.m.
Normal Schedule Begins
Tuesday, August 24, 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Weekly Schedule
Monday late start 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
T, W, Th, F 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Cedar Falls High School
First Day
All sophomores and new students should arrive to the high school by 7:55 a.m. for 90 minutes of high school orientation, beginning in the high school auditorium. Students will review their schedule and pathway to classrooms, learn about power hour, review access to all things technology and hear many tips for experiencing success at the high school.
9:25 a.m. - 2:55 p.m. All Students
Normal Schedule Begins
Tuesday, August 24, 7:55 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.
Weekly Schedule
Monday late start 9:25 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.
T, W, Th, F 7:55 a.m. - 2:55 p.m.
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Back to School Project Registration Open
The Back to School Project provides backpacks along with items on school supply lists — pencils, glue sticks, notebooks and much more — for elementary students in the Cedar Valley who need them.
Completing a short form with the name, grade, and school of the student is required to receive supplies. School supplies will be available for elementary students (Kindergarten- 5th grade in the Waterloo Community School District and Kindergarten- 6th grade in the Cedar Falls School District). Applications are taken on a first come, first serve basis and will cap at 1000 students. Supplies for students will be available for pickup at Lou Henry Elementary School between noon and 5:00 pm on August 18, 2021. Visit the Facebook event.
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Now Accepting Projects to Help
Cedar Valley Businesses
This school year CAPS will engage nearly 300 high school juniors and seniors in helping to solve problems with local business partners and organizations. The Cedar Valley Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) is a consortium of Profession-Based Learning programs at Cedar Falls, Columbus Catholic, Denver, Don Bosco, Jesup and Wapsie Valley High Schools.
Projects that have real impact for local business partners are the fuel for the development of high school student-associates with the six CAPS programs in the region.
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FIRST Robotics Competition Team 525, grades 9-12:
We call FIRST Robotics Competition the ultimate Sport for the Mind. High-school student participants call it “the hardest fun you’ll ever have.” Under strict rules, limited time and resources, teams of students are challenged to raise funds, design a team "brand," hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-size robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competitors. It’s as close to real-world engineering as a student can get. Students interested in joining the Cedar Falls High School Robotics Team, FRC Team 525, the Swartdogs are welcome to attend an informational meeting team on August 23, 2021, 7-8 PM. Meetings are held at our build site, 5547 Westminster Dr., Cedar Falls. If you cannot attend this meeting, please contact Kenton Swartley at kenton.swartley@cfschools.org.
FIRST Tech Challenge Teams, grades 7-12:
The FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) program in the Cedar Falls Community Schools is designed to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). FTC is designed for students in grades 7-12 to compete head to head, using a sports model. Teams are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and is programmed using a variety of languages. Teams, including students, coaches, mentors and volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles.
FIRST LEGO League Teams, grades 1-6:
There will be three information Zoom meetings for parents who have students interested in being part of a FIRST LEGO League team during the 2021-2022 school year. Students in grades 1-6 during the 2021-2022 school year are eligible to participate in the FIRST LEGO League Explore or FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams.
At this meeting you will get information about what FIRST LEGO League is, how you can support the team, and answers to any of your questions. Those that attend a meeting will have the opportunity to sign their child up for a team. Meeting times include:
- Tuesday, August 17, 3:30 PM
- Wednesday, August 18, 5:00 PM
- Tuesday, August 24, 6:30 PM
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The USDA has issued a nationwide waiver allowing the District to offer a free breakfast and lunch each day to every student enrolled. |
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for Students, Staff and Families
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Tech Balance
For parents of 3-to-8-year-olds. Send a text message with the word "kids" to 21555 from your cellphone. Receive free text message tips about how to practice healthy media habits at home with your family! This is a FREE program from Common Sense.
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Cedar Falls Schools | 319-553-3000 | Website
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