Closings & Cancellations

Teachers, Parents/Guardians and Community Members,

The Arkansas Department of Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have instructed Mountain Home Public Schools to close beginning Tuesday, March 17 and to reopen on March 30. Since there is no reported case of COVID-19 locally, we will have classes on campus tomorrow, March 16, but parents may use discretion with regards to student attendance, and all student absences will be excused tomorrow.

The days we are closed will be classified as AMI days. The AMI plans provided to parents for students in grades K-7 have been changed, so please disregard the original AMI packets/information you were provided at the beginning of the school year. Buildings will disseminate (or have already disseminated) new AMI plans for students in grades K-7. Students in grades 8-12 already have school-issued Chromebooks that they will need in order to complete AMI work during this closure. Students in grades 3-7 will be issued Chromebooks and chargers tomorrow. If your child has access to a home computer to perform AMI work, he or she will not be required to check one out. Students in grades K-2 will complete pencil and paper assignments that have been or will be sent home (additional copies of those K-2 packets are available on our school building websites under the STUDENTS tab or at our district’s administration office located at 2465 Rodeo Drive).

We will use Monday, March 16 to answer any questions and provide clarification to concerns parents or students have for how to complete AMI coursework for the remainder of the week. Information regarding meals for students during the closure will also be released tomorrow.

For students who do not have Internet access, the front parking lot at Hackler Intermediate School, the High School stadium parking lot, and the Junior High student drop off lot are WiFi accessible with school-issued devices, and we will -- if needed -- set up several WiFi-enabled locations (accessible with school-issued devices) at various locations in town. Those locations will be announced as soon as the need is identified.

During school hours each day, our technology department will have a telephone helpdesk set up for students and teachers at 425-2549 to troubleshoot Chromebook issues and reset logins/passwords when necessary. You can also send an email to techology@mhbombers.com for specific requests and needs.

All other school-related activities and events scheduled to occur during our closure period are also cancelled/postponed for the time being. If these events are rescheduled, we will let you know as soon as that information becomes available.

During the school closure, we will conduct enhanced disinfection measures on all campuses and in all school buses. When we return to school, please follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for discontinuing home isolation if your child was diagnosed with COVID-19 or exposed to the virus. If you have questions, please feel free to call your child’s school building during school hours this week.

Thank you,

Dr. Jake Long
Superintendent
Mountain Home Public Schools